Artists & Illustrators — June 2017

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Artists & Illustrators 43

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Mary Cassatt, Boating Party, 1893-94

In the second half of the 19th century, a group of

Paris-based artists exhibited their work

independently from the accepted annual Salon. Their

art appeared sketchy, capturing fleeting moments,

and their boldness at staging an independent exhibition

was perceived as arrogant.

Evolving partly from Realism and partly from Dutch

and English landscapists, this group of artists – who

became known as the Impressionists – aimed to break

away from the dominance and rigidity of the official art

academies. Using sketchy techniques, and exploiting

modern technologies, including photography, portable

paints and new synthetic colours, they produced what

appeared to be spontaneous images in bright colours

or, in sculpture, dynamic moments. Their main subjects

were landscapes and everyday scenes featuring

ordinary people, but their focus was essentially on the

momentary and transient effects of light. Rapid, broken

brushmarks in dabs of colour emphasised changing

weather and light. The artists often painted in the

open air, many adopting the alla prima technique of

applying paint directly in front of their motifs, rather

than back in their studios. >

IMPRESSIONISTS’ RAPID, BROKEN BRUSHMARKS IN DABS

OF COLOUR EMPHASISED CHANGING WEATHER AND LIGHT

42 Susie Hodge.indd 43 10/04/2017 10:54