IMPRESSIONISM

 

A reaction against the academic painting and drawing which had dominated artistic practice since the Renaissance, Impressionism sought to record ordinary life, accurately and objectively and to capture the transient effects of light, colour, and movement. Artists such as Claude Monet (1840-1926), Camille Pisarro (1830-1903) and Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) often worked outdoors (‘en plein air’), making quick and delicate marks with pencils and finely sharpened chalks, and often adding in touches of colour in watercolour and pastel. Like Morisot, the North American Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was one of a new generation of artists to depict “New Women” at a time when women’s rights were a topic of increasing interest. Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) maintained a traditional, linear approach, but, as the drawings below reveal, they too were fascinated by movement. Degas’s dancers are amongst the most evocative drawings ever produced.

 

 
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Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Girl with Beret, 1831, pen in black, over graphite pencil, on white paper, Lille, Palais des Beaux Arts, Cabinet des dessins.
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, Girl with Beret, 1831, pen in black, over graphite pencil, on white paper, Lille, Palais des Beaux Arts, Cabinet des dessins.

Corot was a leading member of the French Barbizon school who took inspiration from Constable in making nature the subject of their work. Although his portraits conform to the prevailing Neo-Classical style, his landscapes, painted outdoors, were influential in the development of Impressionism.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Study of Saint Sebastian, 1852, charcoal on rough, moderately-thick, brown wove paper, Baltimore, The Walters Art Museum.
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Study of Saint Sebastian, 1852, charcoal on rough, moderately-thick, brown wove paper, Baltimore, The Walters Art Museum.
Camille Pisarro, View of Pontoise, 1867, pencil on paper, Private Collection.
Camille Pisarro, View of Pontoise, 1867, pencil on paper, Private Collection.
Edgar Degas, Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper, 1873, graphite heightened with black and white chalk on pink wove paper (now faded), New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Edgar Degas, Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper, 1873, graphite heightened with black and white chalk on pink wove paper (now faded), New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Ëdouard Manet, Woman Lying on the Beach. Annabel Lee, ca. 1881, brush, grey and black ink over black chalk; framed in pen and blackish brown ink, Copenhagen, National Gallery of Denmark.
Ëdouard Manet, Woman Lying on the Beach. Annabel Lee, ca. 1881, brush, grey and black ink over black chalk; framed in pen and blackish brown ink, Copenhagen, National Gallery of Denmark.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Study for 'Dance in the Country', 1883, pencil on paper, Hawaii Honolulu Museum of Art.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Study for 'Dance in the Country', 1883, pencil on paper, Hawaii Honolulu Museum of Art.
Berthe Morisot, At the Beach in Nice, 1882, pencil and watercolour, Stockholm, Nationalmuseum.
Berthe Morisot, At the Beach in Nice, 1882, pencil and watercolour, Stockholm, Nationalmuseum.
Claude Monet, Winter landscape with evening sky, 1870-80, pastel chalk on vellum paper, Frankfurt, Stãdel Museum.
Claude Monet, Winter landscape with evening sky, 1870-80, pastel chalk on vellum paper, Frankfurt, Stãdel Museum.
Mary Cassatt, Maternal Caress, ca. 1891, compressed charcoal and graphite over some charcoal lines, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mary Cassatt, Maternal Caress, ca. 1891, compressed charcoal and graphite over some charcoal lines, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Edgar Degas , After the Bath, Woman Drying Her Hair, ca. 1895, charcoal on yellow tracing paper, Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum.
Edgar Degas , After the Bath, Woman Drying Her Hair, ca. 1895, charcoal on yellow tracing paper, Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum.
Rose-Marie Guillaume, A Women Painter in the Studio of the Académie, undated, black chalk, watercolour, gouache, Private Collection.
Rose-Marie Guillaume, A Women Painter in the Studio of the Académie, undated, black chalk, watercolour, gouache, Private Collection.

One of the most talented students at the Académie Julian in Paris, Rose-Marie Guillaume (1876- ca. 1930) played a long-standing role in the Academy’s history. Founded in 1868 by Rodolphe Julian, a former wrestler and painter, the Académie became one of the leading teaching institutions in Paris for young artist. Unlike the state-run Ëcole des Beaux-Arts, it was open to women students for whom Julian from about 1876 ran separate - and more expensive - studios.