IMPRESSIONISM
Impressionism in photography is inextricably inter-
twined with naturalistic photography and Pictori-
alism, or art photography. In 1889, Dr. Peter
Henry Emerson published a book entitledNatura-
listic Photography for Students of Artin which he
argued for the establishment of photography as a
legitimate art reliant on the specific techniques of
the discipline. In part, Emerson’s text was a reac-
tion to Henry Peach Robinson’sPictorial Effect in
Photography(1869), a highly influential publica-
tion that advocated a beautiful, artistic photogra-
phy based on the emulation of painting. Such
pictorial effects were often achieved through the
careful staging of subject matter and unrestrained
manipulation of the photograph itself. Emerson
vigorously objected to such contrived photography
and its overt concern with the aesthetic of the
finished product. Rather, Emerson argued for nat-
uralism, which he defined as ‘‘the true and natural
expression of the impression of nature by an art.’’
Emerson reasoned that beauty already exists in
nature; thus, ‘‘all suggestions for the work [must
be] taken from and studied from nature’’ (Emerson
1889, 23).
In addition to opposing the aesthetic aims of
Pictorialism as practiced by Robinson, Emerson
objected to the seemingly opposite scientific men-
tality that sought to render all aspects of the photo-
graphic subject in focus. For Emerson, the goal of
naturalist photography had nothing to do with the
exact recording of nature. Rather, Emerson argued,
the photographer should use the camera to convey
the image perceived by the human eye. Relying on
physiological studies of the human eye and scienti-
fic explanations of human sight, Emerson claimed
that the eye does not perceive the entire field of
vision with perfect clarity; only the central object
appears sharp and in focus, while the foreground
and background of the image appear slightly
blurred. Thus, the goal of the naturalist was to
remain true to human perception, to capture the
essence of the scene as viewed by the human eye.
To achieve this end, Emerson suggested that the
photographer shoot only naturally occurring (not
manufactured) scenes and make all but the central
object of the photograph slightly out of focus.
Emerson’s call for pure, naturalistic photogra-
phy—an honest photography using simple equip-
ment and non-staged compositions to imitate
human perception—proved quite influential, pro-
viding a middle-ground between the aesthetic sen-
timentality of Robinson’s Pictorialism and the
supposed objectivity of scientific photography.
Yet, Emerson’s proposal of intentional blurring in
the photograph opened the way for a less precise
type of photography that, ironically, and to Emer-
son’s dismay, fostered another form of photo-
graphic Pictorialism—impressionism.
With respect to painting, the term ‘‘impression-
ism’’ derived from a Claude Monet painting entitled,
Impression: Sunrise, of 1872. Monet’s hazy image of
the port of Le Havre offered a representation of the
momentary experience arising from a transient im-
pression rather than the precise detail of the scene.
From then on, the word impressionism has been
used to describe this artistic movement, understood
as both an extension of and a departure from pre-
ceding realist painting. Thus, an understanding of
impressionism requires an awareness of the inherent
qualities of realism.
The development of realism is most often traced
to the art and literature of nineteenth century
France. The hallmarks of realism commonly in-
cluded a broadened notion of history, an expanded
range of experience, and a concentrated field of
vision in temporal and emotional terms. For realist
artists, historical, royal, and/or religious subjects
were replaced by common and contemporary sub-
jects available for immediate observation. The ac-
ceptability of this new subject matter corresponded
to more general trends involving the post-enlight-
enment rise of scientific activity and the preceding
romantic era. The aim of realism was to give truth-
ful, objective, impartial representations of the real
world, based on the rigorous contemplation of con-
temporary life. This ambition stemmed from the
desire of artists in the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth century to rid themselves of emotional
subjectivity arising from preconceived and formu-
laic methods of artistic production. The realists’
chosen tool was that of the developing basis of
science and empirical research: ‘‘objective’’ study
and observation. Realists, such as the painter Gus-
tav Courbet or the positivist Auguste Comte,
intended to present objects and events without pre-
judice, not in accordance with subjective or insti-IMPRESSIONISM