Blog Post #5: Why is impressionism important in art history?

In today’s post, I will discuss the importance of impressionism in modern art. In order to do this I will delve into the meaning and distinguishing of today’s modern art, its roots, and impressionism’s influence within it, as well as some of the modern pieces of impressionism-esque pieces from our generation!

“Composition of red, blue, and yellow, By Piet Mondrian.” One of the most famous representations of modern art.

Firstly, Today’s definition of modern art can be referred to as “Contemporary art”, an artistic movement which began in the late 20th century and is driving today’s early 21st-century art. If you were to adopt the contemporary art definition, you will be faced with pieces which are more abstract and are a medium of many different materials and techniques. (1) While modern art is an umbrella term which refers to all pieces created within the artistic movement of our current generation. The most distinct essence of today’s art movement is the artistic response to the global environment and its cultural, technological, and diverse surroundings. (2)

Secondly, impressionism’s most significant role in “modern art” is its help in defining and creating an era where modernism can be born. Before the impressionist era, we had the Romanticism era, most specifically, the Pre-Raphaelite era. (3) One of the last classical movements, which has the distinct “old” glory-esque paintings. Mainly an era for painters to challenge the new age industrialism, by bringing back the medieval techniques within their art (Hence the many depictions of death within a glory-filled scene). (4)

“Ophelia by Sir John Everet Millais”

With the turn of the impressionism movement, the birth of creativity within and outside the bounds of sensory began, a large element of the current art movement. An environment where the rigid portraits of the baroque era were rejected and the welcoming of passionate young artists and their hunger for colour was accepted. While looking back at this aspect of art history, we can appreciate the fact that young artists were trying their best to keep the art culture alive and filled with creativity, the same motto which many modern artists today follow fervently. (5) Now impressionism isn’t just a thing of the past, many artists today still embody the same “sketched” aesthetic within their pieces, including artists Dominic Virtosu, Anne Brenner, and Francois Lebland among many others. (6)

“Sign not in use, by Dominic Virtosu”

Although in today’s society, we don’t see much of the technique used by Monet, or the range of colours used in the style of Van Gogh, and Cezanne. It is important to understand that these artists paved the way for artists today to produce art within their set ideals and not restrained by the pressured constraints many young artists had back then.

Thanks for reading!

Sanam M.

1. https://www.eden-gallery.com/news/contemporary-art-movement#:~:text=Today%27s%20contemporary%20art%20movement%20is,and%20the%20context%20of%20creation.
2. https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/contemporary_art/background1.html#:~:text=Strictly%20speaking%2C%20the%20term%20%22contemporary,%2C%20technologically%20advancing%2C%20and%20multifaceted.
3. https://artincontext.org/art-periods/
4. https://artincontext.org/pre-raphaelite-art/
5. https://arttimes.co.za/impressionism-changed-art-world-continues-inspire-us-today/#:~:text=Rejecting%20the%20rigid%20rules%20of,fleeting%20impressions%20of%20their%20surroundings.
6. https://www.singulart.com/en/blog/2021/06/01/impressionism-today/