Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) was one of the most audacious and original landscape artists of his age. Throughout his career, he continually experimented with composition, light, paint handling, and pictorial structure in innovative new ways that challenged traditional––and contemporary––painting. He taught himself by working side-by-side with fellow Impressionist masters Monet and Sisley, and in the 1870s began to define his distinctive landscape style of quick, silvery brushstrokes. By the end of the decade he had moved decisively in the direction of unparalleled painterly freedom.This stunning book is the first to examine Renoir’s landscape art in depth, tracing its evolution from the beginning of his career through his Impressionist period and the early 1880s, when he began to incorporate new landscape motifs and new levels of coloristic intensity in paintings after traveling to Algeria and Italy. With over 200 illustrations, a detailed chronology, and bibliography, the book includes essays by highly distinguished scholars that discuss the range and importance of these works and present many fresh discoveries. They also place Renoir’s landscapes in the overall context of the genre in 19th-century France, revealing how his experiments were radical and––in ways that have not yet been fully acknowledged––influential on the later development of modern art.
John House Livres
John House fut le doyen des historiens de l'impressionnisme. Loin d'être superficiels ou conciliants, les impressionnistes furent révélés dans les écrits de House comme des observateurs perspicaces du changement social. Au lieu d'être un mouvement autonome, ils furent présentés comme de fins négociateurs des conventions et institutions artistiques. House joua un rôle essentiel dans la transformation de l'étude académique de cette période et présida au développement de son appréciation publique à travers les expositions spectaculaires qu'il a organisées.
The Courtauld Cézannes
- 128pages
- 5 heures de lecture
Highlighting the first-ever exhibition of Paul Czanne's complete collection at The Courtauld Gallery, this catalogue celebrates the 75th anniversary of The Courtauld Institute of Arts. It features an exceptional array of seminal paintings, alongside rarely seen drawings and watercolors, showcasing the breadth of Czanne's artistic evolution throughout his career. The collection's significance is underscored by its quality and diversity, offering a comprehensive insight into one of the most influential artists in art history.
“I’m pursuing the impossible . . . I want to paint the air in which the bridge, the house, and boat are to be found—the beauty of the air around them . . .” Claude Monet wanted to capture more than just air and light in impasto paint on canvas, as he explained in a conversation with the Danish author Herman Bang in 1895. The master of light was also a master of shadows and reflections. This is evident in his most famous paintings, such as that of the façade of the Rouen cathedral, or the haystacks painted against light, or in the reflections of the water lilies in the pond at Giverny. In particular, his sun-drenched groves, coastlines, and depictions of the Seine in both summer and winter, demonstrate how Monet revolutionized painting by questioning the conventional notions of what a painting could be. This exquisite volume is devoted to the works from the period between 1880 and 1905 and truly paints Monet in a new light. Exhibition: Fondation Beyeler Riehen/Basel, January 22–May 28, 2017
Analyzes the career of French painter Claude Monet focusing on the evolution of his painting technique
John House examines the many facets of the work and what it reveals about Renoir as a man and artist. He asks, "What did it mean to paint a picture like La Promenade in France in 1870, in the final months of Napoleon III's Second Empire?" The reader is invited to look at the canvas - and Impressionism - as a rejection of the idealist world of academic art and as a challenge to contemporary social norms.