Author of city landscapes in the style of impressionism. Cityscape in impressionism

In this article you will see St. Petersburg cityscape presented in art gallery"Art-Breeze". Here are collected works by various authors, which are made in various styles and techniques. All these works have one thing in common - they depict Saint, as the artist saw him.

Cityscape, as a genre of painting, was formed quite late, in the 18th century. It was then that cities began to acquire their own modern character and the number of city residents began to increase rapidly. Before this, only a few medieval artists depicted cities on their canvases. These images were very primitive, they lacked topographical accuracy and they served to indicate the location of the events to which the plot was dedicated. Forefathers cityscape in painting can be called Dutch artists 17th century by Wermeer of Delft, J. Goyen and J. Ruisdael. It is in their works that one can find the city landscape as we are accustomed to seeing it in modern paintings.

Contemporary artists who exhibit their own cityscapes at St. Petersburg's Ar-Breeze art gallery portray St. Petersburg as primarily a foggy seaside city with bustling life and magnificent architecture. Most of the paintings were created in the style of impressionism and classics. The richness of colors and the ability to fill the canvas with light, which is provided by the impressionist painting technique, allows you to most fully reflect the spirit of this city on the Neva!

18-19 centuries marked a period of prosperity European art. In France, Emperor Napoleon III ordered the reconstruction of Paris following hostilities during the Franco-Prussian War. Paris quickly became the same "shining city" that it had been under the Second Empire and again proclaimed itself the center of European art. Therefore, many impressionist artists turned to the theme in their works modern city. In their works, the modern city is not a monster, but a homeland where people live. Many works are impregnated strong feeling patriotism.

This can be especially seen in the paintings of Claude Monet. He created more than 30 paintings with views of Rouen Cathedral in a wide variety of lighting and atmospheric conditions. For example, in 1894 Monet painted two paintings - “Rouen Cathedral at Noon” and “Rouen Cathedral in the Evening”. Both paintings depict the same fragment of the cathedral, but in different tones - in the warm yellow-pink tones of midday and in the cold bluish shades of the dying twilight light. In the paintings, the colorful spot completely dissolves the line; the artist conveys not the material weight of the stone, but, as it were, a light colorful curtain.

The Impressionists sought to make the painting look like open window, through which one can see real world. Often they chose a view from the window onto the street. The famous “Boulevard des Capucines” by C. Monet, painted in 1873 and shown at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, is an excellent example of this technique. There is a lot of innovation here - the view of a large city street was chosen as the motive for the landscape, but the artist is interested in its appearance as a whole, and not its attractions. The entire mass of people is depicted with sliding strokes, in a generalized manner, in which it is difficult to make out individual figures.

Monet conveys in this work an instantaneous, purely visual impression of the barely noticeable vibrating air, of the streets, people and departing carriages going deeper into the depths. It destroys the idea of ​​a flat canvas, creating the illusion of space and filling it with light, air and movement. Human eye rushes into infinity, and there is no limiting point where it could stop.

The high point of view allows the artist to abandon the foreground, and he conveys the brilliant sunlight in contrast with the bluish-purple shadows of the houses lying on the street pavement. Monet gives the sunny side orange, golden-warm, the shadow side violet, but a single light-air haze gives the entire landscape tonal harmony, and the contours of houses and trees emerge in the air, permeated with the sun's rays.

In 1872, in Le Havre, Monet painted “Impression. Sunrise" - a view of the port of Le Havre, later presented at the first exhibition of the Impressionists. Here the artist, apparently, has finally freed himself from the generally accepted idea of ​​the image object as a certain volume and devoted himself entirely to conveying the momentary state of the atmosphere in blue and pink-orange tones. In fact, everything seems to become intangible: the Le Havre pier and the ships merge with the streaks in the sky and the reflection in the water, and the silhouettes of fishermen and boats in the foreground are just dark spots made with a few intense strokes. The rejection of academic techniques, painting in the open air and the choice of unusual subjects were met with hostility by the critics of the time. Louis Leroy, the author of a furious article that appeared in the magazine "Charivari", for the first time, in connection with this particular painting, used the term "impressionism" as a definition of a new movement in painting.

One more outstanding work, dedicated to the city, was Claude Monet’s painting “Gare Saint-Lazare”. Monet painted over ten paintings based on the Saint-Lazare train station, seven of which were exhibited at the 3rd Impressionist exhibition in 1877.

Monet rented a tiny apartment on Monsey Street, located near the station. The artist was given complete freedom of action. The movement of trains stopped for a while, and he could clearly see the platforms, the furnaces of smoking locomotives, which were filled with coal - so that steam would pour out of the chimneys. Monet firmly “settled” at the station, passengers watched him with respect and awe.

Since the appearance of the station was constantly changing, Monet only made sketches on location, and based on them in the studio he painted the paintings themselves. On the canvas we see a large railway station, covered with a canopy mounted on iron poles. There are platforms on the left and right: one track is intended for commuter trains, the other for long-distance trains. The special atmosphere is conveyed through the contrast of dim lighting inside the station and the bright, dazzling street light. Plumes of smoke and steam scattered throughout the canvas balance the contrasting stripes of lighting. Smoke seeps everywhere, glowing clouds swirl against the faint silhouettes of buildings. Thick steam seems to give shape to the massive towers, covering them with a light veil, like the thinnest cobweb. The picture is painted in gentle muted tones with subtle shade transitions. Swift, precise strokes in the shape of commas, characteristic of that time, are perceived as a mosaic; the viewer gets the impression that the steam is either dissipating or condensing.

Another representative of the Impressionists, C. Pissarro, like all Impressionists, loved to paint the city, which captivated him with its endless movement, the flow of air streams and the play of light. He perceived it as a living, restless organism, capable of changing depending on the time of year and the degree of illumination.

In the winter and spring of 1897, Pissarro worked on a series of paintings called “Boulevards of Paris”. These works brought fame to the artist and attracted the attention of critics who associated his name with the divisionist movement. The artist made sketches for the series from the window of a hotel room in Paris, and completed work on the paintings in his studio in Eragny at the end of April. This series is the only one in Pissarro’s work in which the artist sought to capture with maximum accuracy various conditions of weather and sunlight. For example, the artist painted 30 paintings depicting Montmartre Boulevard, viewing it from the same window.

In the paintings “Boulevard Montmartre in Paris,” master C. Pissarro masterfully conveyed the richness of atmospheric effects, the colorful complexity and subtlety of a cloudy day. The dynamics of city life, so convincingly embodied by the painter’s quick brush, creates an image of a modern city - not ceremonial, not official, but excited and alive. The city landscape became the main genre in the work of this outstanding impressionist - the “singer of Paris”.

The capital of France occupies a special place in Pissarro's work. The artist constantly lived outside the city, but Paris persistently attracted him. Paris captivates him with its incessant and universal movement - the walking of pedestrians and the running of carriages, the flow of air currents and the play of light. Pissarro's city is not a list of noteworthy houses that came into the artist's field of vision, but a living and restless organism. Captivated by this life, we do not realize the banality of the buildings that make up the Boulevard Montmartre. The artist finds unique charm in the restlessness of the Grand Boulevards. Pissarro captured Montmartre Boulevard as morning and daytime, evening and night, sunlit and gray, looking at it from the same window. A clear and simple motif of a street stretching into the distance creates a clear compositional basis that does not change from canvas to canvas. The cycle of canvases painted in next year from the window of the Louvre Hotel. In a letter to his son while working on the cycle, Pissarro emphasized the different character of this place, that is, the square, from the Boulevards French theater and the surrounding area. Indeed, everything there rushes along the axis of the street. Here, the square, which served as the final stop of several omnibus routes, intersects at the most various directions, and instead of a wide panorama with an abundance of air, our eyes are presented with a closed foreground space.

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“The new world was born when the impressionists painted it”

Henri Kahnweiler

XIX century. France. Something unprecedented happened in painting. A group of young artists decided to shake 500-year-old traditions. Instead of a clear drawing, they used a wide, “sloppy” stroke.

And they completely abandoned the usual images, depicting everyone in a row. And ladies of easy virtue, and gentlemen of dubious reputation.

The public was not ready for impressionist painting. They were ridiculed and scolded. And most importantly, they didn’t buy anything from them.

But the resistance was broken. And some impressionists lived to see their triumph. True, they were already over 40. Like Claude Monet or Auguste Renoir. Others waited for recognition only at the end of their lives, like Camille Pissarro. Some did not live to see him, like Alfred Sisley.

What revolutionary did each of them accomplish? Why did the public take so long to accept them? Here are the 7 most famous French impressionists, whom the whole world knows.

1. Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

Manet was older than most of the Impressionists. He was their main inspiration.

Manet himself did not claim to be the leader of the revolutionaries. He was a secular man. I dreamed of official awards.

But he waited a very long time for recognition. The public wanted to see Greek goddesses or still lifes, at worst, so that they would look beautiful in the dining room. Manet wanted to write modern life. For example, courtesans.

The result was “Breakfast on the Grass.” Two dandies are relaxing in the company of ladies of easy virtue. One of them, as if nothing had happened, sits next to the dressed men.

Compare his Luncheon on the Grass with Thomas Couture's Romans in Decline. Couture's painting created a sensation. The artist instantly became famous.

“Breakfast on the Grass” was accused of vulgarity. Pregnant women were absolutely not recommended to look at her.

In Couture's painting we see all the attributes of academicism ( traditional painting XVI-XIX centuries). Columns and statues. People of Apollonian appearance. Traditional muted colors. Manners of poses and gestures. A plot from the distant life of a completely different people.

“Breakfast on the Grass” by Manet is of a different format. Before him, no one had depicted courtesans so easily. Close to respectable citizens. Although many men of that time spent their leisure time this way. It was real life real people.

Once I portrayed a respectable lady. Ugly. He couldn't flatter her with a brush. The lady was disappointed. She left him in tears.

So he continued to experiment. For example, with color. He did not try to depict the so-called natural color. If he saw gray-brown water as bright blue, then he depicted it as bright blue.

This, of course, irritated the public. “Even the Mediterranean Sea cannot boast of being as blue as Manet’s water,” they quipped.

But the fact remains a fact. Manet radically changed the purpose of painting. The painting became the embodiment of the individuality of the artist, who paints as he pleases. Forgetting about patterns and traditions.

Innovations were not forgiven for a long time. He received recognition only at the end of his life. But he no longer needed it. He was dying painfully from incurable disease.

2. Claude Monet (1840-1926)

Claude Monet can be called a textbook impressionist. Since he was faithful to this direction all his long life.

He painted not objects and people, but a single color construction of highlights and spots. Separate strokes. Air tremors.

Monet painted not only nature. He was also successful in city landscapes. One of the most famous - .

There is a lot of photography in this picture. For example, motion is conveyed through a blurred image.

Please note: distant trees and figures seem to be in a haze.

Before us is a frozen moment in the bustling life of Paris. No staging. Nobody is posing. People are depicted as a collection of brush strokes. Such lack of plot and “freeze-frame” effect - main feature impressionism.

By the mid-80s, artists became disillusioned with impressionism. Aesthetics are, of course, good. But the lack of plot depressed many.

Only Monet continued to persist, exaggerating impressionism. This developed into a series of paintings.

He depicted the same landscape dozens of times. At different times of the day. IN different times of the year. To show how temperature and light can change the same species beyond recognition.

This is how countless haystacks appeared.

Paintings by Claude Monet at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Left: Haystacks at sunset in Giverny, 1891. Right: Haystack (snow effect), 1891.

Please note that the shadows in these paintings are colored. And not gray or black, as was customary before the Impressionists. This is another of their inventions.

Monet managed to enjoy success and material well-being. After 40, he already forgot about poverty. Got a house and a beautiful garden. And he created for his own pleasure long years.

Read about the master’s most iconic painting in the article

3. Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

Impressionism is the most positive painting. And the most positive among the impressionists was Renoir.

You won't find drama in his paintings. Even black paint he didn't use it. Only the joy of being. Even the most banal things in Renoir look beautiful.

Unlike Monet, Renoir painted people more often. Landscapes were less important to him. In the paintings his friends and acquaintances are relaxing and enjoying life.

You won't find any profundity in Renoir. He was very glad to join the impressionists, who completely abandoned subjects.

As he himself said, he finally has the opportunity to paint flowers and call them simply “Flowers.” And don’t invent any stories about them.

Renoir felt best in the company of women. He asked his maids to sing and joke. The stupider and more naive the song was, the better for him. And men's chatter tired him. It is not surprising that Renoir is famous for his nude paintings.

The model in the painting “Nude in sunlight” seems to appear against a colorful abstract background. Because for Renoir nothing is secondary. The model's eye or a section of the background are equivalent.

Renoir lived a long life. And I never put down my brush and palette. Even when his hands were completely shackled by rheumatism, he tied the brush to his hand with a rope. And he drew.

Like Monet, he waited for recognition after 40 years. And I saw my paintings in the Louvre, next to the works of famous masters.

Read about one of the most charming portraits of Renoir in the article

4. Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Degas was not a classical impressionist. He did not like working plein air (outdoors). You won’t find a deliberately lightened palette with him.

On the contrary, he loved a clear line. He has plenty of black. And he worked exclusively in the studio.

But still he is always put in a row with other great impressionists. Because he was an impressionist of gesture.

Unexpected angles. Asymmetry in the arrangement of objects. Characters taken by surprise. These are the main attributes of his paintings.

He stopped moments of life, not allowing the characters to come to their senses. Just look at his “Opera Orchestra”.

In the foreground is the back of a chair. The musician's back is to us. And on background the ballerinas on stage did not fit into the “frame”. Their heads are mercilessly “cut off” by the edge of the picture.

So his favorite dancers are not always depicted in beautiful poses. Sometimes they just do stretching.

But such improvisation is imaginary. Of course, Degas carefully thought through the composition. This is just a freeze frame effect, not a real freeze frame.

Edgar Degas loved to paint women. But illness or characteristics of the body did not allow him to have physical contact with them. He has never been married. No one has ever seen him with a lady.

Lack of real stories in it personal life added a subtle and intense eroticism to his images.

Please note that in the painting “Ballet Star” only the ballerina herself is depicted. Her colleagues behind the scenes are barely visible. Just a few legs.

This does not mean that Degas did not complete the painting. This is the reception. Keep only the most important things in focus. Make the rest disappear, illegible.

Read about other paintings by the master in the article

5. Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)

Berthe Morisot is rarely placed in the first rank of the great Impressionists. I'm sure it's undeserved. It is in her work that you will find all the main features and techniques of impressionism. And if you like this style, you will love her work with all your heart.

Morisot worked quickly and impetuously, transferring her impressions to the canvas. The figures seem to be about to dissolve into space.

Like Degas, she often left some details unfinished. And even parts of the model's body. We cannot distinguish the hands of the girl in the painting “Summer”.

Morisot's path to self-expression was difficult. Not only did she engage in “careless” painting. She was still a woman. In those days, a lady was supposed to dream of marriage. After which any hobby was forgotten.

Therefore, Bertha refused marriage for a long time. Until she found a man who respected her occupation. Eugene Manet was the brother of the artist Edouard Manet. He dutifully carried his easel and paints behind his wife.

But still, this was in the 19th century. No, I didn't wear Morisot trousers. But she could not afford complete freedom of movement.

She could not go to the park to work alone, without being accompanied by someone close to her. I couldn’t sit alone in a cafe. Therefore, her paintings are people from family circle. Husband, daughter, relatives, nannies.

Morisot did not wait for recognition. She died at the age of 54 from pneumonia, without selling almost any of her work during her lifetime. On her death certificate, there was a dash in the “occupation” column. It was unthinkable for a woman to be called an artist. Even if she actually was.

Read about the master’s paintings in the article

6. Camille Pissarro (1830 – 1903)

Camille Pissarro. Non-conflict, reasonable. Many perceived him as a teacher. Even the most temperamental colleagues did not speak badly of Pissarro.

He was a faithful follower of impressionism. In great need, with a wife and five children, he still worked hard in his favorite style. And he never switched to salon painting to become more popular. It is not known where he got the strength to fully believe in himself.

In order not to die of hunger at all, Pissarro painted fans, which were eagerly bought up. But real recognition came to him after 60 years! Then finally he was able to forget about his need.

The air in Pissarro's paintings is thick and dense. An extraordinary fusion of color and volume.

The artist was not afraid to paint the most changeable natural phenomena, which appear for a moment and disappear. First snow, frosty sun, long shadows.

His most famous works are views of Paris. With wide boulevards and a bustling motley crowd. At night, during the day, in different weather. In some ways they echo a series of paintings by Claude Monet.