Capturing the moment: From Cezanne to Renoir, painting with light, nature
The critical response to their work was mixed; one newspaper critic, Louis Leroy, was particularly hostile, attacking Claude Monet's painting, "Impression, Sunrise," as "Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape."
Leroy's derisive review carried the title, "The Exhibition of the Impressionists." The term "Impressionists" quickly gained favor with the public and was accepted by the artists themselves, even though their painting styles and personalities were uniquely different. Influenced by nature and life surrounding them, Impressionists customarily painted using pure, unbroken and often unmixed colors to achieve the appearance of spontaneity. To capture nature and the changing effects of light, they regularly painted outdoors. And while employing ordinary everyday subjects, they tended to avoid the ugly or vulgar.
Notwithstanding the Impressionists' creation of an innovative new style and depiction of modern life, there was much in their technique and composition that echoed the work of their predecessors, the Old Masters.
Featuring masterpieces by artists including Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Frederic Bazille, Mary Cassatt and Paul Cezanne, alongside those of Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Diego Velazquez, and others, the exhibit is on display through May 25.
"This is the first exhibition to focus specifically on the important relationships between the Impressionists and Old Masters," said Timothy J. Standring, Gates Foundation curator of painting and sculpture. "The story of this relationship, while accepted by many art historians, has never been explored as an exhibition on such a broad scale."
Exhibition highlights include traditional landscapes, still lifes, portraits and Fete-Champetre (garden party scenes) by Old Masters such as Claude Lorrain, Jean-Simeon Chardin and Frans Hals that are paired with Impressionist works.
Pairings, such as Cassatt's "Mrs. Duffee Seated on a Striped Sofa, Reading" (1876) and Jean Honore Fragonard's "Reader" (1776) explore connections through use of similar artistic technique, composition and subject matter.
Other pairings present a direct working dialogue between Impressionists and Old Masters — a relationship often developed through the artists' study at the Louvre.
Another highlight includes Cezanne's large-scale "Still Life with Statuette" (1894-95), a painting whose focal point is a reproduction of an early "putto" plaster sculpture. The original sculpture will also be on display along with Cezanne drawings featuring the same subject.
Museum visitors will relish the exhibition's treatment of several works by Degas that were copied from Old Masters paintings. The display reinforces Degas' assertion that "No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the Old Masters."
While the nine-hour drive to Denver might seem an expensive undertaking to see an art show, "Inspiring Impressionism" is worth it. Better yet, book a flight, because the opportunity to see and experience these masterpieces, as a unique grouping, won't come around again in the near future.
IF YOU GO ...
What: Inspiring Impressionism
Where: Denver Art Museum, 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock streets
When: Through May 25
Museum hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.;
Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.;
Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.;
Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
How much: Adult: $20; Senior/College: $17; Youth: $12;
Member tickets: free;
K-12 self guided: $7
(Audio included in ticket price; audio for members $4)
Phone: (toll-free) 1-866-942-2787
Also: Tickets for the exhibition are issued for a specific date and entry time and are non-refundable. Adult and student groups of 10 or more can save approximately 25 percent on admission. Tours conducted for groups must be scheduled two weeks in advance (720-865-5000)
E-mail: gag@desnews.com
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