Louis Leroy Essay

When the art critic Louis Leroy saw an impressionist painting for the first time, impressionism was new and unnamed. He published a review, and in the review, he mocked the painting, saying it didn’t even look like a real painting, only a sketch, or an impression. The term stuck. Impressionism was an art movement during the mid to late 1800s to early 1900s that fell after the Realist Art Movement. This art style was first used towards the end of the Industrial Revolution and during the birth and growth of Liberal, Conservative, Socialist, and Marxist ideas in Europe. Many Impressionist painters were French, but the movement quickly spread to the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Norway, and later, other European countries. What was the main cause

He recalls a moment at the World Fair where he was suddenly struck and in awe of the beautiful use of, “complete color value,” and, “harmony of color,” that he had not seen before. He was so amazed by this new phenomenon that he wrote, “My eyes were dazzled by the diffused light coming and surrounding me from all sides… I have found in nearly every case where impressionism is mentioned, that the word conveys an idea meaning color vibration.” This use of intense hues was new to the art world because of the addition and creation of new pigments and portable tubes of paint. “The manufacture of paints is a business that has grown from very small beginnings to its present immense proportions,” said author W. R. Bradshaw in 1890 to begin a section of his book detailing all of the advanced ways pigments, paint, and paint tubes were made using new materials and resources from the Industrial Revolution. He also spoke about the key role of machinery and factories, saying, “A glance into the oil mixing room discloses a range of ponderous machinery replete with every modern improvement for mixing oil colors.” Plein air painting was a crucial characteristic of of

The impressionist movement was about just that, movement. Change and progress in the technical, economic, and social worlds inspired change and progress in the art world. One doesn’t have to be an art critic or an artist themselves to look at realist and impressionist art and notice a significant difference. Realist art uses darker tones and depressing scenes, whereas impressionist art is filled with vivid colors and (when including people, which wasn’t as common in impressionism) joyous, busy, or bright scenes. For the upper-middle class and the upper class, both of which the majority of impressionist painters rose from, the Industrial Revolution was greatly beneficial. Consumerism and modernization prospered, which lead to a strong desire for lavish and glamorous lives. Because of this, upper class painters didn’t want to focus on the bland and uniform lives of the lower classes, as realism had done. Instead, they painted fine arts and exquisite and high class activities. One significant example of European modernization brought forth by industrialization that impacted the mindset of impressionist artists was the rebuilding of Paris by Napoleon III and George-Eugéne Haussmann. Although Impressionist art was created all throughout Europe, a large proportion of the art movement’s major artists and influencers were French. The renovation of Paris included many additions of gardens