Pastel practice:
XX century. Pastel in painting
Automatic translateXX century. Pastel in painting
In the 20th century, many avant-garde artists: Symbolists, Post-Impressionists, Expressionists, Fauvists and many others used pastel in their creative experiments, transforming this technique into the most liberated means of artistic expression. But some artists did not stop there, they began to combine traditional pastel with other materials, greatly increasing the initial capabilities of the technique. Throughout this century, concepts of concepts, techniques, and themes have been modified. The pastel fits perfectly into the artistic manners of each of the above areas. Expressionists added color saturation and decisiveness of brushstrokes to pastel painting, symbolists explored its possibilities in conveying the finest shades and delicate textures, post-impressionists worked with a compositional game of pure colors.
Master of Pastel Painting - Degas
Edgar Degas stands out from the galaxy of famous pastel Impressionist pastels with his innovation. He is considered one of the pillars of pastelism, which has made a huge contribution to the development of pastel painting. At the last stage of his work, pastel occupied a central place in the life of the greatest artist. The appearance of photography reinforced in Degas, however, as in many other artists of this era, the desire to capture the moment and reproduce it in a bold and unexpected composition.
Pastelists of the 20th Century /
Such great impressionists as O. Renoir, O. Redon, E. Manet and, naturally, E. Degas, have so far expanded the boundaries of the use of pastels, that, starting from the 20th century, literally all artists without exception began to use this technique to create sketches, and, often, large works.
Most of the famous artists (J. Braque, P. Picasso, A. Matisse, J.A. Vuillard, M. Cassett, M. Beckmann, P. Bonnard and others) were outstanding pastelists who became the founders of all modern trends in the use of technology pastel. And, if before the pastel did not know the riot of colors and the purity of forms; the time of imitation of oil has sunk into oblivion.
Artists of all subsequent generations, including modern painters, use the whole palette of pastel possibilities without trying to copy other techniques.
Private collection. Ramon Sanvisens. Scenery. The expressiveness of the work is achieved by fidelity to the specifics of the pastel, which is characterized by liveliness and saturation of lines, freshness of performance and color purity.
Abstract pastel
The quality of the texture and the purity of pastel colors, like no other technique, are suitable for expressing fantastic forms when realizing the artist’s abstract designs. Abstractionists greatly appreciated the advantages of pastels, such as the ability to quickly coat with a pigment a large surface, ease of shading, and, often, in their designs, used original materials contrary to traditional canons for pastel painting, as a basis: canvas, fabric, cardboard.
Private collection. Paul Klee (1879-1940). Eye. The impeccability and sophistication of this abstract color composition is the main merit of the pastel. No other means can achieve such an inimitable color expressivity.
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