Art Noveau vs Impressionism

undefined

Adele Bloch-Bauer painted by Gustav Klimt           F. Champenois Imprimeur-Éditeur                              in Vienna, Austria, 1907                                           painted by Alfons Mucha in Paris, France, 1897

Art Nouveau

Our first style is art nouveau. These artists favored curving, organic lines like the ones depicted in these two works. Another thing these two have in common is the striking contrast between delicately shaded flesh and the flat graphic shapes that surround them. They also do not have an iterative focus on historical events. Instead, they choose to depict subjects like women, flowers, and animals.

 
I quite like this one, especially Alfons Mucha's works. The intricate framing and bold linework call out to me. It is like a stained glass window or an illustration in a modern illuminated manuscript. The other one has its charm though, the intricate gold patterns that make up the dress and the background are striking, and fascinating how stark the contrast is. The feeling these works give is peaceful, and serene, and does not worry overmuch about how true to life it is.


Impressionism

From low on a hillside, we look up at a light-skinned woman and boy standing in tall grass against a sunny blue sky in this vertical painting. The woman stands at the center of the composition, and the moss-green parasol she holds over her head almost brushes the top edge of the canvas. Her body faces our left but she turns her head to look at us. Her long dress is painted largely with strokes of pale blue and gray with a few touches of yellow. Her voluminous skirts swirl around her legs to our left. She holds the parasol with both hands, and her brown hair is covered with a hat. Long strokes of white paint across her face suggest a veil fluttering in the breeze. The tall grass she stands in is dotted with buttercup yellow and plum purple, and she casts a long diagonal shadow along the grass toward us. The young boy seems to stand on the other side of the hill, since the grass and flowers comes up to his waist. He wears a white jacket and pale yellow straw hat. His arms are by his sides, and he seems to look off into the distance to our left. A sunny blue sky behind the people is dotted with bright blue clouds. The painting is created with loose brushstrokes throughout, and they are especially choppy in the clouds. The artist signed and dated the painting in royal-blue letters at the lower right: “Claude Monet 75.” 

undefined
Lydia Leaning on Her Arms painted by Mary Cassatt in Paris, France, 1879


Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son                                                                          painted by Claude Monet in Argenteuil, France 1875

 

Impressionism, on the other hand, did not care for lines to define shapes. Instead, they focused on color, which was often not true to life, as seen in these two paintings. They attempted to depict how a scene looked during a moment in time. Both of these paintings appear as if they were something you could have seen one day, but they resemble a memory and a feeling more than a photograph. The brushwork is loose and not too perfect, to reflect the world around them. 

I like this one as well, though it is not as underrated. This one wins out as my favorite only because I like more kinds of it, and not just the work of one artist. Impressionism is very famous and for a good reason. At first, the fuzzy outlines seem amateurish, but not all art needs to appear in focus and crystalline in their detail. Who can remember the little details of a beloved memory? What is more important in impressionism is the feeling, and that appeals to me.

 

How they compare

Both styles have a disinterest in the endless rehashing of past events. Instead, they seek to make the everyday beautiful. Both were rejections of the constant call for paintings of heroes and military leaders, for history and somber thought. 


However, art nouveau, especially the architecture, aimed to do it by beautifying things that someone would see and use every day like lamps, advertisements, stairways, etc. In contrast, impressionism was more of a choice to reflect the world and not be a part of everyday life. It was how the painters saw the world, not what they wished to see when they went up the stairs. 


“Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son.” Art Object Page, National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.61379.html. Accessed 29 Oct. 2023. 

“Art Nouveau.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 5 Sept. 2023, www.britannica.com/art/Art-Nouveau.

“Neue Galerie New York.” Home, Neue Galerie , www.neuegalerie.org/collection/artist-profiles/gustav-klimt. Accessed 29 Oct. 2023. 

“Impressionism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement/impressionism/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.



 


 


 

 

Comments

  1. Sebas(tion)November 2, 2023 at 11:19 PM

    While Impressionism creates serene imagery with quick brushwork, I prefer the boldness of Art Nouveau. The stark contrast between Klimt's subject and the heavy gold leafing creates a powerful image, where she is both the center of the piece and still overshadowed by her gorgeous gown. It's truly masterful in my opinion, though it's not my favorite work by him. Still, the way the lighting cascades across the figure in Cassatt's painting is very inspirational. Impressionists were masters of lighting, which really lends to the dream-like feeling of their work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alayna WalkerNovember 3, 2023 at 12:01 AM

    Art Nouveau has always been one of my least favorite styles of art. Not because it lacks creativity, but because I find it to be disorganized. Impressionism has a more "sketchy" soft feeling to it, which I prefer so much more. In the LA Museum of Modern Art in California, I found that few more modern Art Nouveau pieces were comparable to stained glass in their composition. It seems like you would like that museum if you ever visit LA!

    ReplyDelete
  3. lyliannNovember 4, 2023 at 12:41 AM

    I honestly can't tell how I feel about Art Nouveau, I can't tell if I like it or not. Impressionism is more interesting to me for sure. The second painting in the style of Nouveau is very pretty though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kainoa AkeNovember 5, 2023 at 12:44 AM

    Oooh. This one was a hard one for me. I love both impressionism and art nouveau. They're both my favorite styles of the romantic era but for totally different reasons. For me personally, it's hard to compare them because they don't really correlate at all except in their depiction of human form. I love Art Nouveau for its bold lining and mix of geometric and abstract shapes with soft figures. It's very detailed and decorative. I love impressionism for its use of movement and color. The lack of definition within the brushstroke creates such subtle but effective movements.  And its color like you mentioned is much akin to a fond memory. The color changes the mood and enhances the features of the painting.  For me this is a draw it's like telling me to choose which of my children I love more. (I have no children)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morality and Art in the Classical Era

Image
The issue of morality in art is a well-worn battlefield. The discussion of what is good or right to be depicted comes up again and again in history. Whether it's for religious, political, or personal reasons, there is always someone with an opinion.  Rococo The same was true during the classical period. The earlier art movement of the time was dubbed 'Rococo', which was art depicting an idealized form of the world and its people that did not have much if any basis in reality. It was characterized by a mostly light color palate and lighthearted depictions of mythic and religious material as well as regular people.    La Camargo Dancing , 1730, by  Nicolas Lancret painted in Paris, France This painting shows a variant of the Rococo style called fêtes galantes. It often depicted finely dressed people frolicking in green nature scenes. The woman in the white dress is the natural focal point of the painting. All heads are turned towards her and the bright color of her gar...
Read more

The Renaissance: Baroque Art

Image
    This is Narcissus by Caravaggio, painted 1597–1599      This painting is of the Greek figure of Narcissus, from whom we get the name for narcissistic personality disorder. The son of a river nymph, a prophet decreed that Narcissus would live to old age if he did not recognize himself. Narcissus was very beautiful and spurned the affections of all the young women who chased after him. One day he stopped to drink from the water, saw his reflection, and fell deeply in love with it. He neither ate nor drank until he wasted away gazing at his reflection. Upon his death, he was transformed into a daffodil.     The deep dark colors of this painting make everything in the background until we can only see Narcissus, and to a lesser extent, his reflection. This is similar to what Narcissus himself sees, so we as the viewer also become unable to look at anything but him. His reflection is as dark and shadowed as his impending fate of death by self-neglec...
Read more