What is Impressionism and Why Should You Know About It?
Impressionism revolutionized the world of art in the late 19th century, focusing on light, colour, and everyday life in ways never before seen. If you’ve marvelled over the iconic art movement and wanted to know about its history, techniques, and the artists who defined it, your wait is over. Below is a curated list of essential reads. These books about impressionist art talk about the art form and the masterpieces created under its garb.
1. Impressionism – Art, Leisure, And Parisian Society By Robert L. Herbert
Impressionism – Art, Leisure, And Parisian Society By Robert L. Herbert, radically changes the conventional understanding of the Impressionist movement. For the first time, you can experience how the movement was incorporated into social and cultural life in the late 1900s. A result of 20 years of research, it focuses on the themes of entertainment and leisure that dominated the great years of Impressionist painting from 1865 to 1885.
Most of the Impressionist paintings focused on cafes, opera houses, dance halls, theatres, racetracks, and seaside vacations, and Robert L. Herbert connects their frolic to the changes that Paris underwent during the Second Empire. Impressionism – Art, Leisure, And Parisian Society By Robert L. Herbert is a thought-provoking new interpretation of numerous Impressionist masterpieces (which are illustrated therein). In the book, the artists are viewed as both objective witnesses and active participants in modern life.
2. The Private Lives Of The Impressionists By Sue Roe
Sue Roe gives us a behind-the-scenes account of the vibrant social circle of the Impressionists. In The Private Lives Of The Impressionists By Sue Roe, readers get a closer look at the personal and professional lives of artists like Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Berthe Morisot, and Mary Cassatt, shedding light on their friendships, rivalries, and the complexities of their creative journeys. Brace yourself for a humanizing portrayal of these artistic giants and the bohemian lifestyle they led in Paris during the late 1800s.
The Private Lives Of The Impressionists By Sue Roe follows them into their Paris studios, down the backstreets of Montmartre, and into the boisterous riverside bars of a city. The book demonstrates how the group’s early leaders lived and worked closely together for almost 20 years after meeting for the first time in the Paris studios. They supported one another, shared financial and emotional challenges, and painted outside while gathering in cafes.
3. Monet: The Triumph Of Impressionism By Daniel Wildenstein
Monet: The Triumph Of Impressionism By Daniel Wildenstein takes an intense look at the life of Claude Monet (1840–1926). Monet was the only Impressionist to adhere to the idea of complete fidelity to the visual experience by painting straight from the object. You may say that Monet reimagined colour’s prowess. His art has permanently altered our perception of the natural world and its accompanying phenomena.
The book, Monet: The Triumph Of Impressionism By Daniel Wildenstein details his early interest in Japanese prints, his time spent as a conscript in Algeria’s dazzling light, and his interactions with the leading painters of the late 19th century. The pinnacle of Monet’s research was the final series of water lilies, which he painted in his Giverny garden. These lilies are the earliest examples of abstract art because of their tendency toward near-complete formlessness.
4. Impressionism by Ingo F. Walther
Impressionism by Ingo F. Walther (editor) is a guide to the Impressionist movement, which brings to the spotlight, the work of overlooked pioneers like Frédéric Bazille, Marie Bracquemond, Henri-Edmond Cross, Jean-Louis Forain, Eva Gonzalès, Armand Guillaumin, Albert Lebourg, Stanislas Lépine, Maximilien Luce, Berthe Morisot, Lucien Pissarro, Jean-François Raffaëlli, Henri Rouart, and Victor Vignon. It decentralises the movement and explores Impressionism’s traits, from plein-air painting to striking colour contrasts, throughout Europe and North America.
The book, Impressionism by Ingo F. Walther is divided into two parts. Part I covers the French, Post- and Neo-Impressionism1. It also emphasizes Gustave Caillebotte’s 17 paintings. French Impressionist paintings created concurrently in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, the USA, and Canada are the subject of Part 2.
5. Impressionism by Hajo Düchting
Impressionism by Hajo Düchting is a breath of fresh air. Impressionism is likened to the moody landscapes, vibrant portraits, and urban landscapes painted by Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cézanne. These artists captured the moment by using a sketchy painting style that was completed in situ, with colours that matched the weather and light conditions at the time. With about 300 illustrations, Hajo Düchting gives a broad overview of Impressionist paintings.
6. The Great Book Of French Impressionism By Diane Kelder
The Great Book of French Impressionism By Diane Kelder is a celebration of the Impressionists’ world of light and colour. The 400 illustrations contained within expand on the delicate nuances of light and acute perception that are the cornerstone of French Impressionism. The book includes an expanded index and thorough research, from its beginnings in landscape and realist painting to its emphasis on contemporary urban life.
The Great Book of French Impressionism By Diane Kelder examines the lives and works of all the major Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, including Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, and Cezanne, implying how their work influenced others, ultimately leading to the new art of the twentieth century. She also incorporates intriguing anecdotes and excerpts from contemporary essays and letters into this detailed narrative.
7. The Unknown Monet: Pastels And Drawings By James A. Ganz And Richard Kendall
The Unknown Monet: Pastels And Drawings By James A. Ganz And Richard Kendall is a new interpretation of Monet’s life and work, concentrating on his pastels, drawings, and sketchbooks. While Monet has long been regarded as an anti-draftsman, he started as a caricaturist before discovering a lifelong love of drawing as a teenager. He later became an expert in pastels and added seven to the inaugural Impressionist exhibition in 1874. The book cites recently uncovered, unpublished documents that reveal graphic works produced throughout his career, many of which are unknown to the public and academics alike: exquisite pastels, striking black chalk drawings, and intriguing sketchbooks that contain pencil studies related to many of his paintings.
The Unknown Monet: Pastels And Drawings By James A. Ganz And Richard Kendall also demonstrates Monet’s use of print media to market his artwork. If you are interested in Monet’s work, Impressionism, or the expansive 19th-century French culture, you must read this book.
Image Courtesy – Art Finder
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