Impressionism vs. Cubism

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Impressionism vs. Cubism

Art, according to Webster's Dictionary, is a human skill of expression of other objects by painting, drawing, and sculpture. People have used art as a form of expression for a long time. From the Mesopotamian era to the Classical Greeks and the present. Art is expressed in many different ways and styles, and is rapidly changing, one style replacing another. Impressionism and Cubism broke away from the traditional style of painting. They were both looking for a new way to express everyday life. Time is an important tool that is used in Cubism as well as Impressionism. This element is expressed in Claude Monet's Sunrise and Pablo Picasso's Man with a Violin in different ways.

Impressionists' works were not easily accepted in society. At the time, Impressionism was a radical departure from tradition. People thought of them as impressions, not real paintings. Forms in their pictures lost their clear outlines and became dematerialized, a re-creation of actual outdoor conditions. Traditional formal compositions were abandoned in favor of a more casual and less contrived disposition of objects. These artists abandoned the traditional landscape palette of muted greens, browns, and grays and instead painted in a lighter, sunnier, more vivid colors. The Impressionists abandoned the use of grays and blacks in shadows as inaccurate and used complementary colors instead. The Impressionists extended their new techniques to depict landscapes, trees, houses, and even urban street scenes and railroad stations. They painted real life landscapes as they saw them without idealization.

Cubism was a completely different style of art that no one had seen before. It was the style that came to challeng...

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In conclusion, art is no longer the dull portraits of the upper class. Art has a deeper meaning, and a different expression. It is expressed in many different styles, among these Impressionism and Cubism. Each of these styles were new to what people were accustomed to. It took time for them to be accepted in society. Both Cubism and Impressionism use the element of time uniquely. Impressionism captures time and light and Cubism displays perspectives all at one time. Art is interpreted differently from one person to the next. We may never understand what the artist had in mind, but that is what makes art so unique. As Picasso once stated "The fact that for a long time cubism has not been understood . . . means nothing. I do not read English, an English book is a blank book to me. This does not mean that the English language does not exist."

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