Chapter 28: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism: Europe and America, 1870 to 1900

Chapter 28 mpressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism: Europe and America, 1870 to 1900

 

Fom 1870 to 1900 saw intense artistic experimentation and development, particularly in France. The Impressionists, a group that included Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot and others, held their first group exhibition in 1874, showing many works that had been painted en plein air (outdoors) and that captured scenes of contemporary urban life. “Post-Impressionism” is term extended to artists such as Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Paul Cézenne, who developed beyond the sketch-like quality of Impressionism and explored the structure of painted form or the emotions wrought by color. French Symbolists, including Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, and Henri Rousseau, painted subjective scenes that transcended the everyday world and were often dreamlike and sensuous. The leading sculptor of this era was Auguste Rodin, who explored the representation of movement and energy in bronze and marble. Rodin often sculpted fragmented forms that had immense influence on later modern sculptors. Architectural developments in this period varied: the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements opposed modern mass production and embraced natural forms; the Eiffel Tower’s exposed iron skeleton represented the possibilities for new architectural expressions; and in the U.S., Louis Sullivan integrated organic form and the metal frame to become a pioneer in skyscraper design.