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Impressionism and a special exhibit

By Sal Maccarone

(Updated: Friday, August 27, 2010, 12:59 PM)

Impressionism is defined as "a theory or practice in painting, originally among French painters of around 1870, of depicting the natural appearances of objects by means of dabs or strokes of unmixed colors in order to simulate reflected light."

The Impressionist movement received its name as a result of a Claude Monet work,"Impression Sunrise." This painting received a satirical review in a French newspaper, which ultimately branded the whole movement.

Ordinary subject matter coupled with an illusion of motion and an accurate rendering of light were the trademarks of these paintings.

Like so many artistic upheavals, the Impressionist movement was actually a revolution.

An alliance was formed by a loosely bound group of artists for the purpose of exhibiting their art, quite contrary to the politics of that era.

At the time, the government in France dictated what artworks and what artists were deemed acceptable.

Radicals in their time, the Impressionists quite simply broke the rules of academic painting. For one thin,they took their painting outside. These artists would sometimes paint the same scene at different times of day with different results.

Before the Impressionist movement, still lifes, portraits and landscapes were all usually painted indoors.

The Impressionists were not at all interested in painting subjects from history, but rather scenes from their own contemporary time.

This revolutionary way of painting was a precursor to many artistic movements that followed.

Post-Impressionism and Cubisim were direct descendants of Impressionism.

There are presently two exhibitions running concurrently in San Francisco. At the de Young museum, "Birth of Impressionism" runs through Sept. 6.

At the Legion of Honor, part of the de Young but in a different location, "Impressionist Paris -- City of Light" runs through Sept. 26. These two exhibitions are closely tied together and represent a rare opportunity for art lovers.

This exhibit of Impressionist paintings is only made possible due to the renovation of the "Musee d'Orsay" museum in Paris where these paintings usually reside.

The web address for both of these museums is located at famsf.org/.

Once at this site, you can click on the banner of either museum for the specifics regarding the exhibitions.

If possible, you should see both of these exhibits, but if you only have one day, I recommend that it be "Birth of Impressionism" at the main de Young in Golden Gate Park.