Impressionism Vs Post Impressionism

Impressionism vs. Post-Impressionism

Édouard Manet, (23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883), was a famous French painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, and a major figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. He was brought up in an upper class family in Paris, France. He was fascinated with painting from a very young age, however his parents didn’t approve of it. However, he attended an art school and studies the old masters in Europe. At the age of 18, he began studying under Thomas Couture, learning the basics, and then traveled throughout Europe learning from the notable painters, such as Frans Hals, Diego Velázquez and Francisco José de Goya, whose techniques and style influenced the work of Manet. When he was 33, he submitted his first work of art was Olympia, which was not taken well from the jury members, however his contemporaries thought of him as a hero who went outside the box. After some failed attempts, he then made several paintings with café scenes, which became very popular and still are. Unfortunately, he died in Paris at the age of 51. Besides 420 paintings, he left a reputation that would forever define him as an influential and bold artist. [pic 1]

         One of his most famous paintings and his last work was A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. The painting is the combination of urban leisure and spectacle. The Folies-Bergère was one of the most elaborate venues in Paris, with entertainment ranging from ballets to circus acts. Another attraction was the barmaids, who were thought by many customers as clandestine prostitutes. By showing one of these women, Manet introduced a morally suspect, contemporary subject into the realm of art. Manet has made loose brushstrokes and has added intricate detail on the bridesmaid’s facial expression and her dress and the background painting is a bit hazy. His brushstrokes adds fluidity to his masterpiece. He adds texture on the bridesmaid’s velvet jacket, waxy skin of the bowl of oranges, the shiny gold foil on the champagne, etc. The light streaming through the window falls on the faces, hands, and chandelier. His color scheme throughout the painting include a variety of both cool and complementary. [pic 2]

         Henri Rousseau (May 21, 1844 - September 2, 1910) was a self-taught and post-Impressionist French painter. While living in Laval, France, he worked as a toll collector and taught himself to paint and exhibited his work every year until the end of his life. He was born in a middle-class family and in his late teens, he was enlisted in the army but in 1868, he left it and moved to Paris. He never had a formal education in art, instead he recreated paintings from the art museums in Paris and sketched in the city’s botanical garden and natural history museums. His style was very different as compared to his contemporaries; it was often childlike since he didn’t learn the anatomy or perspective; he used vivid colors, non-realistic scale, and dramatic intensity which gave his paintings a dreamlike quality. Many of Rousseau's signature paintings showed human figures or wild animals in jungle-like settings. Some of his most intense and known works are The Sleeping Gypsy (1897) and The Dream (1910). Unfortunately, Rousseau died on September 2, 1910, in Paris. His work continued to influence other major artists, such as his good friend Picasso, Fernand Léger, Max Ernst and the Surrealists.[pic 3]