Tuesday, February 23, 2010

How did the invention of photography and oil paint in tubes influence the art of the impressionists?

Introduction to Visual ArtsHow did the invention of photography and oil paint in tubes influence the art of the impressionists?
the oil tubes definitely helped the artist work away from the studio. traditional art was done mostly in studios without natural light. people were painting outdoors since the 1780's but you have to remember, the pigments still needed preparation (grinding and mixing the paint to achieve a certain consistency) even though master artists had a lot of apprentices to do these tasks for them(in fact there are masters who just paint the faces and hands and have their apprentices work on the background, clothes, flora and fauna, etc.). one thing to remember also is that the primary objective of art at the time was to reproduce the world as seen by use of perspective and light and shadow.





there are many reasons for the shift in style, (scientific discovery and innovation being other factors) the availability of (machine ground)oil tubes and its consistency was a major factor as well.. (some hand ground pigments were runny such as viridian, ultramarine and vermillion and earth tones tended to be more stiff and coarse..


in the 1860's a new style of painting was introduced by non-academic artists (Manet and Degas) who rejected the academic way of art and used bright, mat opaque paint on white primed canvas. (artists used dark primed canvas and work on light and shadow in academic painting) it was to develop and become impressionism...


basically the consistency of the oil tubes allowed for the introduction of new techniques which would never have been available if not for the breaking away from the academy...





with photography -


the artist and historian Eugene Fromentin blamed photography for a decline in moral spirituality in painting. photography changed the artists vision, particularly in the understanding of light. early photography was crude and some artists who studied photography such as Manet, Degas and Fantin Lantour noticed the simplified forms on a photo and were able to apply it to the impressionist style. because of the photographic image, a nomber of artists felt they no longer needed to painstakingly recreate the visual world in their paintings and were free to pursue a more personal recording of nature.





hope this helps...
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