Monet's *Impression, Sunrise*: Analysis of the Birth of Impressionism

Analysis of Claude Monet's *Impression, Sunrise*

Author: Oscar-Claude Monet

Technique and Handling of Paint

The colored spots appear as loose material, used to achieve subtle lighting effects. For example, the red outline representing the reflection of the sun and water is separated as the elements approach the viewer.

Composition

In the background, merchant ships are hinted at, but the thick morning fog prevents a clear view. A separate, intense red circle represents the sun. Approaching the observer, there are three rowing boats sailing in calm waters.

Style: The Birth of Impressionism

The emergence of photography upset the traditional conceptions of painting. Photography offered a technique capable of capturing reality with greater fidelity; all that was missing was the color.

Influences on Monet

Monet and the Impressionists were influenced by:

• The English Romantic landscape painters, Turner and Constable, through their studies on the effects of light, rain, and wind.
• Japanese art, which began to spread in Paris around the same time.

Interpretation and Function

This painting was not a topographic representation of the port of Le Havre, but rather an expression of the feeling caused by viewing the sunrise. Monet did not want to capture a scene but an atmosphere. Therefore, we can say that the name "Impressionism" comes from this artwork.

Impression, Sunrise expressed a new artistic conception intended to capture light and atmosphere, becoming a reference point for Impressionism and a whole new way of understanding painting.

Historical Background of Impressionism

Impressionism is the most active phenomenon in European art since the Renaissance. The Impressionists lived in Paris during the second half of the nineteenth century, a stage of major developments:

• The Second Empire (1848)
• The Commune
• The Third Republic

Paris was also the scene of major urban changes:

• The appearance of the Grands Boulevards.
• Exhibitions creating iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower.
• Cafes where artists gathered to discuss art, politics, poetry, and scientific advances.

The figure of the marchand (art dealer) emerged, advising and directing clients and freeing artists from dependency on the Salons and Academies.

Scientific and Social Context

The Impressionist theory of color was informed by Chevreul's color theory (colors are not immutable but dependent on individual perception).

They also shared concerns about:

• Time and temporality.
• A taste for history, fueled by the diffusion of Darwinism and Marxism.

Technological Advances

Technological advances favored the movement:

• Rail travel.
• Chemistry, which allowed the production of vivid and varied colors.
• Cheaper and more diverse photography, which opened the range of technical possibilities for the painter.

Other influences came from outside Europe: since 1856, Japanese art had begun to spread around Paris.