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Art Essentials
印象派的故事
如今为大众所熟知的印象主义是法国最知名的艺术风格，而或许很多人已经忘记，在其诞生之初，印象主义是对艺术传统的大胆挑衅，大众、同行和评论家都抗拒这一风格，甚至将其视为堕落的艺术。
这种“拙劣”“业余”的绘画风格是从何时起被大众接受的呢？
除了梵高、莫奈等知 名艺术家，印象主义运动中还有哪些被忽略的艺术大师？
本书从印象主义艺术运动的发端讲起，回溯了其完整的发展历程，我们将看到印象派从法国扩展至美国和澳大利亚，从一开始的惊世骇俗到广受好评，成为如今依然备受喜爱的绘画风格。
这种“拙劣”“业余”的绘画风格是从何时起被大众接受的呢？
除了梵高、莫奈等知 名艺术家，印象主义运动中还有哪些被忽略的艺术大师？
本书从印象主义艺术运动的发端讲起，回溯了其完整的发展历程，我们将看到印象派从法国扩展至美国和澳大利亚，从一开始的惊世骇俗到广受好评，成为如今依然备受喜爱的绘画风格。
- GenresArtHistoryNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 19, 2024
very pretty, very nice, very wholesome, but it kept on bringing up van gogh over and over again. i do not care about vincent and i did not ask for his opinion on every artist. please let him be.
otherwise it was a good read.
otherwise it was a good read.
June 4, 2022
Loved how thorough yet accessible this was. I would like to read more from the 'art essentials' series.
April 29, 2021
Отличная книга для знакомства с импрессионизмом в целом, и с именитыми художниками этого направления в частности. Описание идёт от истоков до 50х гг. ХХ в. Очень порадовали иллюстрации знаменитых полотен в замечательном качестве. Даже после прочтения книгу можно сохранить для вдохновения.
May 19, 2020
Impressionism... a perfect blend of famous and lesser known paintings, art history, and the stories behind artists in the Impressionist movement. Tiny bits of information were offered throughout, highlighting explanations for painting certain subjects or why a composition was framed in a certain way by the artist, much like casual banter provided on a museum tour by a docent.
February 20, 2026
An interesting and informative book.
Recently, I went to see an exhibition on Impressionist art that was on loan to our local art gallery from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. The docent who gave us a guided tour was really good and stirred my interest in Impressionist and post-Impressionist art.
This book by Ralph Skea is very readable. It gives a good introduction in a succinct way tracing how French Impressionist art developed. It included influences from the Barbizon school and also precursors such as English landscape artist John Constable.
I was especially interested in post-Impressionism eg Pointalism, Syymbolism, Expressionism and Cubism. I was able to learn a little bit more about artists such as Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Emile Bernard and Edvard Munch and how Impressionism had influenced them in their early days and how they eventually moved aways from it.
This book also covers Impressionism that developed later in America and Australia, and how it still thrives in France. It was rather interesting to learn that many American artists went to Paris to study and train in art. This included American Theodore Robinson and Theodore Butler, who eventually married one of Monet’s daughters; as well as Australian John Russell, who met Monet, and Tom Roberts.
I like this ending paragraph regarding the relevance of impressionism today: "The best answer is to abandon any notion that it is a fixed style with rigid parameters - for example plein air landscape painting, domestic interiors and attractive garden scenes. The true legacy rest with other factors implicit in impressionist methodology: artist should have the confidence to paint any subject matter that they perceive as significant; there should be a recognition of the ongoing value of a representational art based on imaginative observation, not on concepts of formulate compositions; there is a need to explore the complexities of colour and light in a rigorous fashion; it is important to accept that only a subjective, fleeting impression of an environment can be achieved in any painting; a realization that observation, as practised by the Impressionists, is a creative and intellectual activity; to understand the potential of skillful painterly technique in creating expressive images. the impressionist painted the canvases in the context of all these principles that are just as relevant today."
The author concluded that in a letter to his sister, Van Gogh speculated that future generations of painters would emulate the skills demonstrated by the impressionists, of "working decisively without hesitation, measuring correctly in an instant, skillful mixing of color, drawing at lightning speed - a generation will come that will do this not as we do now, alone, unloved, but with a public that will like it."
I only wish the point size for the text is larger because it is really quite strenuous to read everything in such small point size. Which is quite a shame because the writing is pretty good and succinct.
Recently, I went to see an exhibition on Impressionist art that was on loan to our local art gallery from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. The docent who gave us a guided tour was really good and stirred my interest in Impressionist and post-Impressionist art.
This book by Ralph Skea is very readable. It gives a good introduction in a succinct way tracing how French Impressionist art developed. It included influences from the Barbizon school and also precursors such as English landscape artist John Constable.
I was especially interested in post-Impressionism eg Pointalism, Syymbolism, Expressionism and Cubism. I was able to learn a little bit more about artists such as Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Emile Bernard and Edvard Munch and how Impressionism had influenced them in their early days and how they eventually moved aways from it.
This book also covers Impressionism that developed later in America and Australia, and how it still thrives in France. It was rather interesting to learn that many American artists went to Paris to study and train in art. This included American Theodore Robinson and Theodore Butler, who eventually married one of Monet’s daughters; as well as Australian John Russell, who met Monet, and Tom Roberts.
I like this ending paragraph regarding the relevance of impressionism today: "The best answer is to abandon any notion that it is a fixed style with rigid parameters - for example plein air landscape painting, domestic interiors and attractive garden scenes. The true legacy rest with other factors implicit in impressionist methodology: artist should have the confidence to paint any subject matter that they perceive as significant; there should be a recognition of the ongoing value of a representational art based on imaginative observation, not on concepts of formulate compositions; there is a need to explore the complexities of colour and light in a rigorous fashion; it is important to accept that only a subjective, fleeting impression of an environment can be achieved in any painting; a realization that observation, as practised by the Impressionists, is a creative and intellectual activity; to understand the potential of skillful painterly technique in creating expressive images. the impressionist painted the canvases in the context of all these principles that are just as relevant today."
The author concluded that in a letter to his sister, Van Gogh speculated that future generations of painters would emulate the skills demonstrated by the impressionists, of "working decisively without hesitation, measuring correctly in an instant, skillful mixing of color, drawing at lightning speed - a generation will come that will do this not as we do now, alone, unloved, but with a public that will like it."
I only wish the point size for the text is larger because it is really quite strenuous to read everything in such small point size. Which is quite a shame because the writing is pretty good and succinct.
December 29, 2022
Being a complete Novice when it comes to Understanding or Viewing Art. I found this book extremely informative and I am walking away with a greater understanding of impressionism, its works, the artist and styles. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to gather more knowledge of the art world.
June 12, 2023
Enlightening - liked Degas the best.
June 3, 2024
Lovely images, but supporting text was disjointed and repetitive.
January 19, 2025
Absolutely loved reading this book.
July 9, 2020
Un cours essai pour aborder l’impressionnisme. Il est très bien construit, avec des reproductions de tableaux très soignées. C'est didactique et plaisant à lire, alors c'est un grand oui pour moi !
De mon côté, je n'ai pas forcément appris grand chose, ayant déjà beaucoup lu sur le sujet mais j'ai apprécié les chapitres sur l'impressionnisme étasunien et australien, et sur les héritiers de ce mouvement.
De mon côté, je n'ai pas forcément appris grand chose, ayant déjà beaucoup lu sur le sujet mais j'ai apprécié les chapitres sur l'impressionnisme étasunien et australien, et sur les héritiers de ce mouvement.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews