the use of violet by monet

The first impressionist exhibition of 1874 is a signpost for the changing ways in which paintings were being bought and sold. The tradition of the salon shows dominance was now being challenged, as the artists found dismay both in the selection process and the overcrowded nature of the display. The artists s

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When compared to Gleyre the technique is completely different, as he wishes to disguise the differences, Monet however has made them quite evident in the work. The science of colour contrast suggests that the shadows given by object shall be tinged with the colour of the light that hits it. Merely think, here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact colour and shape, until it gives your own naïve impression of the scene before you. Art Bulletin, LXXVIII, pg26-39

Venturi, impressionists and symbolists, New York 1973

. However a common belief of the impressionists was that they painted what they saw: “under the summer sun, with reflections of green foliage, skin and clothing take on a violet tint. if we place an object on a white piece of paper direct a red light at it the shadow it casts shall have green tonal qualities. One major part of Chevreul’s theory however is to do with complementary colours. This adaptation was to much for a highly traditional audience that were not ready to accept this new direction. These strict definitions of what was acceptable led to the first impressionists being met with much disgust by the critics and general public of the time. ” This style and tradition is quite obvious in Sappho (le coucher de Sapho),a work of Gleyre’s done at around the same time as Monet’s women in the garden, Gleyre’s work shows a refined finished with attention to detail most evident in the way drapery in the work is almost liquid in its fall, with out the hand of the artist becoming a notable factor. This is seen in the way the dresses show tints of the colour that was to be attached to impressionism violet, it is this tint that we are interested in, as if this work (which is considered to be the beginnings of impressionism) was met with such outrage due to its difference to accepted conventions then it easy to see why the impressionist works themselves were criticized. “It is not necessary to add the complementary of a given hue to the canvas, since the visual result occurs anyway; in fact, if added, it would merely exaggerate the effect. Helmholtz concluded the second in a lecture he gave on the optics of painting. But perhaps Manet gives the greatest understanding on the impressionists’ fond colour choice, incorporating their quest for representations of single moments with colour, stroke and paint.

Common topics in this essay:
Gleyres Monets, , Monets Women, Georges Roque, Edmond Duranty, Charles Gleyre, Gage Colour, Bulletin LXXVIII, BIBLIOGRAPHY Bomfordart, women garden, RoqueG1996 Chevreul, violet blue, blue violet, colour light, monets women garden, monets women, science colour, blue impressionists, complementary colours, accepted conventions, artist critic, violet blue impressionists,

Approximate Word count = 2199
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

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