Impressionism vs Expressionism

By Daisy Mariposa

Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant) was painted by Claude Monet in1872. The painting's title gave rise to the art movement
known as Impressionism.
Source: www.wikipaintings.org

“I don't know much about art, but I know what I like.”

It is not known who first said “Je ne connais pas grand chose à l'art mais je sais ce que j'aime.” or the English
translation above.

When many people view a painting or a piece of sculpture, they have a reaction to it, be it positive or negative. They
haven’t studied art, they know nothing about styles of painting, and they can’t tell the difference between a painting
by Dutch painter and etcher Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and one by Spanish-born French painter Pablo
Picasso.

They go to — or are dragged to — a museum. They see many paintings. Some paintings they like and other
paintings evoke a negative reaction.

Don’t you think that a person would enjoy their art museum visit a lot more if, when viewing a painting in a museum
from a distance ofat least six feet, they were able to identify the artist or the style in which the artist painted?

In this article, I’ll explain the differences between the Impressionist and the Expressionist schools of painting.
Then, the next time you visit an art museum or gallery, you’ll be better able to decide which paintings you like, and
understand why you like them.
 Children in a Garden was painted by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) in 1878. Cassatt, an American, exhibited her paintings in France.
Source: www.wikipaintings.org

When was the Impressionist movement, and who were the Impressionists?
The Impressionist movement, which originated in France in the 19thcentury, lasted from 1867 to 1886.

Among the artists most closely associated with the movement areMary Cassatt (1844-1926), Edgar Degas (1834-
1917), Claude Monet(1840-1926), Camille Pissaro(1830-1903), Pierre-Auguste Renoir(1841-1919), and Alfred
Sisley(1839-1899).

Banks of the Seine at Champrosay was painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) in 1876.
Source: www.wikipaintings.org

What is Impressionism?
Impressionism is generally considered to be a spontaneous method of painting in which an artist attempts to capture
the impression of light in a scene. The Impressionists broke from the traditional painting methods of their day and
applied paint in small touches of pure color rather than mix the paint and apply it in broad strokes using a painting
knife or a brush. This method allowed the artists to emphasize the impression of their subject matter rather than
paint the object in a more realistic manner.

Impressionism enabled the artist to paint an image in the way that someone might see it if they only caught a quick
glimpse of the subject. Most impressionist paintings are outdoor scenes painted in vibrant colors without an
emphasis on detail.
 Gartenbild was painted by August Macke (1887-1914). Notice the differences between this Expressionist landscape and the
Impressionist ones.
Source: www.wikipaintings.org

When was the Expressionist movement, and who were the Expressionists?
The Expressionist movement existed in both Germany and France from 1905 to 1925.

Some of the artists closely associated with the movement are Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Wassily
Kandinsky (1866-1944), Paul Klee(1879-1940), August Macke (1887-1914), Franz Marc (1880-1916),Henri
Matisse (1869-1964), and Edvard Munch (1863-1944).

Franz Marc (1880-1916) painted Playing Dogs. As you can see, Marc's style is vastly different from that of the Impressionists.
Source: www.wikipaintings.org

What is Expressionism?
Expressionist paintings are characterized by distortion and exaggeration in order to create an emotional effect. The
paintings are full of vivid imagery and emotion and are often described as showing a touch of the dark side of
human nature.The expressionist style utilizes intense color, disjointed spaces, and agitated brushstrokes.

Expressionist painters show their emotions and personal views in their work. They portray subjective reality rather
than realism. Artists who paint in this style might incorporate fantasy and violence in their subject matter in order to
show the extremes of emotion.
 Fauvism is a name for the art of Henri Matisse and his colleagues (e.g. André Derain, Maurice Vlaminck and others)
exhibited in the Autumn Salon in Paris 1905. They were called 'Les Fauves' (Wild animals) by a critic. They used
very strong colors which did not represent the natural colors of the object, but were intended to evoke strong
emotions.
Cubism was a way for Picasso and Georges Braque to present objects as seen simultaneously from different
viewpoints, thus bridging the gap between sculpture and painting. In this connection color was of no interest.
Fauvism lasted about two years, analytic cubism not much longer. Picasso-Braque went on to synthetic cubism,
which is collage.

Color
 The fauvists used strong colors to evoke an emotional reaction in the viewer. The colors were often quite
different from the colors that the objects actually were in reality. The cubists, on the other hand, typically used
bland colors. Picasso, for example, painted his cubist masterpiece "Guernica" in black, white and shades of
gray, while Matisse's "The Woman with the Hat" depicted a woman with a multicolored face.

Shapes
 With cubism, everything was often reduced to its geometric form. Because viewers could see objects from
multiple viewpoints, artists could make 2-D works of art appear to be 3-D. Fauvism was very different in that
the fauvist artists painted designs in a simplified style. Although not highly realistic, fauvist objects appeared
much more realistic than items painted in the cubist style.

Viewpoints and Emotions

 With cubism, the artists could show more than one aspect of a subject at a time. For example, Picasso created
many paintings of women using this technique. Using a geometric style, he would paint the same face with
multiple mouths or noses and more than two eyes in order to depict it from more than one viewpoint. This way,
his subjects could show multiple emotions at once. The emotions of the subjects were central to the paintings.
Fauvist painters could not do this. Instead, their subjects displayed basic emotions. The subjects themselves
were not meant to distract from the explosive colors and the shapes and forms.

Control and Chaos

 Cubism was tightly controlled. Every line and shape was precisely rendered. Color was kept in check. Fauvism,
on the other hand, was unrestrained, freely expressive and somewhat chaotic. Fauvist lines were loose and
minimal -- sometimes just enough to suggest an object. In contrast, the artists drew cubist lines meticulously in
accordance with the rules of geometry.

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