Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

Claude Monet's painting "Impression, Sunrise," depicts an impressionism type of artwork. As it can be seen, Monet paints a beautiful sunrise on the port of Le Havre, his hometown. Claude Monet decided to name this artwork "Impression, Sunrise" due to his hazy painting style in his depiction of the subject. The imagery of this work of art presents a focus on the calm feeling of a misty maritime scene.  Slightly below the center of the painting, a small rowboat with two indistinct figures floats in the bay.  The early morning sun is depicted rising over the foggy harbor with ships and other various boats at port.  The shadows of the boats and figures and the reflection of the sun’s rays can be seen on the water’s surface.  Monet incorporates a palette of mostly cool, dull colors into the painting with blues and grays, but also includes splashes of warm colors noticed in the sky and the red-orange sun.  This usage of a noticeably bright color draws attention to the main focus of the painting, the sun.  Numerous vertical elements can be found throughout this hazy landscape.  To the left of the center of the canvas, a four-masted clipper ship enters the harbor while smoke-stacks of steamboats fill the atmosphere.  As a notable artist, Claude Monet was acknowledged for his awareness of color harmony and his ability to enforce viewers’ attention.  He was widely known for capturing rich atmospheric effects and a particular moment in time in his works of art. To accomplish these feats, Monet employed broken brushwork and heightened color.  He was also very sensitive to the moods created by a landscape.

Vincent Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night over the Rhone," depicts a beautiful example of post-impressionism. In the piece Van Gogh uses perspective and thick, visible brush strokes to extend the water and riverbank, as well as making the night sky appear endless in the distance. At the foreground of the piece, an elderly couple stands together on the shore, appearing miniscule compared to the extensive lake and surrounding landscape. Despite the clear use of very thick brush strokes in his work, Van Gogh captures the essence of the water beautifully, both with the reflections on the water and the surface disturbance in the bottom corner. One big reason that this piece was chosen for this collection is because Van Gogh depicts the urbanized riverbanks as a mere afterthought in comparison to the natural scene. The houses and buildings are faintly placed on the edges of the landscape, appearing as an insignificant presence compared to the powerful natural presence of the river and sky. Thus, these artistic elements hint that nature is untamed and powerful, as well as mysterious and seemingly boundless. Van Gogh fit that classification through his use of vivid colors, thick application of paint, and thick, distinctive brush strokes. Like many other Impressionists and post-Impressionists, Van Gogh depicted real-life subject matter, but unlike the Realists who focused on making everything appear perfectly life-like, he painted a subjective representation of the setting (Post-Impressionism). This piece of artwork commemorates a happier time in Van Gogh's life. From the dark, he perceived "cheerful" blues; Prussian blue, ultramarine blue and cobalt. The city gas lights glimmered an intense orange and are reflected in the starts sparkled like gemstones. This painting commemorated happier times because months after, he was confined to a mental institution.