Impressionism

Richard_P

Impressionism (According to Wikipedia) is:

Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. Impressionism originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s.

So, 1870's - 1880's. Then I just came across this oil sketch by Constable which was done in 1810 (so around 60 years earlier). It looks so modern!

alsart2

Yes - Art labels my friend,..Bet you could find cubism, realism, etc etc  all before they where given a label by know it all,... i like his sketch though

tassieguy

Constable really was ahead of his time as a landscapist. The sketch above reminds me of Monet's early work. I wonder what the French impressionists knew of Constable's work and if they learned from him. 

When I was young we had a framed reproduction of Constable's The Hay Wain on the wall and when I visited England in my twenties and drove into the countryside I remember thinking, yes, Constable got it right - the colour and the light - that's how rural England looks.

I think Constable was probably the first to paint real English landscapes in their true colours and without nymphs, ruined temples and other classical allusions. His were landscapes ordinary English folk would have instantly recognised.

The reproduction we had on our wall never failed to delight afresh each time I returned to look at it. Even though its gentle greens and soft light were nothing like the dry inland Australian landscape we inhabited it resonated with me because it clearly represented a real and beautiful landscape that one might one day visit and enjoy in person.