In 1874, an exhibition was held in central Paris. It showcased the artwork of artists rejected by mainstream French painting culture who had opted to showcase their work irrespective of the establishment. This was the first exhibition of the Impressionists, and now 150 years later, art institutions around the world are celebrating the momentous occasion.
Auction houses are included in this celebration, including Christie’s. The British auction house is holding selling exhibitions in both London and New York between June 5 and August 30, called Impressionism: 150 years. The paintings are being showcased in London, New York, and online; they will be available to purchase privately at three venues.
These anniversary events breathe life into impressionism as a new generation of audiences is introduced to the origins of the art form. Monet, Sisley, Pissaro, Degas, Renoir, and Boudian are all artists who, 150 years ago, showcased their art in Paris and are subsequently up for exhibition in the modern day.
This article is divided into two parts. Part two covers the artists Degas, Renoir, and Boudin. This first part covers Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro. The second part can be accessed here.
Claude Monet (1840-1926)⏐Impression, soleil levant (1872), 48 x 63 cm⏐Musée d'Orsay, Paris⏐This work is widely credited for being the first painting where the term “Impressionism” was used to describe it
To understand Impressionism is to understand that in the mid-to-late-1800s, the European continent was being rocked by wars, a wave of revolutions, and mass industrialization. It was against this backdrop of socio-political change that the conservative arts clung to power in the form of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practically controlled the French art market.
The Academy was strict about what constituted good art, and they in turn controlled the Salon de Paris, a vital event for artists to display their work to the public and art dealers. To the Academy, portraits, linear perspectives, historical subjects, and religious themes were what mattered to these judges, and anyone who did not fall under these criteria was shown the door.
The Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris was once called the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, but that version of it was abolished during the French Revolution
Claude Monet⏐Boulevard des Capucines (1873 or 1874), 80.3 x 60.3 cm⏐Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York⏐painted from the window of Nadar’s window with a different version of this painting exhibited at the 1st Impressionist exhibit.
The work of artists such as Monet focused on landscapes and everyday life. This was not welcomed by the Academy, and as such, artists were disenchanted with their chances of entering the Salon, so they gathered their funds together to establish an exhibit in 1874, which was held at the studio of famous photographer Nadar at 35 Boulevard des Capucines.
Impressionism as a concept was more than what it focused on painting. As a technique, one of its core fundamentals was painting outside, capturing the surroundings they chose; this is referred to as en plein air. Painting outdoors was paired with Impressionism’s focus on how lighting changed and affected what they painted.
Impressionists also used visual effects and the ambiance of the setting rather than the details of the setting. Critics accused the style of seeming “incomplete,” but rather, through the unique usage of short, broken brushstrokes and unmixed paints, intense colors and the illusion of movement through color vibration could be achieved.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)⏐Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood (1885), 54 x 64.8 cm⏐Tate Modern, London
Claude Monet (1840-1926) | Vue du village de Giverny, Oil on canvas
Painted in 1886
65.8 x 81.9 cm
Signed and dated in the lower left corner
Provenance:
- Ernst and Gertrud Flersheim, Frankfurt-am-Main, by circa 1913
- Edith and Georg Eberstadt, Frankfurt-am-Main & London, by descent from the above by 1936, by whom sold in the 1930s
- Alexandre Farra, Paris; Estate sale, Palais Galliera, Paris, 9 March 1961, lot C
- Elizabeth Stafford, New York & New Orleans, by whom acquired at the above sale; sold pursuant to a settlement agreement with the heirs of Ernst Flersheim, Christie’s, New York, 11 November 2018, lot 38A
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Price on request
Amongst all the artists who organized the exhibit in 1874, Claude Monet (1840-1926) appeared to be one of the key leaders, both proposing the exhibit and being one of the first signatories to the group’s charter.
Born in 1826 in Paris, he was encouraged by his mother to pursue the arts. He began working as an artist at the age of 15. Influenced by mentors, Monet began painting landscapes with bright colors, leading him down the path towards Impressionism. Part of this vivid focus on light was Monet’s travels to Algeria, then a French colony, whose colors and sun inspired his artwork.
This strong focus and understanding of light and how it played with the color of objects was a key driving force in how Impressionism developed as an art form. Much of Monet’s attention was paid to how light could affect color and our perception of objects, and this, combined with his focus on landscape artwork and outdoor painting, led to nature becoming a key motif for him.
A photograph of Claude Monet taken by Nadar
Claude Monet⏐Poppies at Argenteuil (1873 ), 50 x 65 cm⏐Musée d'Orsay, Paris⏐exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibit in 1874
Monet's work being sold by Christie’s for their exhibition exemplifies his painting philosophy. The work was painted in Giverny, Normandy, where Monet would live from 1883 to his death in 1926.
Monet’s technical mastery over light and how sunlight played with his surroundings is on display with this piece, highlighting buildings and fields and noting where they created shade. From a composition perspective, the work also displays Monet’s preference for painting landscapes and the nature of life, focusing on aspects rather than details.
Monet also had an appreciation of nature alongside the landscape of the town, as shown by the top half of the painting being occupied by fields and trees. Nature would go on to be a major theme in Monet’s work later in life, with his final series of great works being the Water Lilies.
Alfred Sisley (1839-1899)⏐Bords de Seine à Bougival, oil on canvas
Painted in 1874
34.5 x 55 cm
Signed and dated in the lower left corner
Provenance:
- Catholina Lambert, New York; sale, American Art Association, New York, 21-24 February 1916, lot 42
- Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, by whom acquired at the above sale
- Percy Moore Turner, London, by whom acquired from the above on 4 October 1929
- Private collection, France by whom acquired in the 1930s
- Private collection, Paris, by descent from the above, until circa 2005
- Private collection, by whom acquired circa 2005
Price on Request
When Monet went to paint outdoors, he was often joined by fellow artists, one of whom was Alfred Sisley (1839–1899). Among his fellow Impressionist painters, Sisley was quite interesting for his inspiration. Not only was he influenced by fellow Impressionists, but also famed British painters J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) and John Constable (1776–1837).
While Impressionism was ideologically a rebellion against the norms and rules established by the artistic elite, evidently, Sisley did not completely reject the ideas and themes that Romanticist paintings created by Turner and Constable worked on. Romanticism, like Impressionism, placed a focus on landscapes and nature but also on using paler backgrounds to accentuate dark foreground colors, and it is believed Sisley was inspired by these ideas while living in London, during his younger years.
A photograph of Sisley taken in the spring of 1863
Alfred Sisley⏐L'automne-Bords de la Seine pres Bougival (1873 ), 46 x 62 cm⏐Montreal Musem of Fine Arts⏐exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibit in 1874
Sisley’s inspiration and mastery over the landscapes he viewed can be seen in these works being sold by Christie’s. This mastery can almost be viewed as stubbornness or devotion to Impressionism, as Sisley rarely deviated from painting in an Impressionist style or landscapes.
Interestingly, if one chooses to interpret Monet as painting nature, Sisley captured the urbanization of Europe’s countryside during the Victorian period. The lot displayed focuses on the suburbs of Paris, which were then underdeveloped, but shows pockets of change as steamboats on the Seine River can be seen in Bords de Seine à Bougival, piercing the scenery.
As Sisley aged, he began using darker colors, which became more intense in his later works. However, he never managed to reach financial success, especially as his career was disrupted by France’s military defeat by Prussia.
He would die of throat cancer at the age of 59. Monet would eventually take care of Sisley’s children after Sisley’s passing and would call his friend, “He [Sisley] is a truly great artist, and I believe he is as great a master as any who has ever lived.”
Camillie Pissaro (1830-1903)⏐Couple de paysans gardant des vaches, environs d'Eragny, peinture à l'essence on silk
25.6 x 56.5 cm
Signed in the lower left corner
Provenance:
- Maurice Bardonneau, Paris
- Galerie Raphaël Gérard, Paris (inv. no. D8238), half-share acquired from the above on 21 October 1941
- Maurice Bardonneau, Paris, half-share re-acquired from the above on 28 March 1942
- Marc Wasover, Paris
- Monsieur and Madame M.; sale Hotel Drouot, Paris, 17 December 2001, lot 17
- Private collection, USA; sale Christie's, London, 5 June 2002, lot 1
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Price on Request
Sisley, while he often painted other parts of Europe, was far from the best-traveled of the Impressionist painters. Such a title may belong to Camille Pissarro (1830–1903). Pissarro's career spanned three continents as he became a father figure within the impressionist movement.
While subsequent Impressionist exhibitions after 1874 had a revolving door of painters, Pissarro was the only one to present his work in all eight exhibitions. It is interesting for a man who moved so much across the world to stay so consistent with one exhibition. In his youth, he would first study art in Paris before moving to the Caribbean to work, painting whatever he could in his free time. Pissarro would then work in Venezuela for a time, having been influenced to work there as a full-time painter.
Pissarro, photographed in 1900
Camille Pissarro⏐Le Verger (1873 ), 45.1 x 54.9 cm⏐National Gallery of Art, Washington DC⏐exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibit in 1874
In 1855 Pissarro returned to France, but his proto-Impressionist style of work was not appreciated by the academy or salon, and thus turned to a more traditional way of painting, to make a living. However, it was also during this time that he independently developed the idea of painting outdoors and in natural settings. As he continued his career in France he would meet fellow Impressionists who were also dissatisfied with the status quo. Together they would paint outdoors and challenge mainstream French artistry with their own “revolutionary” exhibits.
Pissaro is often regarded as the quintessential Impressionist and not just the artistic but spiritual backbone of the movement. Due to him being older than some of the other painters, he was a father figure who passed down advice and skills to other Impressionists, with famed Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) naming him the first Impressionist painter. Across the vast array of painters mentored by Pissarro, Vincent Van Gogh was one of them.
As Pissaro aged, he suffered from a recurring eye infection which limited when he could paint outdoors to when the weather was warm. To make up for this he frequently visited major European cities and painted from the windows of hotel rooms, opting for the highest rooms in the building to get broader views. He passed away in 1903 in Paris at the age of 73.