Features Of Extreme Impressionism As A Painting Style

By Pamela King


Different artists portray a distinct character in their works. While this gives liberty to an artist to communicate the message behind their masterpiece however they please, Extreme Impressionism has its own character that sets it apart from other forms of paintings. To the plain eye, the compelling blend of light colors on the canvas of an impressionist simply upholds it as the most beautiful type of art.

Most people have divided views on what impressionism really is. Some think that it is a collection of artworks. Extreme-impressionism as a movement, is not the most revolutionary artistic style among the French. It is simply an idea shared among artists who have the same approach to their works. Hence, their paintings have a common character. Most notably, Claude Monet came up with ideas about realism, that until now, have formed the basis of works by realistic arts.

The history of this form of art is rooted on Plein Air Paintings. Romantics were the first people to begin this sort of art. Their quest for realism embodied a specific value to the spontaneous visual impressions of a natural setting. That was back in the nineteenth century. This approach to painting gained popularity through various French quarters like the Barbizon School, which lured other prominent impressionists.

The most compelling aspect of arts by impressionists is their ability to recreate objects that appear in sight just as they are. This simple character is what makes them different from other artists. Upon viewing their works, one notices that the brush strokes are spontaneous, rapid and robust, with much emphasis polarized on how light influences the appearance of different objects. Further, they capture brief moments, regardless of how differently objects appear.

Light as mentioned earlier, was the main character of the visual impressions made by artists. Their approach was strongly influenced by the principle that light influenced appearances as perceived by the eye. A painting by an impressionist was not influenced by emotions as provoked by the appearance of objects, but by observing how the physical setting changed, disintegrated or fragmented, because of variance in light degrees.

Another critical aspect of extreme impression arts is color. Early artworks by Romantics appeared dingy, because of too much use of dark pigments. This veiled the underlying purpose, and compromised the whole concept of using light. Resultantly, the following generation of artists sought after more bright colors like orange, green, blue, violet, and crimson among others. Nonetheless, most of them relied on their natural ability to observe the character in a natural setting.

In real sense, the realistic art movement did not give rise to any school, in spite being hatched from the depths of intuition and tryouts. It had no manifesto, no rules or regulations. It was simply a series of collection of artists who had the same outlook and shared the same style to create pictures. Despite the unity, each painter was keen to protect themselves from external influences that may compromise their individuality.

In America, the impact of this revolutionary stylistic painting approach cannot be ignored. It brought with it a unique approach to create realistic impressions, totally different form other forms of painting. It is through such a style that many young impressionists have nurtured their skills.




About the Author: