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Contemporary impressionism: paintings worth paying attention to. Impressionism style: paintings by famous artists Modern impressionist painters and their paintings

Impressionism is one of the most famous trends in French painting, if not the most famous. And it originated in the late 60s and early 70s of the XIX century and largely influenced further development art of that time.

Impressionism in painting

The very name " impressionism"Was invented by the French art critic named Louis Leroy after visiting the first exhibition of the Impressionists in 1874, where he criticized the painting by Claude Monet "Impression: Rising Sun" ("impression" in French sounds like "impression").

Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Frederic Bazille are the main representatives of impressionism.

Impressionism in painting is characterized by fast, spontaneous and free strokes. The guiding principle was the realistic depiction of the light-air environment.

The Impressionists strove to capture the elusive moments on canvas. If at this very moment the object appears in an unnatural color, due to a certain angle of incidence of light or its reflection, then the artist depicts it this way: for example, if the sun paints the surface of a pond pink, then it will be painted in pink.

Features of impressionism

Speaking about the main features of impressionism, it is necessary to name the following:

  • instant and optically accurate image of a fleeting moment;
  • Doing all the work outdoors - no more preparatory sketches and completion of work in the studio;

  • using pure color on canvas, without pre-mixing on the palette;
  • the use of splashes of bright paint, strokes of various sizes and degrees of sweep, which visually add up to one picture, only if you look at it from a distance.

Russian impressionism

The reference portrait in this style is considered one of the masterpieces of Russian painting - "Girl with Peaches" by Alexander Serov, for whom impressionism, nevertheless, became just a period of passion. The works of Konstantin Korovin, Abram Arkhipov, Philip Malyavin, Igor Grabar and other artists, written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, also belong to Russian impressionism.

This affiliation is rather conditional, since Russian and classical French impressionism have their own specifics. Russian impressionism was closer to the materiality, objectivity of works, gravitated towards artistic meaning, while French impressionism, as mentioned above, simply sought to depict moments of life, without unnecessary philosophy.

In fact, Russian impressionism took over from the French only the outer side of the style, the techniques of its painting, but never mastered the pictorial thinking itself, embedded in impressionism.

Modern impressionism continues the traditions of the classical French impressionism... In modern painting of the XXI century, many artists work in this direction, for example, Laurent Parsellier, Karen Tarlton, Diana Leonard and others.

Impressionist masterpieces

Terrace at Sainte-Adresse (1867), Claude Monet

This painting can be called Monet's first masterpiece. It is still the most popular painting of early Impressionism. Here, too, there is the artist's favorite theme - flowers and the sea. The canvas depicts several people relaxing on a terrace on a sunny day. On the chairs, with their backs to the audience, are depicted relatives of Monet himself.

The whole picture is flooded with bright sunlight. The clear boundaries between land, sky and sea are separated, arranging the composition vertically with the help of two flagpoles, however, the composition does not have a clear center. The colors of the flags are combined with the surrounding nature, emphasizing the variety and richness of colors.

Ball at the Moulin de la Galette (1876), Pierre Auguste Renoir

This painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon in 19th-century Paris, at the Moulin de la Galette, a café with an open air dance floor, named after the nearby mill that is the symbol of Montmartre. Renoir's house was located next to this cafe; he often attended Sunday afternoon dances and enjoyed watching happy couples.

Renoir demonstrates real talent and combines the art of group portrait, still life and landscape painting in one picture. The use of light in this composition and the smoothness of the strokes the best way present the style to the general viewer impressionism... This painting became one of the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction.

Boulevard Montmartre at Night (1897), Camille Pissarro

Despite the fact that Pissarro is famous for his paintings depicting rural life, he also wrote a large number of beautiful urban scenes of the 19th century in Paris. He loved to paint the city because of the play of light during the day and evening, because of the roads lit by both sunlight and street lamps.

In 1897 he rented a room on the Boulevard Montmartre and depicted it in different time days, and this work became only job from a series captured after night fell. The canvas is filled with a deep blue color and bright yellow spots of city lights. In all the paintings of the “tabloid” cycle, the main pivot of the composition is the road stretching into the distance.

Now the painting is in National Gallery London, but during Pissarro's lifetime she was never exhibited anywhere.

You can watch a video about the history and creative conditions of the main representatives of impressionism here:

At the end of the 19th century, a new style of painting appeared in France, which later became popular throughout the world. The idea of ​​this style can be understood from the name of this direction, which translated from French means impression - impression. Tired of the usual forms of transferring images, artists began to try to find other ways to depict not a photographic picture, but specifically their own vision of this canvas. Using in the first place color range, a varied palette, a play of light, an artist painting in the style of impressionism tries to convey on the canvas the feeling of a warm day or a cold evening, to show a rainy and damp morning or a hot sunny afternoon, a light breeze or a strong hurricane. An obligatory attribute in this case is to convey to the viewer his own mood through the picture.

The impressionism style encompasses the world of moods and experiences or the world of illusions. In this direction, it is not necessary reality or naturalism that is important, but the transmission of the author's experiences, which characterizes the depth and completeness of creation. At first, the images performed using this technique did not cause much enthusiasm and were criticized. Their first viewers were visitors to the Salon of Les Miserables in Paris - all the paintings rejected by the special Parisian Salon of Arts were shown there. The author of the name "Impressionism" was the Parisian critic Louis Leroy, who wrote a derogatory response after viewing the image by Claude Monet "Impression. Rising Sun". The material was published in the pages of the periodical "Le Charivari", where the critic mercilessly ridiculed all the artists of this direction. All of them Leroy called impressionists, in literal translation it was perceived as "impressed". At first, it was customary to scold the paintings, but over time, more and more Parisians came to view them, and gradually this genre gained recognition.

It must be said that the artists invented the manner of performance during Impressionism for a reason. They thoroughly studied the technique of such painters as Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, Rubens, Turner, in whose work, long before the appearance of the beginnings of impressionism, manifestations of the vividness of the picture were noticed, which indicates the attempts of the authors to convey a personal mood with the help of strokes and strokes, and also with paints. They used these methods quite sparingly, so their manifestation was not so obvious to the average viewer. The beginning impressionists took these rudiments of the future direction as the main platform.

Also, a feature of this style can be called deliberate everyday life in the paintings, nevertheless, permeated with incredible depth. Their task is simple and ordinary and does not consist at all in portraying any global or philosophical topics. The purpose of paintings in the style of impressionism is to show simple and uncomplicated plots from Everyday life each person - for example, the image of people just walking or the image of a still life, landscape. At such moments, when the picture is not characterized by an emphasis on the main theme, and a person is encouraged to manifest emotions, the feelings that arise in the process of viewing the picture come to the fore. It was also noticed that at the very beginning of its creative activity the Impressionists avoided "hard" topics - about war, about devastation, about suffering and poverty. On the contrary, there is a lot of color in their paintings, the images suggest the use of smooth, soft lines. In other words, we can say that impressionism is the joy of life, only pleasant impressions and memories, enjoying a happy moment and admiration for every moment of human existence.

Connoisseurs of the most famous representatives of the direction of impressionism artistic world include Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet.

Impressionism

is the newspaper of the soul.

Henri Matisse.

Impressionism is a trend in painting that arose and developed in France in the second half of the 19th century - the first quarter of the 20th century. It was an art school that put in the foreground "to convey impressions, but in such a way that it was perceived as something material." The task of the impressionist artist was to depict his own feelings of objects.

It is well known that the very word "impressionism" in relation to artists was first used by the journalist Louis Leroy, who was prompted by this name of the painting by Claude Monet " Impression. Sunrise", Which depicts the port of Le Havre in a bluish predawn haze.

The painting is in the Musée Marmottan - Monet in Paris. There are more than three hundred canvases of the impressionists and neo-impressionists here, which means that by visiting the museum, you will already come out with some understanding of the ideas of impressionism. And you can continue at the Musée d'Orsay, the collection of which many can envy.

Impressionist painters transferred onto canvases only their perception of reality and its various manifestations, and not what they knew: for example, the earth in their paintings can be purple, lilac, blue, pink or orange, but never black or dark brown.

Impressionism, so criticized by contemporaries, was appreciated fifty years later, and today the Impressionists are considered and appreciated as masterpieces of world painting. We present to your attention the most memorable representatives of impressionism.

Renoir, Pierre Auguste (1841 - 1919).

Art critics say that an important achievement of Renoir is the use of the theory of the impressionists and their technique, not only when he painted landscapes and still lifes or people in the open air, but also when writing nude models and portraits.

Renoir often referred to the image of a nude female body. He conveyed the play of light and sun on the skin, which seemed alive in his paintings. He wrote nude female body, with frozen drops of water, pearlescent sparkling skin, pink, tanned, and at the end of life - orange, shimmering in the fire of the sun's rays.

Renoir rejected all theories, saying: “ Theories do not help to paint a good picture, most often they try to cover up the lack of expressive means».

It is interesting that Renoir's first works were made in a realistic manner. For example, "Diana the Huntress" and "Mother Anthony's Tavern".

Renoir was friends with Monet, an impressionist painter, which will be discussed below. This friendship, in fact, led to the fact that Renoir will use the technique of the Impressionists.

Nevertheless, art historians and painting historians pay attention to the fact that if, following the example of the Impressionists, Renoir refuses dark tones, but from time to time he still makes small splashes in his paintings. Among the works of this period, first of all, one can name "Pont-Neuf", "Bolshoi Boulevards", "A path among tall grass".

The last years of his life, the artist, suffering from attacks of rheumatism, spent in the south of France in Cagnes-sur-Mer in the Colette estate. Works from this period, from 1903 to 1919. permeated with sensuality, warm colors prevail on Renoir's canvases - pink red, orange.

The influence of the masters of the past - Rubens Boucher and others is very noticeable. For example, “ The judgment of Paris», « Bather wiping her foot". The best and last work the painting "Bathers", painted in 1918, is considered. Today his estate, in the shade of an olive and orange grove, is open to visitors. You can look into the living room and dining room, go upstairs to the artist's bedroom, which keeps the atmosphere of his last days: wheelchair, easel and brush. On one of the walls in his wife's room there is a photograph of Renoir's son Pierre, and from the window there is an amazing view of Antibes and Haute Cannes.

Thanks to French cinema, you can immerse yourself in the last period of the life of Auguste Renoir, get to know his son and see the struggle between art and harsh reality. In March, the release of the film by French director Gilles Bourdeau “Renoir: last love". The artist is just finishing Bathers.

Cote d'Azur, great artist, his muse ... the French are masters of their craft, and the opportunity to actually witness a great master at work, and then see the result of his work, is worth a lot. It was this picture that closed the last Cannes Film Festival.

Monet Claude (1840 - 1926).

Claude Monet called the father of impressionism. The future artist was born in Paris, but he spent his childhood and youth in the north of France, in the city of Le Havre. Monet was greatly influenced by Eugene Boudin, a French painter considered the forerunner of Impressionism. It was he who taught him to work in the open air (in the lane, in the open air).

Cezanne said: “ Monet is only an eye, but what an eye!»It is difficult to argue and not fall in love with the Parisian streets, coasts and landscapes of Normandy, on the canvases of Monet.

His famous painting Breakfast on the Grass was written in 1863. in the village of Chailly-en-Bier, located on the outskirts of the Fontainebleau forest; its central part, damaged by dampness and carved by the author, is kept in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and a repetition of the picture in the museum fine arts them. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow.

Autumn 1908 and 1909. the artist spent in Venice, captivated by the charm of the city, its constantly changing reflection on the water surface of the canal. Here Monet painted pictures "Venice: Doge's Palace" and "Venice: Grand Canal". Monet's genius in an incredible way managed to depict the city, as if covered with a light predawn haze.

At the end of his creative path Monet created sophisticated paintings inspired by water lilies in the pond of his house in Giverny.

When the artist moved in 1883 in search of a quiet and peaceful place in Giverny, he hardly suspected how much he would change the life of a sleepy village in Normandy. Soon after his arrival, the city, eighty kilometers from Paris, in search of the Master was flooded with young artists from different parts of Europe.

Nowadays, artists and art lovers in search of inspiration come for a walk in the gardens of Giverny, to visit the restored house. Therefore, if you have fallen in love with the beautiful paintings of Monet in the Museums d'Orsay, Marmottan and Orangerie, then Giverny will be in the first place on your must-see list.

Sisley Alfred (1839 - 1899).

Being an impressionist Sisley especially paid a lot of attention to the transfer of nuances and sensations. He was very fond of painting water surface, sky, fog, snow. "It is necessary that the picture evokes in the viewer the same feelings that overwhelmed the artist when he looked at this landscape," Sisley said.

Pay attention to how light, almost weightless the houses seem, the water surface with slight ripples, the pastel sky and the foliage of the trees. His paintings, painted with delicate, airy strokes, tune in to a poetic, romantic mood.

A significant collection of the artist's paintings is at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Do not ignore him when you are in the capital of France. You will enjoy not only Sisley's work, but also paintings by other Impressionist painters on display in this museum on the banks of the Seine.

Pissaro Camille (1830 - 1903).

Art critics write that if Claude Monet and Sisley loved most of all to imagine water and changing reflections on its surface in their paintings, then Pissaro preferred land. His art is free from fleeting impressions - everything in him is more solid. Notice how frequent scenes from rural life are in his paintings. The artist used colors in such a way that when studying his canvases, it seems as if they are filled with light from the inside. Pissaro loved to paint orchards, fields, surprisingly conveying the changes in nature.

Pissarro knew Monet, with whom they loved to write together in the vicinity of Paris. Here were written "Gare Saint-Lazare", "Pavilion of Flora and Pont-Royal", "Place de Comédie-Francaise", "View of the Louvre, the Seine and Pont-Neuf".

Cezanne called him "modest and great", deservedly so, what do you think?

Seurat Georges (1859 - 1891).

One of Seurat's characteristic traits was the desire to bring a fresh spirit to impressionism.

His work - both drawings and paintings - is based on the theory of contrasts. The most famous painting, of course, is familiar to you, it is the masterpiece "Sunday Walk on the Island of La Grande Jatte", kept at the Art Institute of Chicago. This painting became an expression of new trends in art, an expression of the ideas of neo-impressionism. A sense of complete calmness was achieved by combining cold and warm tones, light and shade.

"Cancan", a no less famous painting by the artist, on the contrary conveys a feeling of joy, movement, with the help of warm shades and bright colors.

I would like to end with the words of Claude Monet “ People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it "s simply necessary to love ». ( People are discussing my paintings, trying to understand. Why do you need to understand if you can just love??)

The phrase "Russian impressionism" just a year ago cut the ears of the average citizen of our vast country. Every educated person knows about light, light and impetuous French impressionism, can distinguish Monet from Manet and learn from all still lifes Van Gogh's sunflowers. Someone heard something about the American branch of the development of this direction of painting - more urban in comparison with the French landscapes of Hassam and portraits of Chase. But researchers argue about the existence of Russian impressionism to this day.

Konstantin Korovin

The history of Russian impressionism began with the painting "Portrait of a Chorus Girl" by Konstantin Korovin, as well as with a lack of understanding and condemnation of the public. Having seen this work for the first time, IE Repin did not immediately believe that the work was performed by a Russian painter: “Spaniard! I see. He writes boldly, juicy. Perfectly. But this is only painting for painting. Spaniard, however, with temperament ... ". Konstantin Alekseevich himself began to paint his canvases in an impressionistic manner during his student years, being unfamiliar with the paintings of Cezanne, Monet and Renoir, long before his trip to France. Only thanks to the experienced eye of Polenov, Korovin learned that he was using the technique of the French of that time, which he came to intuitively. At the same time, the Russian artist is given out the subjects that he uses for his paintings - the recognized masterpiece "Northern Idyll", written in 1892 and stored in Tretyakov Gallery, demonstrates to us Korovin's love for Russian traditions and folklore. This love was instilled in the artist by the "Mamontov circle" - a community of the creative intelligentsia, which included Repin, Polenov, Vasnetsov, Vrubel and many other friends of the famous philanthropist Savva Mamontov. In Abramtsevo, where the Mamontov estate was located and where members of the art circle gathered, Korovin was lucky to meet and work with Valentin Serov. Thanks to this acquaintance, the work of the already established artist Serov acquired the features of light, light and impetuous impressionism, which we see in one of his early works - “An Open Window. Lilac".

Portrait of a chorus girl, 1883
Northern idyll, 1886
Bird cherry, 1912
Gurzuf 2, 1915
Pier in Gurzuf, 1914
Paris, 1933

Valentin Serov

Serov's painting is permeated with a feature inherent only in Russian impressionism - his paintings reflect not only the impression of what the artist saw, but also the state of his soul in this moment... For example, the painting "St. Mark's Square in Venice", painted in Italy, where Serov went in 1887 due to a serious illness, is dominated by cold gray tones, which gives us an idea of ​​the artist's condition. But, despite the rather gloomy palette, the picture is a reference impressionistic work, since on it Serov managed to capture the real world in its mobility and variability, to convey his fleeting impressions. In a letter to his bride from Venice, Serov wrote: “In this century, they write everything difficult, nothing gratifying. I want, I want gratifying, and I will write only gratifying. "

Open window. Lilac, 1886
St. Mark's Square in Venice, 1887
Girl with peaches (Portrait of V.S.Mamontova)
Coronation. Confirmation of Nicholas II in the Assumption Cathedral, 1896
Girl in the Sunshine, 1888
Bathing a horse, 1905

Alexander Gerasimov

Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov became one of the students of Korovin and Serov, who adopted from them an expressive brushstroke, a bright palette and a sketchy manner of writing. The heyday of the artist's work fell on the time of the revolution, which could not but be reflected in the subjects of his paintings. Despite the fact that Gerasimov gave his brush to the service of the party and became famous thanks to the outstanding portraits of Lenin and Stalin, he continued to work on impressionistic landscapes close to his soul. The work of Alexander Mikhailovich "After the Rain" reveals to us the artist as a master of the transmission of air and light in the picture, to which Gerasimov owes the influence of his eminent mentors.

Artists at Stalin's dacha, 1951
Stalin and Voroshilov in the Kremlin, 1950s
After the rain. Wet terrace, 1935
Still life. Field bouquet, 1952

Igor Grabar

In a conversation about late Russian impressionism, one cannot but refer to the work of the great art worker Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar, who adopted many of the techniques of French painters of the second half of the XIX century thanks to his many trips to Europe. Using the techniques of the classical impressionists, in his paintings Grabar depicts absolutely Russian landscape motives and everyday subjects... While Monet paints the blossoming gardens of Giverny, and Degas - beautiful ballerinas, Grabar depicts the harsh Russian winter and village life with the same pastel colors. Most of all, Grabar liked to depict frost on his canvases and dedicated to him a whole collection of works, consisting of more than a hundred small multi-colored sketches, created at different times of the day and in different weather. The difficulty of working on such drawings was that the paint solidified in the cold, so the work had to be done quickly. But this is precisely what allowed the artist to recreate "that very moment" and convey his impression of him, which is the main idea of ​​classical impressionism. Igor Emmanuilovich's style of painting is often called scientific impressionism, because he attached great importance to light and air on canvases and created many studies on the transfer of color. Moreover, it is to him that we owe the chronological arrangement of the paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery, of which he was director in 1920-1925.

Birch Alley, 1940
Winter landscape, 1954
Hoarfrost, 1905
Pears on a Blue Tablecloth, 1915
Manor corner (Sunbeam), 1901

Yuri Pimenov

Completely non-classical, but still impressionism developed in Soviet times, bright representative which becomes Yuri Ivanovich Pimenov, who came to the image of "a fleeting impression in bed tones" after working in the style of expressionism. One of the most famous works Pimenov's painting "New Moscow" of the 1930s becomes - light, warm, as if painted with Renoir's airy strokes. But at the same time, the plot of this work is completely inconsistent with one of the main ideas of impressionism - the refusal to use social and political themes. Pimenov's "New Moscow" perfectly reflects the social changes in the life of the city, which have always inspired the artist. “Pimenov loves Moscow, its new, its people. The painter generously gives this feeling to the viewer ", - wrote in 1973 the artist and researcher Igor Dolgopolov. Indeed, looking at the paintings of Yuri Ivanovich, we are imbued with love for Soviet life, new quarters, lyrical housewarming and urbanism, captured in the technique of impressionism.

Pimenov's work proves once again that everything "Russian" brought from other countries has its own special and unique path of development. So is French impressionism in Russian Empire and the Soviet Union has absorbed the features of the Russian worldview, national character and everyday life. Impressionism, as a way of transmitting only one perception of reality in its pure form, remained alien to Russian art, because every picture of Russian artists is filled with meaning, awareness, a state of the fickle Russian soul, and not just a fleeting impression. Therefore, next weekend, when the Museum of Russian Impressionism will re-present the main exhibition to Muscovites and guests of the capital, everyone will find something for themselves among Serov's sensual portraits, Pimenov's urbanism and landscapes atypical for Kustodiev.

New Moscow
Lyrical housewarming, 1965
Dressing room The Bolshoi Theater, 1972
Early morning in Moscow, 1961
Paris. Rue Saint-Dominique. 1958
Stewardess, 1964

Perhaps for most people, the names of Korovin, Serov, Gerasimov and Pimenov are still not connected by a certain style of art for most people, but the Museum of Russian Impressionism, which opened in Moscow in May 2016, nevertheless collected the works of these artists under one roof.

One of the largest trends in art of the last decades of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century is impressionism, which spread throughout the world from France. Its representatives were engaged in the development of such methods and techniques of painting, which would allow the most vivid and natural reflection of the real world in dynamics, to convey fleeting impressions of it.

Many artists created their canvases in the style of impressionism, but the founders of the movement were Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Edgar Degas, Frederic Bazille, Camille Pissarro. It is impossible to name their best works, since they are all beautiful, but there are the most famous ones, and it is about them that will be discussed further.

Claude Monet: “Impression. Rising Sun"

The canvas from which to start a conversation about the best paintings of the Impressionists. Claude Monet painted it in 1872 from life in the old port of Le Havre, France. Two years later, the painting was shown to the public for the first time in the former workshop of the French artist and cartoonist Nadar. This exhibition has become fateful for the art world. Impressed (not in the best sense) by Monet's work, whose name in the original language sounds like "Impression, soleil levant", the journalist Louis Leroy first introduced the term "impressionism" into circulation, denoting a new direction in painting.

The painting was stolen in 1985 together with the works of O. Renoir and B. Morisot. They discovered it five years later. Currently, "Impression. The Rising Sun ”belongs to the Marmottan-Monet Museum in Paris.

Edouard Monet: Olympia

The painting "Olympia", created by the French impressionist Edouard Manet in 1863, is one of the masterpieces of modern painting. It was first presented at the Paris Salon in 1865. Impressionist painters and their paintings often found themselves in the center high-profile scandals... However, Olympia became the cause of the largest of them in the history of art.

On the canvas, we see a naked woman, face and body facing the audience. The second character is a dark-skinned maid holding a luxurious bouquet wrapped in paper. At the foot of the bed there is a black kitten in a characteristic pose with an arched back. Not much is known about the history of the painting; only two sketches have come down to us. The model was, most likely, Manet's favorite model - Quiz Mönard. There is an opinion that the artist used the image of Marguerite Bellange - Napoleon's mistress.

During the period of creativity when Olympia was created, Manet was fascinated by Japanese art, and therefore deliberately refused to elaborate on the nuances of dark and light. Because of this, his contemporaries did not see the volume of the depicted figure, they considered it flat and rough. The artist was accused of immorality and vulgarity. Never before have Impressionist paintings provoked such excitement and mockery from the crowd. The administration was forced to place guards around her. Degas compared Manet's fame, won through Olympia, and the courage with which he received criticism, with Garibaldi's life story.

Almost a quarter of a century after the exhibition, the canvas was kept out of the reach of the prying eyes of the master artist. Then it was exhibited again in Paris in 1889. It was almost bought, but the artist's friends collected the required amount and bought "Olympia" from the widow of Manet, and then donated it to the state. Today the painting belongs to the Orsay Museum in Paris.

Auguste Renoir: "Big Bathers"

The picture is written French artist in 1884-1887 Considering everything now famous paintings Impressionists between 1863 and the beginning of the twentieth century, "Big Bathers" is called the largest canvas with nude female figures. Renoir worked on it for over three years, and during this period many sketches and sketches were created. There was no other painting in his work that he devoted so much time to.

In the foreground, the viewer sees three naked women, two of whom are on the shore, and the third is in the water. The figures are written very realistically and clearly, which is characteristic feature style of the artist. Renoir's models were Alina Sharigo (his future wife) and Suzanne Valadon, who in the future herself became a famous artist.

Edgar Degas: Blue Dancers

Not all of the famous Impressionist paintings listed in the article were painted with oil on canvas. The photo above allows you to understand what the painting "Blue Dancers" is. It is made in pastels on a paper sheet measuring 65x65 cm and belongs to the late period of the artist's work (1897). He painted it with already impaired eyesight, therefore, the decorative organization is of paramount importance: the image is perceived as large colored spots, especially when viewed up close. The topic of the dancers was close to Degas. She was repeatedly repeated in his work. Many critics believe that the harmony of color and composition of "Blue Dancers" can be considered better work artist on this topic. Currently, the painting is kept in the Museum of Arts. A.S. Pushkin in Moscow.

Frederic Bazille: "Pink Dress"

One of the founders of French Impressionism, Frederic Bazille was born into a bourgeois family of a wealthy winemaker. Even during his years of study at the Lyceum, he began to get involved in painting. Having moved to Paris, he made acquaintance with C. Monet and O. Renoir. Unfortunately, the artist was destined for a short life path... He died at the age of 28 at the front during the Franco-Prussian War. However, his, albeit few, canvases are rightfully included in the list “ The best paintings impressionists ". One of them is “ Pink dress", Written in 1864. By all indications, the canvas can be attributed to early Impressionism: color contrasts, attention to color, sunlight and a frozen moment, the very thing that was called" impression ". The model was one of the artist's cousins, Teresa de Horse. The painting is currently owned by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Camille Pissarro: “Boulevard Montmartre. Afternoon, sunny "

Camille Pissaro became famous for his landscapes, characteristic feature which is the rendering of light and illuminated objects. His work has had a significant impact on the genre of impressionism. The artist independently developed many of his inherent principles, which formed the basis of creativity in the future.

Pissaro liked to write the same place at different times of the day. He has a whole series of paintings with Parisian boulevards and streets. The most famous of them is Boulevard Montmartre (1897). It reflects all the charm that the artist sees in the seething and restless life of this corner of Paris. Viewing the boulevard from the same place, he demonstrates it to the viewer on a sunny and cloudy day, in the morning, afternoon and late evening. The photo below shows the painting Boulevard Montmartre at night.

This style was later adopted by many artists. We will only mention which paintings of the Impressionists were painted under the influence of Pissarro. This trend can be clearly seen in the work of Monet (series of paintings "Stoga").

Alfred Sisley: "Lawns in Spring"

Lawns in Spring is one of the latest paintings by landscape painter Alfred Sisley, painted in 1880-1881. On it, the viewer sees a forest path along the banks of the Seine with a village on the opposite bank. In the foreground is a girl - the artist's daughter Jeanne Sisley.

The artist's landscapes convey the true atmosphere of the historical region of Ile-de-France and retain a special softness and transparency. natural phenomena typical for specific seasons. The artist was never a supporter of unusual effects and adhered to a simple composition and a limited palette of colors. The painting is now kept in the National Gallery in London.

We have listed the most famous Impressionist paintings (with titles and descriptions). These are masterpieces of world painting. The unique style of painting, which originated in France, was at first perceived with mockery and irony, critics emphasized the frank negligence of artists in writing canvases. Now, hardly anyone dares to challenge their genius. Impressionist paintings are exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world and are a welcome exhibit for any private collection.

The style has not sunk into oblivion and has many followers. Our compatriot Andrei Koch, French painter Laurent Parsellier, American women Diana Leonard and Karen Tarlton are famous modern impressionists... Their paintings are made in the best traditions genre filled with bright colors, bold strokes and life. The photo above is the work of Laurent Parsellier "In the Rays of the Sun".



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