IMPRESSIONISM/SURREALISM

Impressionism/Surrealism

Impressionism/Surrealism

Introduction

The art movement of impressionism started in the 19th century by artists of Paris. These artists became famous from the exhibitions of impression paintings open to the general public in 1870s. The word impressionism is a connotation derived from a painting of Claude Monet whose title was Impression, soleil levant; it is a French word which means Impression, Sunrise. The major concern of impression paintings was a modern subject matter, which was kind and informal, underscoring the environment and social life of Paris. In addition to this, this movement also has concerns with such organization and technique which gives a causal and natural notion. Although this term got intense criticism in a sarcastic way by Louis Leroy who sent the review to Le Charivari, the famous news paper of Paris, some sympathetic critics used it in some other sense which claimed to leave a transitory and rapid visual experience. Some of the leading painters of the movement of impressionism also known as impressionists include Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, and Sisley. According to Theodore Duret:

“The Impressionist sits on a river bank, depending on the weather, his angle of vision, the time of day, and whether it is windy or still, the water takes on every possible tone, and he paints, unhesitatingly, the water and all its tones” (Andrew Graham Dixon).

On the other hand, surrealism was a cultural movement which started during 1920s by Andre Breton. At the early stages, this movement was only inside Europe with Paris as its centre. The word surrealism refers to as works of the subconscious. This movement is famous for the writings and the visual artworks of its members and according to Andre this movement revolutionized the world of art. It begun as a result of Dada activities (activities included in Dadaism, a cultural movement which begun in Zurich during the World War I). Within a short span of time, this movement spread across the world and started affecting a wide range of domains including literature, music, visual arts and film of many countries and their languages, along with the political and philosophical thought and practice. A few famous surrealist artists include Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Giorgio de Chirico (Leroy and Grosenick, pp. 6).

Discussion and Analysis

Characteristic Features

The characteristic features of an impressionist's paintings include; brush strokes that are thin and small, but visible; highlighting the changing qualities of light which primarily represents the passage of time; an open composition, visual angles that are extra-ordinary and unusual, a simple subject matter and last but not the least, it includes the movement as a significant factor of human insight and the corresponding experiences. Later, impressionism in visual arts gradually developed, and different analogous styles also known as Impressionist music and Impressionist literature emerged.

Impression, Soleil Levant, Source: Monate Paintings.org

In contrast, Surrealism's characteristic features include elements of surprise, eventually leading to surprising juxtapositions and non sequitur, thought, the writers and artists of surrealism claim that their work is another facet of the philosophical movement primarily, which serves as an ...