Poppy Field in Argenteuil by Claude Monet
How to read a classic impressionist painting in three minutes
Impressionism is an artistic movement that appeared during the second half of the 19th century, in the 1860s. This movement is only the beginning of the great artistic revolution that followed.
This artistic movement is now considered the most popular in the history of painting, and this is due to the simplicity of the subjects treated such as nature, daily life, and the industrial revolution. The artists also put into painting the working classes, the poor strata of society, which were then completely forgotten in classical painting.
Impressionist works are recognizable by the visible brushstrokes, the unusual angles, and the tendency to represent what the artists see, not what the public would like to see. In addition, with Impressionism, a new way of practicing painting emerged. Artists left the comfort of their studios to paint outside, in search of pure, natural light, in order to transcribe it in their works. Easel under the arm, tubes of paints and brushes in a bag, the artists set up outside to capture the daylight.
Now that I have briefly explained what impressionism was, let’s focus on a classic work of impressionism, by the no less classic Claude Monet, The Poppies.
