Impressionists Paintings on View at the Kimbell
Claude Monet, Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect), 1890/91, oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Potter Palmer Collection. Photography courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago |
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The Impressionists: With this exhibition, the Kimbell continues its tradition of showing some of the best and largest collections of Impressionist paintings in the world. The Kimbell opened in 1973 with a show of Impressionist and Post Impressionist paintings from the Hermitage and the State Pushkin Museum and has hosted at least three other major collections of Impressionists over the years. The current show is an expansive collection of paintings owned by the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute began showing and collecting the work of some of these artists as early as the 1890’s, shortly after their creation. Because of its early interest in these artists, the Art Institute has been able to amass a collection of Impressionist and Post Impressionist paintings that would be impossible for even the best funded museum to collect now. This exhibition became possible because the Art Institute is currently undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion of their modern and contemporary art galleries. Rather than store so many pieces away from public view, this unprecedented loan was conceived. In truth, the title of this show does not cover the breadth of the pieces shown. The exhibition contains pieces by most of the important artists known from the last quarter of the 19th C., from Pre- to Post Impressionism. Edouard Manet’s pair of brooding, black-filled, life-size portraits of street beggars dominate the first room and show some of the developments that prefigured Impressionism. (Beggar with Oysters and Beggar with Duffle Coat—1865/67). Manet was a pivotal figure in the transition from older styles of realism into the work of the Impressionists. While his paintings include much more black than Impressionist paintings, the looser, more direct use of brushwork was influential on the young artists that would become the Impressionists. These are not impressionist paintings, but the quick nature of the painting style and the choice to do full-length paintings of street beggars were definite breaks from the conventional wisdom being taught at the Ecole des Beaux Art at the time. The Post Impressionists are also well represented. Paintings such as Vincent van Gogh’s Self Portrait-1887 and his The Bedroom-1889 show the bright, unreal, fauvist colors and the focus on psychological angst that mark Post Impressionism and lead to many of the innovations of 20th C. artists.
Vincent van Gogh, The Bedroom, 1889, oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection. Photography courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago As a matter of fact, a separate exhibition could have been mounted showcasing the large number of wonderful Post Impressionist works included. There are several Gauguin paintings. Arlésiennes (Mistral)—1888 was done while he shared a studio in Arles with van Gogh. It’s bright fauve colors, and ghostlike face hidden in the leaves of a foreground bush give a haunting effect. Some of Gauguin’s best-known paintings from Tahiti are here, including Tehamana Has Many Parents-1893, a ¾ length portrait of a Tahitian woman in a striped European-style dress with a pictographic wall painting behind. Cezanne is also well represented, with two large portraits and several still life pieces. But it’s the Impressionist s that take top billing in this show because the Impressionists draw a crowd. Monet, Degas, Pissarro, Seurat—this was a group of artists that were considered rough, unschooled and cutting edge in their time. But they have become so well known and their work has been reproduced so often that most young school children are familiar with their names and know a bit about the light-filled, colorful work they produced. Remembering the artistic conventions they shattered may be difficult to do. The last 120+ years have changed the nature of our culture and art so much, and the Impressionists have been assimilated so thoroughly, that many have forgotten that painting on sight, so called plein air painting, was unheard of. An artist might take a sketch book along with him while out of his studio, but paintings had always been done in studios, with layer upon layer of transparent glazes on top of painstakingly laid out compositions. The point was, after all, to come as close as possible to believably depicting a three-dimensional composition on the flat surface. How could a quick painting done with direct touches of color in only a few hours be anything but an “impression” of a scene? And how could that be considered as worthy art? The very term “Impressionism” was used derisively by an early art critic who did not understand that Monet’s Impression-Sunrise, 1872 was intended to be a loose sketch that captured the light qualities of that time and place. Traditional art from the Renaissance forward had prescribed a hierarchy of importance to painting subjects, with views of historic events, biblical stories and classical myths at the top of the pecking order and landscape and still life paintings near the bottom. The idea of painting real-life contemporary events and people was shunned. The Impressionists, however, were enthralled with the everyday world around them. Claude Monet’s On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt-1868 is a plein-air painting in broad, loose brushstrokes showing his wife seated under a tree. Manet’s The Races at Longchamp-1866 shows a horse race with the horses rushing directly at the viewer. Degas’s The Millenary Shop-1884/90 shows a young woman trying on hats.
Édouard Manet, The Races at Longchamp, 1866, oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Potter Palmer Collection. Photography courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
Edgar Degas, The Millinery Shop, 1879/86, oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Two highlights of impressionism included are Gustave Caillebotte’s monumental size Paris Street-Rainy Day-1877 and a series of six Monet paintings focusing on the same stack of wheat at various times of day and times of the year. Seeing these in person is worth the admission price. The one disappointment is that Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884, his magnum opus of pointillism, is only represented by two sketches. This huge painting has not been loaned from the Art Institute since 1958 when it narrowly escaped harm from a fire while on loan to MoMA—NYC. Seeing it in person would have been a huge bonus. But, this is a small complaint. There are enough great paintings to keep a visitor busy for many hours. Be sure to plan enough time to enjoy the show.
Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877, oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection. Photography courtesy of the Art Institute |
