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| A visitor takes a picture of Claude Monet's 1907 painting "Pond with Water Lilies" during a press preview of "Monet to Cezanne: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterworks from The Israel Museum, Jerusalem" at the Hangaram Art Museum in the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Impressionist art pieces are popular with contemporary museumgoers, but the style was not always so popular.
The first Impressionist exhibition was held in April 1874 at the studio of the photographer Nadar, when it was not conventional to present artwork outside of art galleries. "The Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Engravers, etc." included now household names such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro. However, their new style, shifting interest from traditional subject matters of high society to nature, was criticized for being amateurish and unfinished-looking.
"Monet to Cezanne: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterworks from The Israel Museum, Jerusalem" at the Hangaram Art Museum in the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul sheds light on how the art movement revolutionized the notion of painting and brought modernity to the art world.
Co-hosted by the Seoul Arts Center, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and Culture & I Leaders, the exhibit features 106 works of art, including oil paintings, prints and drawings by major Impressionists.
Kang Mi-ran, CEO of Culture & I Leaders, said the exhibit breaks off from the recent surge of interactive and media art exhibitions and brings original works of internationally-renowned painters such as Monet.
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem is one of the largest art institutions in the Middle Eastern country, with a collection of over 500,000 objects ranging from historical artifacts to fine art pieces. Many of the pieces in the collection come from donations and gifts, as powerful Jewish people around the world give works of art to the museum.
"Though the Israel Museum is not a state museum, Jewish people around the world see us as a sign of cultural richness and want to give us more," Efrat Aharon, curator of the Israeli museum, said.
The museum's Impressionist artworks have been touring around the world, but this exhibit has been newly designed for Seoul.
"This is the first time for us to display Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings with prints and drawings together," Aharon said.
Eugene Boudin was one of the first artists to start painting outdoors. As the son of a sailor born in a seacoast town, Boudin mostly painted the sea shore and seascapes. He also incorporated images of labor into his work by painting people working by the water, washing laundry and fishing in "Washerwomen by the River" and "Berck, Beach Scene."
Boudin also had a significant influence on Monet by introducing him to the beauty of painting outdoors, capturing nature and light.
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| A visitor looks at German artist Lesser Ury's paintings depicting urban scenery in Impressionist style during a press preview of "Monet to Cezanne: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterworks from The Israel Museum, Jerusalem" at the Hangaram Art Museum in the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap |
Monet produced some 250 oil paintings of water lilies, depicting a flower garden with Japanese bridges at his home in French countryside town of Giverny.
"Monet was occupied with the theme of water lilies throughout his career. He built a garden in his home in Giverny and planted water lilies on the pond, painting them for the next 30 years of his life," curator Aharon said.
The 1907 "Pond with Water Lilies" from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem's collection is one of the paintings the artist finished before he suffered from cataracts.
"Monet was occupied with the theme of water lilies throughout his career. He built a garden in his home in Giverny and planted water lilies in the pond, painting them for the next 30 years of his life," curator said.
Aharon pointed out that Monet's paintings depict actual flowers as well as the reflections on the water. "Monet's paintings make viewers wonder what is the reflection and what is reality. Different perspectives are implemented all over the canvas," he said.
Camille Pissarro, the only artist who took part in all eight Impressionist exhibitions, expanded his subject matters to factories, which were an important part of modern industrial activities in the landscape. In Pissarro's landscape paintings such as "The Factory at Pontoise," smoke coming out from factory stacks play a pivotal role in the composition.
Paul Cezanne was also a master in the theme of light and reflection, but he used different brush techniques and complementary colors in his paintings to add more depth.
The exhibit showcases rare prints and drawings of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, revealing a lesser-known side of their style.
"Soft-ground etching was popular among the Impressionists as it could imitate the blurred outlines and spontaneity of the drawings. The prints were really welcomed as they were more available for purchase," Aharon explained.
Renoir produced over 50 engravings and lithographs, emphasizing the light lines from the technique. The subject of Renoir's prints were similar to his paintings ― dancers, children and people bathing.
The exhibit runs through April 19.
