The 1800’s to early 1900’s impressionism was a prolific era in that art went from dark and stoic paintings to colorful and exuberant pastoral scenes.

Some of these artists including Picasso and Matisse were ahead of their time in terms of artistic ideas – showing a contrast to the current traditions in art by taking realism and making it more modern and impressionistic.

Realism means to attempt representing a subject truthfully without exaggeration. In direct contrast to Picasso’s modern and wild cubism period, realist artists painted common scenes, people and everyday life.

As realism is simple in it’s description, there is also Impressionism and Post Impressionism.

Impressionism was the revision or revitalization of the realist period in which artists took the realistic aspects and made them brighter, more composed and intricate. As a 19th century movement, the art aspects of color and light unfolded. Artists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Matisse, Hopper and more.

• Monet was a traditional artist of realism and some impressionism with brighter colors.
• Van Gogh mixed realism and impressionism with swirls and vibrant colors.
• Matisse took ordinary items and morphed them into shapes and bright vibrant colors.
• Dali – while not “realism” had a form of surrealism by taking that which was ordinary and mixing the mediums of many art styles. Based upon the end of the era by incorporating impressionism and realism and creating a “surrealist” look at the everyday.

Art Lessons Below!