Impressionist art is characterized by short, independent brush strokes that form into general recognizable shapes. It uses bright colors that are left to dazzle on their own. Impressionism changes the usual use of light as well, using different shades of colors for shadows or light spots, rather than black and white. It looked to depict life at the time. The most famous impressionist artist is Claude Monet. There were many impressionist artists. Among them was Alfred Sisley who painted Allée of Chestnut Trees in 1878 Paris. Here is that painting:
In this painting, all of the elements of impressionism are present. The short brush strokes creating shapes, bright colors, and colors as shadows are all featured in this painting. It depicts an average afternoon that many people may have enjoyed. I really like this painting of Parisian vacationers enjoying a nice day along the river. It is really nice to look at.
However, as an artistic movement, impressionism is not my favorite. It is not the worst, but several rank above it. I enjoy the colors and the artistry, along with the depictions of everyday life, but I don’t like having trouble figuring out what something in a painting is supposed to be. This is caused by the short brush strokes, which I both like and dislike. I like how they look and think that they are neat, but they also make it difficult to decipher what some elements of the paintings are supposed to be. I can tell in the end, but I like to be able to recognize elements at first glance. This is why neoclassicism is one of my favorite painting styles. It is a little darker, but still features some nice colors. It features strict lines to depict scenes of ancient Rome and Greece to illustrate morals, sacrifice, and heroism. Because of its strict lines, everything is easily recognizable. It seems more real, even though it is easy to notice that it is a painting. In my last blog, I featured the Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David. Once again, it was painted in Rome in 1784. Here it is again:
This is another piece that I really like. I already described why I like it, but in comparison to impressionism, it is much darker. It uses dark grays and black for the shadows, but still features some good color in the foreground. It is painted like a picture, so it all looks like it would have in real life. There is no guesswork as to what anything is. I like that. However, just to be clear, I do not think that the short brush strokes of impressionism are sloppy. I realize that they are meant to be that way, and I can appreciate that. I enjoy the works of /u/Shitty_Watercolour on Reddit, which some might perceive as sloppy. Once again, the art is supposed to look like that, and I can appreciate that. Here is his website for those who are interested in his work as well. The only real reason that I dislike impressionism is because some elements of the paintings are unclear. This is why I enjoy neoclassical art a little more. Otherwise, I really enjoy impressionist art.
Works Cited
Gontar, Cybele. “Neoclassicism”. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Web. 14 July, 2014. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/neoc_1/hd_neoc_1.htm>.
Samu, Margaret. “Impressionism: Art and Modernity”. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Web. 14 July, 2014 <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm>.
“Alfred Sisley: Allee of Chestnut Trees”. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Web. 14 July, 2014. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1975.1.211>.
“David’s Oath of the Horatii”. Smart History. Khan Academy, 2014. Web. 14 July, 2014. <http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/david-oath-of-the-horatii.html>.
UAF THR F200X 
I have to say I don’t really like having trouble figuring out what a painting is supposed to be either. Some people view it as a fun way to express your own feelings through another’s work, subjectively forming the piece to your own conditions. I find that I often fall into the group of those known as “some people”. Art that portrays an obvious message and has an upfront agenda is all well and good, as long as you agree with the morals being pushed your way. This characteristic of easy-to-understand art makes it rather hit-or-miss. Art that is much more subjective, maybe being unclear at first, has so much more potential for people of all backgrounds and thinking processes to connect to it, relate to it. It can be annoying. Confusing art often takes very little time to annoy, and that is a legitimate reason to prefer much more objective art.
So, overall, I agree with you that Impressionism is a more unclear type of artful expression, but I think the potential subjectivity holds is far too often overlooked.
I do have to agree with you that Impressionism sometimes is a little too vague on the details for my liking. You did a good job explaining the details of the neoclassical art how it is much darker than the Impressionistic art. I really do enjoy the straight forward detail of the neoclassical art but I dislike the darkness in it so for me Impressionism wins with its nice scenes. It is very interesting to me how Alfred Sisley and a couple other famous impressionist painters all lived a similar lifestyle of being on the outskirts of pairs. I enjoyed your blog keep up the good work!
I definitely understand the notion of not liking the ambiguous, blurry style of impressionism. Other paintings are crisp and clear and obvious in what they are depicting, and that allows the viewer to focus on what is actually going on in the painting. The way I interpret impressionism is that the blurriness represents the way the artist saw that moment. For them, maybe only certain aspects of the world were clear in that moment, and that is what they wanted to depict. So in that sense, I interpret impressionist works not as paintings of the external world, but as paintings of something inside an artist’s brain. With that mindset, I find impressionist works beautiful; even though they aren’t always clear or perfectly accurate, neither is our perception of the world.
I am generally not impressed with Impressionism either, though I do like Sisley’s Allee of Chestnut Trees. I appreciate the fact that the scene and its subjects are distinguishable, because the brushstrokes are not so large as to make the painting appear muddled, as in other Impressionist paintings. One thing I do appreciate about Impressionism is the ability to sometimes create distinguishable objects. I am especially impressed with the water in Monet’s Le Grenouillere. Monet used large brushstrokes to create water that truly looks as though it is rippling in the breeze.
I like agree, I like the realism in the Oath of Horatii. I appreciate its accurate portrayal of the subject matter, and find the details visually appealing. I also like the contrast in the Oath of Horatii. The subjects in the foreground are obviously the focal point, and Jacques-Louis David’s use of light and dark highlights this.
First off, I would like to say great job on your blog! It was structured very nicely and systematically. The analysis was also great. You told us the different elements of each piece, compared their styles, and also told us what you liked and disliked about them. As far as stylistic viewpoint goes, I would have to disagree with you on the aesthetic liking of impressionism. I like impressionism style painting because of the vagueness of the painting. I feel like the lack of detail allows for the viewer to interpret more on their own, even if it does require a little more thought and harder looking. I also feel this style allows for appearance of movement within the piece. For example, since Impressionism style has a lot to do with lighting, works with water or sources of light like stars in them seemed to move slightly with the short brush strokes. I am probably crazy, but this is just my personal opinion. Anyways, great job on the blog. Couple formatting tips: center your pictures and have the title and author underneath them for quick reference. It just looks better that way in my opinion. Anyways, great job and keep up the great analysis on your posts.