Impressionism at the National Gallery – Manet, Renoir, Sisley, Morisot, Pissarro, Degas, Cézanne

Note: This is a write-up of my visit last year (2022) to the National Gallery. This blog focuses on the Impressionism rooms. The rest will be under the 2022 visits under the National Gallery heading.

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A brief note about Impressionism

From what I have read, it was Edouard Manet's radical style at Parisian exhibitions which had a profound effect on many artists. Including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley etc. who focused on the day-to-day aspect of contemporary life. They would in plein air experiment with colours and flickering brushstrokes to capture the spontaneous & fleeting effects of light. The Impressionists seemed to really loved their landscapes and were deeply fascinated by how light falls across objects, how it floods a scene.

Paintings used to be the equivalent of taking a photograph. Then, it seemed to shift distinctly away from 'skills' & towards the 'meaning' behind painting. So, with Baroque art, movement and tension were the main focus. The Impressions experimented with new techniques on the 'correct' depiction of light using colour, and visible brushstrokes.

Also, paint had become more widely available in portable tubes. Having been snubbed by the art world, they banded together to advance their own exhibition - which they did in 1874. Seven more Impressionist exhibitions followed, the last in 1886.

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Fox Hill, Upper Norwood by Camille Pissarro   1870

Love it.

How can anything look so messy and unfinished ... and yet so meticulous and serene in the wintery snowy thaw. I love that we can feel the brushstrokes of the artists; those irregularities of the brush, the ridges and general disorderly nature.

This is Lower Norwood of south London. Pissarros escaped warfare and stayed in London.

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The Avenue, Sydenham by Camille Pissarro - 1871

An early spring view of London. The church of St Bartholomew in the background.

A charming impression of an everyday life scene. This was my computer screensaver. I do like it very much. The proportions are lovely 

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View from Louveciennes by Pissarro - 1869

Beautiful painting, and reminds me of my granny.

A village west of Paris where Pissarro lived. Very charming and serene. Here we see quiet stroll by an everyday lady down a village pathway. 

Once again I love how - once we get up-close - we can see how the artists daubs the canvass. Those hasty and almost careless & crude strokes creating something - at a distance - is quite exquisite. 

(light green smacks)

(great shadows, and a charming trace of an overcoat in her arm for weather changes)

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Landscape with Poplars by Paul Cézanne - 1885

I think this is probably Post-Impressionism?

Either way, I find it incredible.

Almost every single brushstroke seems decisive, consequential and deliberate. Nothing whimsical or fortuitous. It's clear he must have thought about his paintings a lot - both in principle and in practice before a scene. Some very long deliberations. The branches of the trees (typically swaying, dangling, shedding leaves, etc.) are painted as though they were solid and physical and harmonious with the durable earth. Everything seems to obey the same rules of lighting - from the the house, hilltop, trees to the front garden.

Also, I can see the basic core of cubism in the delicately shifting perspectives: the illusion of painting and our conception of a single stationery eyesight. 

The above centre feels like a series of concrete decisions. The net effect is a wonderful harmony and balance between the ephemeral and the durable; a beautiful verisimilitude.

Amazing.

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The Sea at L'Estaque by Cézanne - 1876

As per the National Gallery, Cezanne sent this picture to the 3rd Impressionist exhibition in 1877. Then, he was working closely with Pissarro. 

This painting is the South of France. The Mediterranean light made to really limit but heighten the colours which has the effect of giving the landscape differing fullness and volume.

(Amazing economic daubs of paintbrush. Interesting tinges of grey on the roof)

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The Thames below Westminster by Claude Monet - 1871

Wow! Just wow.

The overall effect is bewitching and very charm.

In this painting, Monet was captivated by the London fog. The interaction of particulates with light tends to create beautiful refractive iridescent mists which imposes a sheen on life.

The misty air is divided by Westminster Bridge which gives the water a fluctuating texture and colour. I do love the way the leaves have been painted on the tree on the side. Parliament looks beautiful and imposing, an almost mythical artificiality. The way Monet reflects the shimmering planks on the dockage is marvellous.

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The Watering Place at Marly-le-Roi by Alfred Sisley - 1875

The brushstrokes are faint and delicate. This depicts a Chateau during the winter. 

I do love the trees. If you look at them, you can almost feel their texture against the atmosphere and the sky's golden tinge. I love the faint specks of darkness walking up the snowy white pathway.

It's pretty incredible effect when you notice the rough brushstrokes.

(I love the rough sloppiness of the umbrella and their barely discernible human forms.)

(What is going on with the brushstrokes?!)

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View of the Thames: Charing Cross Bridge by Alfred Sisley - 1874

Sisley visited London in the summer of 1874.

Beautiful skyline of London city with St Pauls. I love how the smoke from the steamers (?) is given a thick harshness on the canvass. The waves are lovely. 

(Amazing white clouds and puffs)

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The Gare St-Lazare by Claude Monet - 1877

What an incredible atmosphere!

Two train engines billowing steam as passengers disembark. I love the steam blueish-white. The trains have such a strong richness in their black hue, commanding our attention. And then, there is the screeching breaking noise, the smell of the engines, the constant motion and movement of the people, the pace of life is captured so well. And Monet painted this at the train station on the spot. 

Amazing. I could look at this for ages.

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Flood Waters by Claude Monet - 1896

River Epte - tributary of Seine - flooded in the autumn of 1896 after heavy rains.

This is a pretty scene. Reminds me a little of Turner. 

The way the sky and the water melds and coalesces. I like the reflections in the water which attest to the calm. The barren trees give the painting a solemn sad tone. The brushstrokes of the earthy grey across the water - slightly obscuring the reflection - makes the water gleam faintly.

Beautiful effect.

(Love the skillfull brushstrokes, the green against the brown)

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Woman with a Cat by Edouard Manet - 1880

That's Manet's wife Suzanne relaxing on a sofa.

The cat is lustrously beautiful. Though, according to the gallery, it is probably unfinished. That might explain his wife's missing arm? Perhaps she was having an irritable day? Looks like she has a headache!! Haha.

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At the Theatre (La Première Sortie) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir - 1876

We're in a box at the theatre with two women. The effect here is amazing. 

The girl closest to us seems hesitant but excited. I think it's her eyes. That unsettled expression reminds me of people being shocked or over-stimulated. Trying to focus on other things - like the girl's mother - doesn't seem to help us. Nor do the surroundings. We get a snapshot of a moment, and the flowers in her hand are just beautiful. 

A mystery.

(Simple blots of colour to make the flowers)

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The Execution of Maximilian by  Edouard Manet - 1867

Enormous canvass! 

This painting is the execution of Maximilian, the Emperor of Mexico. He was an puppet emperor installed by Napoleon III but executed by Mexican Republicans in 1867. Only Maximilian's hand is visible, held by one of his generals (also killed). The sergeant checking his rifle for the coup-de-grace. It was censored for political reasons, and cut up after Manet's death. Degas later reassembled the fragments.

Shame it was lost, must have been moving. Reminds me of Goya. It feels as the viewer is made complicit in the cruelty.

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Wineglasses by John Singer Sargent - 1875

It seems Sargent painted this sun-dappled veranda at Saint-Enegat in Bettany.

The light brushwork makes the way the light interacts with the environment and the colourful shadows absorbing. The shadows on the earthy environs and penumbra on the floor really absorb you into the scene. I love how the seductive brushwork also includes a gleam of light hitting the underside of the brimming wine glasses. 

Just the spot to sit ... bask in the sunshine with wine in hand. So evocative.

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Summer's Day by Berthe Morisot - 1879

Alluring. It's as if she's looking at us.

Morisot creates an intimate moment and captures the charm of a summer's day. The shimmering reflective light on the lake. Charming ducks. The central lady has been painted in a handsome bonnet with her little umbrella. I love the very subtle facial features. The brushstrokes forming her attire are a curious hodgepodge of different colours and textures. Some thick brushstrokes against verdant bluish-green saturating the broader landscape.

Its quite an enchanting moment.

(Thick brushstrokes)

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Girl on a Divan by Berthe Morisot - 1885

I like it. 

Morisot once again paints with subtle facial features. I love the rusty rich brunette hair. Few distinct thick brushstrokes but vivid colours does the trick. Once again, I really enjoy the visible, expressive brushstrokes on the canvass, and the lack of blending gives her gaze an intensity. Lovely vivid squiggly lines on the dress are cute and artsy.

(Different eyes, slight tint of green under her nose, gorgeous hair)

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La Pointe de la Hève by Claude Monet - 1864

Interesting way Monet captures the gloomy overcast late afternoon sky. 

The way the waves lap at the shoreline is so skilful, the white bursting of sea bubbles and the darker patches of ground. The overhanging rock face has a very interesting mix of earthy colours. I also love the shadow around the boat.

(The white brushstrokes as crashing waves)

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The Beach at Trouville by  Claude Monet - 1870

Interesting. I think I like it.

I especially like the swirling windy sky, I like her umbrella, and that silly chair at a beach. I think I spotted grains of sand at the bottom of the canvass (on the black lady's dress).

I like Monet's wife's hat, and the brushstrokes on her dress. Interesting face though! 

Nonetheless, I can't say I warm to it a lot.

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Beach Scene by Gustave Courbet - 1874

What a phenomenal cloud formation and atmosphere. It takes up everything and almost like a creature. Alien-like, as if they will land on Earth itself.

Not sure what the middle object is.

Interesting & v. imposing vista.

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Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando by Edgar Degas - 1879

Wow!

Edgar Degas painted this famous acrobat Miss La La at Paris's Cirque Fernando. She was hoisted to the circus's 70 ft ceiling by a rope between her teeth. According to the National Gallery, it was first exhibited at the 4th Impressionism exhibition.

What is amazing is how graceful he painted her, and how delicate the brushstrokes were. The detailed work is impressive, lovely colour harmonies and how he makes a dynamic subject seem alive.

I don't find these sort of circus tricks enjoyable to watch. They freak me out, but I like the craftsmanship.

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Peasant Girls bathing in the Sea at Dusk by  Edgar Degas - 1875

Interesting. 

Degas paints naked peasant girls holding hands as they enter the foaming sea for a sunset swim.

The works seems unfinished with an overall dun effect. But, there is a naked woman to the side, fixing up her hair, with more normal skin tones. The sea seems murky with almost no detail. The girl facing the land is probably avoiding a crashing wave. 

Interesting and very different from the Miss La La above. Not sure yet what to think.

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Young Spartans Exercising by Edgar Degas - 1860

An interesting coming-of-age story from Greek history.

A Spartan scene. Boys were raised from 7 years with huge emphasis on fighting and the art of warfare.

Degas depicts the young girls encouraging the young Spartan boy to hone their fighting skills. It's kind of sweet. I think Degas revised the painting, as there are faint signs of legs being painted over. The grass brushstrokes are almost translucent.