Louis Daguerre and Impressionism – Mckenzie Yerrick

Louis Daguerre

 

Louis Daguerre was first known as a Romantic painter, print maker, and physicist before he invented the daguerreotype, an early invention of the camera, in 1839. Daguerre had been working very hard to find a way to capture quickly fading images that he saw in his camera obscura (Daniel). He went through many trials and errors doing the best he could to figure how to produce an image and preserve it to view later. Dr. Rebecca Jeffrey Easby explains his process, “His technique consisted of exposing a copper plate coated in silver and sensitized with iodine to light in a camera and then developed it in darkness by holding over a pan of heated vaporizing mercury.” This process that Daguerre created allowed for a shorter developing time than ever before. Shortening the process time made his invention, the daguerreotype, more appealing to others.

Louis Daguerre, Paris Boulevard 1838

In Paris Boulevard, we are able to see Daguerre’s process that captures more detail than ever before (Easby). Even though this is true, the processing time was still lengthy. In order to capture any people in a photograph, those people would have to stay still for 10 to 15 minutes at a time (Easby). This is why we see very few people within this image. The one person that Daguerre was able to capture was a man getting his shoes shined who soon turned into possibly the first person to ever be photographed (Easby). I am sure that this man was not aware that his picture was being taken or that he would be in such a famous photo. In this early photograph, we are also able to observe the angle at which Daguerre was at in order to capture this image. Positioning himself high up at a birds eye view, he was able to capture an image of Paris that not many people are able to view. This is because whenever artists, particularly painters, would capture a landscape, they did not have access to such high heights for long periods of time. It was much easier for them to work from the ground where they were familiar. This all began to change once Daguerre snapped famous photo. Daguerre had now changed artists point of view in which they viewed the world. This process of capturing a scene realistically with a daguerreotype inspired painters to break away from painting these scenes just as they saw them. Now that they had a form of a camera that could capture these scenes within minutes, why did they need to keep painting them? This is what initially brought upon the Impressionists period of painters. The impressionists were now able to express more of what a scene made them feel rather than what every little detail looked like.

Mckenzie Yerrick

After learning about Louis Daguerre and his first experience with photography, I decided to take some photos that represented his early work that lead to Impressionism. I wanted to be high up where I was able to have a birds eye view like in his photo, Paris Boulevard. Although this angle at which my photo was taken is not new to the world, it was somewhat new to me. As a photographer myself, I generally enjoy taking close ups in order to capture as much detail as possible. I have taken photos from this angle before but I am usually closer to my subject. Also, I was able to snap this photo rather quickly compared to how long it took Daguerre. That is why I decided to take my time and capture many photos until I found the right one. My process was still much simpler than Daguerre’s but I feel as if taking more time than usual offered me time to really think about where I placed my lens. Overall, I was pleased to learn about the process Daguerre went through to get a single photo and compare it to our quicker process we use today.

Works Cited

Jeffrey Easby, Rebecca, Dr. “Daguerre’s Paris Boulevard.” Louis Daguerre, Parisian Boulevard. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2012.

Impressionism

Impressionism

Impressionism took place in the 19^th century, highly concentrated in France. There was a group of artists in France called Anonymous Corporation of Artists- Painters Sculptures Engravers etc. that were rebelling against the state funded salons, and trying to separate themselves from the academy. This group of artists included many styles, but mostly impressionists, including Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, and Claude Monet.(footnote) Critic Louis Leroy gave them their name, but it wasn’t meant to be a compliment , the impressionists just liked the name. Their paintings are supposed to be about the fleeting moment, nothing was permanent and everything was changing constantly. The loose brush strokes gave a sense of blur, like everything was moving so quickly. They used complimentary colors and were exploring color theory. During this time, metal paint tubes were invented so artists could paint anywhere, they were not stuck to their confines of the studio. (984)

The impressionist sunrise-Monet

The 19^th century in France there was the Franco- Prussian War, when installed fear in many of the French and inspired art. Also the working class made their own commune and led to many deaths and imprisoned. This changed subjects to be more of leisure time and urban work. (989) Edgar Degas was very intrigued by leisure times and painted everything from the racetrack to the ballet. Although the ballet was on a decline, Degas became the painter of the Paris Ballet.  Also during this time was when the Communist manifesto was written by Marx. This was after the industrial revolution where many, many people were in working class, in terrible conditions in factories. People were angry my these circumstances and Communism was appealing to a vast majority of people.

The rehearsal- Edgar Degas

Another important work in the impressionist era was Monet’s Bouevard des Capuchines. It depicts Haussmanization in Paris when Napolean the third wanted Paris to look like a palace, grander. At this time, paint tubes were introduced and so artists could go outside and paint from life. The birds eye view was an idea played off of with photography.the painting was a comment on how Paris is a city of strangers, where everyone is just passing by each other, the single stroke of paint starts to represent a person in the vaguest form in the fleeting moment.

Photography was announced in 1839 which changed the painters’ world completely. There was no longer a need to paint realistically, photography could do that. No one painted a still life because photography was mostly still lives in the beginning. The shutter speed was so long that only still objects could be photographed, so this was the first picture of a person that happened to sit still while getting his/her shoe shined. Also the idea of a Birds Eye view came with photography and influenced many painters.

Source: Fourth edition Pearsons Art histoy, written by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren

The Impressionist and The Camera – Kaitlyn Smith

I find the impressionists especially fascinating because they are really the first group of painters that were influenced directly by photography.  As someone who would consider themselves somewhat familiar with this medium I find extreme interest in seeing how these artists transferred its ideals into paint.

The realistic qualities of photography released painters from the job of capturing life as is.  Photography brought freedom to those who once painstakingly attempted to record reality; this could now be done with the open and close of a shutter.  Breaking away from this overly refined style was key for the impressionists as they became concerned with capturing the fleeting moment rather than what actually occupied space.  John Crowther says it best in the following sentence; “For the Impressionist painters photography could tell them what something looked like, but not how one saw it” (Crowther).  They became immensely interested in both sight and capturing the emotion of a scene.  Most impressionists painted outside.  Due to how rapidly their light source changed they painted quickly and with disconnected brushstrokes.  These factors lead to paintings that didn’t necessarily look realistic, but felt as real as renaissance paintings.

Claude Monet. Impression: Sunrise. 1873. Oil on canvas. Musée Marmottan, Paris, France.

Although these artists were freed by photography we can’t disconnect them from it completely.  Impressionists were greatly influenced by the camera and how it was able to capture the world.  This influence is evident in many impressionist works.  Unusual cropping, blurred subject manner, all over composition and the birds eye view are all directly related to the camera.  These things had never occurred to painters before film, but now they couldn’t get enough of it.  Photography opened up a whole new set of possibilities for what could be done visually.

Claude Monet. Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878. 1878. Oil on canvas. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

As a photographer I personally find this style of painting to be of great interest.  I look at these paintings, especially streetscapes such as Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878 (pictured above) and imagine them on film.  I think that the impressionists did exactly what it is they had set out to do, capture the essence of the moment.  When I look at their works I instantly feel.  We connect with their brushstrokes, their intimate use of color.  What they did was revolutionary at its time.  I’ll quote Crowther once more; “…artists who were angered by the establishment” (Crowther).  Most great movement came from resentment of something.  Thanks to the camera, this group was able to break free from the Academy.  What they did wasn’t well received at first, but they are now one of the most loved groups of painters of all time.  I believe that’s because of they way their images emotionally connect with their viewers.  We aren’t confused when we glance onto their canvas.  We don’t have to think; we just have to feel.

In reaction to this study, I decided to go outside and shoot.  My goal was simple; to capture imagery that I believed would interest “todays impressionists”.  I designed a shoot that included landscapes, colors and points of view that I felt would have influenced the greats.  The following image is my favorites from this endeavor.  Following the photograph is a description of why I believe it connects with impressionist ideals.

This image is how I am personally inspired by impressionism.  Though this image was shot from below rather than above, it has many other impressionist qualities.  The color palette is soft and pastille, the picture itself was taken outdoors, the tree and water landscape is a common among these artists and the shadow of late day gives the viewer a sense of the fleeting moment or passage of time.  I personally love the figure and wanted to in some way include it, although most impressionists weren’t too terribly concerned with this.  So to solve this dilemma I kept her off in the distance.  She is important to the piece, but not the dominant factor.  What is?  I believe the lighting becomes dominant in portraying a sense of emotion to the viewer.

Works Cited

“Characteristics of Impressionism.” Florence Griswold Museum : Home of American Impressionism. Visit where the Lyme Art Colony in Old Lyme Connecticut once lived.. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.flogris.org/learning/foxchase/html/about_impressionism.php&gt;.

“Claude Monet. Impression: Sunrise – Olga’s Gallery.” Olga’s Gallery – Online Art Museum.. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.abcgallery.com/M/monet/monet36.html&gt;.

“Claude Monet. Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878 – Olga’s Gallery.” Olga’s Gallery – Online Art Museum.. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.abcgallery.com/M/monet/monet171.html&gt;.

Crowther, John. “article – Impressionism.” Artist Perspectives – Interviews with Artists. Artist Perspectives, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. <http://www.artist-perspectives.com/articles/impressionism.htm&gt;.

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