Drawing Inspiration from French Paintings - Polish or Process, take your pick. An essay- Brian Keeler
What is not to like about the brushy realistic paintings of everyday life- done well with great light on fashionable figures and splendid landscapes? Well, as it turns out, there is not much to object over in the current show at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The exhibit also provides us with lots of context, counter-movements, antithesis, conservative backlash and academic realism of high polish to compare and contrast. We think that we know what Impressionism is- but there is a lot to learn, discover or review with new revelations from this show in our nation's capital.
Above- The author sketching from a work by Bouguereau at the NGA.
Above - A sketch done at the NGA in DC from a work by the French artists, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) titled, "Homer and His Guide." Sketching from masterworks is a great way to learn about the compositons, techniques and the general mood of a given work. To see a short video of this sketch being done in the NGA, view this link; https://youtu.be/s_8r1MdOqMs?si=V04fLPYvb5PvI05n
Revisiting the Impressionists
We attended the exhibit at the NGA in DC on the Saturday right after Thanksgiving. So the crowds were there, but the long snaking line that started in the corridor with classical marble sculpture seemed to go by quickly. A conversation was started with the woman in front of us, who I thought looked familiar. After chatting off and on during our walk to the entrance we discovered that we did know each other. The woman, Janet Tanzer (formerly of Binghamton, NY) had visited my studio in Wyalusing many years ago, with her late husband, the artist Michael Tanzer, during the North Branch Art Trail.
Once inside, we were greeted with the two antipodes of the art of the day, both shown by coincidence during separate exhibits in 1874. On the left was the canvas from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts by Jean-Leon Gerome, titled “L'eminence Grise”- it is a tour-de-force of painting. Exquiste in every aspect: detail, modeling, controlled color, composition and oh, the lighting. The delicate scintillating passages of small areas of raking light are simply virtuosic. This painting won an award at the official exhibit in Paris called the Salon of 1874 and we can see why. Next to Gerome's canvas was the cultural and aesthetic upstart of a canvas that some regarded as mere slapdash. It is a painting by Claude Monet titled,“Impression Sunrise,” an 1871 canvas which depicts the harbor at Le Harve in France with atmospherics and black boats silhouetted. Truly a spontanous and brushy work if there ever was one that we assume was whipped out on the spot in direct response to the motif. The opposites of technique and aesthetics are presented to us from the start with these paintings and reiterated within.
The contrasts presented in this show could be summed up in terms of paint quality- both groups use wonderful passages of paint but in different ways. One is polish and the other is process. The polish and refined finish to the canvases are part of the Gerome group (or classical realists) and the process and brushy applications are part of the new radicals, the Impressionists. To me these opposites seem overdrawn to an extent and we can see the boundaries and compartmentalizing as overstated. After all, Renoir painted the Goddess Diana, which was done in a manner not unlike the academicians. This work was shown elsewhere in the NGA as it was not part of the 1874 show, as many other later iconic works were.
The curatorial choices made for this exhibit show us the context and opposites of the period. The contextualizing continues throughout and part of this selection is the great vertical canvas by the French academic painter, Bouguereau of “Homer and His Guide.” I sketched this work during my time there and another non-impressionist work by an artist unknown to me, Paul Chardin - choosing his canvas of a religious theme.
Another antipode brought out through the show is the subject matter. The disparity betweend the ideal of portraying classical legends of Greco- Roman mythology as opposed to the scenes of street life and domestic interiors is illustrated in this show. And some may regard the works of Gerome and Bouguerau as overly sentimentalized depictions, whereas the canvases of cafes by Monet and other are a tad too plebian. Then again, now the impressionist colors and mere optical fascinations may seem too superficial if not saccharine to some. Here is what Jason Farago, art critic for the New York Times had to say in his review:
The haystacks have been raked up, the water lilies are clustered; the ballerinas at the Opéra and the revelers at the Moulin de la Galette have taken their places. This year is the 150th birthday of Impressionism, a movement so popular and so familiar that it can seem like some preordained crowd pleaser — all those sunsets and tutus, ready for their blotchy close-ups.
But once, those haystacks were rebellious. Once, those ballet dancers delivered a shock. Can we rediscover what was so revolutionary about impressionism back in 1874? Can we still see the defiance in its beauty, and even its schmaltz?
The exhibit at the NGA held special significance for me as my father and I had attended another major Impressionist show at Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, which was the 100th anniversary exhibit in 1974. This centenary exhibit included more than just works from the original show.
Above- the 1871 canvas by Monet titled, "Impression Sunrise" greets visitors the the exhibit.
Above- The two paintings that greeted the viewers to the exhibit represent opposites- The Gerome at the bottom shows the academic style of classical realism. The Monet landscape represents the new Impressionist paintings.
I think all painters would find this exhibit delightful. There is so much to enthrall us. And there are so many works that are new, at least to me. This is in part to the credit of the curators who obtained many paintigs from private collections. One of the paintings that I would choose as a favorite was the portrait done by Jules Bastien-Lepage. This remarkable work done on an overcast day portrays the artist’s grandfather posing in a softly lit woodland. The portrait of the bearded man with a small cap is done with love and it captures the spirit of a kind man. There are many wonderful surprises like this. The muted palette and delicate modeling do not fit our preconceptions of the Impressionists.
Above- a painting by Jules Bastien-Lepage - in the show at the NGA.
The context of this first 1874 Impressionist exhibit is worth noting. The group of painters called themselves the rather unimaginative, The Societe Anonyme de Artistes Pentres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs etc. It presented the work of 31 artists in a rented commercial space and the exhibit was well attended by a few thousand viewers. The context that I found remarkable was that France had just come out of a brutal war with Prussia in 1870, which was followed by The Civil War- fought between disgruntled leftist former soldiers and the regulars of the French army. A large canvas showing dead soldiers lying in rows was included at the beginning of the show along with drawings of the wars.
So, we realize quickly that the breezy canvases of genre scenes, which we generally thing of as impressionist works could be regarded as a balm for the national psyche of France. The horrors of war, the Prussians marching into Paris and then a war amongst the French required a spiritual renewal. The paintings and sculpted works of the Impressionists and the academicians assuaged the torn nation.
In regards to context- I chose Bouguereau’s academic masterpiece to study with a sketch. Why? I had not seen this work before, so it presented a new figurative piece to study. Also, I was attracted to the simplicity and structural definitions of Homer’s head as portrayed. It was done with a simple and soft light, which brought out the poet’s character. The physiognomy or how character is revealed through structure is the concern here. Sketching always reveals aspects of a given painting when studying old masterworks. In this case, the geometry and the triangulation of composition were part of appreciations gleaned. An inverted and elongated isosceles triangle between the heads of the two people at the top and the dog at the bottom was the structure or armature that I observed. The exquisite modeling of the garments and the anatomy as well were engaging. The placement of the feet at the bottom of both figures in close proximity along with the aggressive dog’s feet seemed quite remarkable. Then the two male figures in the back, whom I though at first were dancing, were studied during the drawing process. Then I realized they, too, were scaring off menacing animals. The silhouetted creatures were first thought to be black panthers but later considered to be canine.
"The Luncheon" by Claude Monet was one of the major canvases in the NGA show- a delightful depiction of an interior with figures and still life elements.
My first sketch, however, was also done of a work in contrast to the main group of Impressionists. This painting of a chapel interior was equally a tour de force but in different ways. It employed remarkable light, two strong rectangles of bright white that were effectively placed as key elements in a zigzag composition. In short, the abstract design qualities of this work were central. This canvas of 1874 by Paul Chardin was titled, “Fishermen’s Chapel near Plouha.” The context here is that this painting of faith is considered part of a conservative backlash and resurgence of the Catholic religion. It does not come off as preachy or as a work with an agenda. The humble setting and understanding of perspective is appreciated even without knowing the context.
Above- This small scale oil by Stanislas Pepine is from 1869. The show at the NGA brought many works by artists that have been unknown to many viewers.
We do find many fine examples of pure impressionism that we have grown fond of over the years. Paintings of beautiful light and plein air landscapes of rivers and fields with soft and fluid brushwork, which we adore, do not disappoint us. A canvas by Berthe Morisot of a woman in white with an umbrella sitting along a river is one such painting of honest recording. Jason Farago found her mood lugubrious. To me she is contemplative. A huge canvas by Antoine Guillemet, whom I had not known also shows a riverscape. It is done with a very limited palette of whites, greys, and deep non-descript browns in the buildings. The sky is of mostly grey and white cumulous clouds covering the entire sky with just a spot of blue. So, to fly in the face of our conception of Impressionist works being of high chroma and sun-drenched figures and landscapes- this work shows another option.
This exhibit definitely fits into the category of a blockbuster as it is indeed a major show that attracts thousand of visitors. Still, this does not detract from our appreciation of the curators' work and the incredible offerings brought to us in our museums.
Above- Sketching in The NGA in DC during the Impressionist show- from a painting by Paul Chardin titled "Fishermens' Chapel near Plouha."
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