The fluidity of forms and the instant movement of impressionism

In the second half of the XIX century. the dynamics of life increased, which was facilitated by the scientific and technological revolution, the connection between the achievements of science and art was clearly manifested. The era of new thinking in the visual arts began. This was most fully reflected in impressionism (from Fr. impression - impression). Its representatives sought naturally and impartially to capture the surrounding world and everyday life in their mobility and variability, to convey their fleeting impressions. This trend originated in French painting of the 1860s. Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Edouard Manet (1832-1883) introduced a direct perception of life into the painting, depicted instant situations and movements, which created unexpected angles and cuts of figures.

Impressionism was later formed in the landscape: Claude Monet (1840-1926), Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), Alfred Sisley (1839-1899). Working in the open air, painters skillfully conveyed all the richness of the colors of nature, creating subtle in color, filled with light and air paintings. Artists of this direction sought to express not only what they see, but also how they see. Therefore, the Impressionists gave special attention to the light and movement of air masses, changing the shapes of objects and transmitting the dynamics of the surrounding world.

The fluidity of forms and instantaneous movement was also perceived by artists of other countries: in Germany - Max Lieberman (1847 - 1935), in the USA - James Whistler (1834-1903). The creativity of the sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is related to impressionism by energetic painting and the courage of experiments (The Thinker, The Gates of Hell).

In literature, features of this style are found in the work of the Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun (1859-1952), who portrayed a rebellion of the individual against the philistine milieu (novels “Mysteries”, “Pan”). The prose of K. Hamsun is nervous, refined, dynamic and at the same time lyrical.

In his works, with surprising psychological accuracy, the course of ordinary life, the details of everyday human existence, the daily affairs and duties of the heroes, their habits, and the characteristics of their characters are reproduced. K. Gamsun noted that you can write about everything that surrounds an ordinary person, but you should remain “true to reality”, that is, not only capture its general meaning and spirit, but also reproduce its details in your works. Aesthetization of the vices of a big city, recognition of the invincibility of evil is inherent in the poetry of the symbolism predecessor Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867) (collection of "Evil Flowers").

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But the ultimate individualization of situations did not contribute to social generalizations, in connection with which we can say that this trend was socially apathetic. The Impressionists, with their works, sharpened their view of the world, and representatives of another trend, post-Impressionism, tried to tell the world what people did not know yet. The post-impressionists, while preserving the purity and sonority of color characteristic of the impressionists, sought to create a more conventional, but at the same time more generalized and whole image of the world.

The artists Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) and Paul Cezanne (1839 - 1906) displayed the world of their own souls in art. The art of post-impressionism, showing the dehumanization of human living conditions, is more rational and regulated than impressionism. The Post-Impressionists did not have a desire to overcome social contradictions by means of art, therefore it is no coincidence that they “run away from reality” - either into exotics, like Paul Gauguin, whose work is closely connected with Polynesia, or into their own inner world, like Van Gogh, who painted many portraits and self-portraits. Post-impressionists have increased interest not only in decorative styling and formal painting techniques, but also in its philosophical and symbolic aspects.

The culture of the 19th century, even within the framework of Western civilization alone, gave the world several directions of artistic styles.