“Claude Monet Painting in His Studio Boat,” by Edouard Manet (1874)
Manet, the French modernist painter, depicted one of the famous Impressionists. His technique with petite and thin brush strokes and emphasis on the depiction of light made him stand out among other artists (Kleiner, 2020). Manet’s art series with changing light and time presented unusual visual angles and created an illusion of movement.
The technique used in the art is en plein air in oil on canvas. The water is depicted by bright and clear brush strokes, while the sky and the boat are more blurry, painted with a soft brush (Kleiner, 2020). This painting is the most brilliant among others in a series depicting Manet’s boat.
The painting addressed sudden industrialization in small cities. The Seine was the love of Monet, and he treated water as an escape from industrialization. This painting illustrates the break from modernity and exploration of the artistic direction of modern life.
“The Tub,” by Edgar Degas (1886)
Formal qualities in this painting are elements of art and principles of art. One of the brightest elements in the picture is the medium and color that Degas used to illustrate the women in an intimate situation. The color of the painting uses the full potential of hue, value, and intensity to represent the shape of a woman’s body.
Artist applied medium (formal qualities) to create a unique motion and bring a special texture to the painting. Degas used dry sticks and powered pigments of pastel, with many color marks on the blue-grey palette (Kleiner, 2020). Patterns are applied with layers; colors are lying on the contrary direction.
The painting presents the human body occupied with physical cleansing, the usual exercise we do every day. Degar aimed to depict the standard deed from an unexpected angle in familiar surroundings (Kleiner, 2020). Modernist interest is found in provocative shapes, bizarre shapes, and odd postures.
“Vision after the Sermon,” Paul Gauguin (1886)
Gauguin was more symbolistic compared to Impressionists. He used religious topics and refutations to positivism. The painting was created in the same year Gauguin moved to Pont-Aven (Kleiner, 2020). He moved there to find a peaceful place to live and devote himself to developing religiously symbolic art with the use of transparent colors. In 1886, he became a principal leader of the Academic artists’ group at the Pont-Aven School.
The use of medium and elements of art represent the rejection of both Realism and Impressionism standards of art. It would be the new art movement – sintetism. Gaugin’s painting style omits standard artistic rules and features: vivid colors of deep red and contrasting white, the diagonal slant, and the breaching of shadows (Kleiner, 2020). The painting has a downward perspective and flat colors to represent the unreal nature of the depicted scene.
Reference
Kleiner, F. S. (2020). Gardner’s art through the ages: The Western perspective, Volume I. Cengage Learning.