The Liberation of Color and the Seine

The Liberation of Color and the Seine

Throughout art history, the Seine has been a subject of interest. Artists painted the beautiful french landscapes on repeat. Somehow although it was painted hundreds of times, the Seine has been seen differently every time, always through a new lense. But these depictions of the Seine shifted with the liberation of color. This liberation of color did not happen all at once, and this slow process is seen clearly through the gradual shift of color usage in paintings of the Seine. Often the artists would paint the Seine for quite some time and make a study on it.

The liberation of color was slow at first, with many different movements contributing to the shift. Realism and Romanticism both were more interested in studying the people and the places as they were to an extent. The movements of impressionism and postimpressionism strove to depict what the artist saw, how they perceived.

Fauvism began its short rampage just after post-impressionism. The Wild Beasts picked up influence from the style of post-impressionism yet they added something significant. The fauves began to paint with new colors, and they applied this straight from the tube. They were called wild because of this crazy color usage. They left the color they saw before them out of their paintings and instead chose to apply whatever they wanted.

Johan Barthold Jongkind, The Pont Neuf, 1849-50, Oil on Canvas, 21 ½ x 32 ⅛ in., 1980.203.3

Johan Barthold Jongkind was deemed the “father of modern landscape” by Edouard Manet. Many artists trained alongside and under him as he portrayed landscape after landscape. His color palette is cohesive throughout all of his artwork. Jongkind is considered one of the first artists in instigating the movement of impressionism. Although his portrayal leans toward impressionism, Jongkind uses dull and muted colors. His color is very realistic yet still it is cloudy and a little bit murky. Overall his portrayal was much less vibrant than those like Monet and Seurat who followed.

Alfred Sisley, Allee of Chestnut Trees, 1878, Oil on Canvas, 19 ¾ x 24 in., 1975,1,211

Alfred Sisley, another Impressionist, exhibited the practice of painting En Plein air.  Artists used this technique so that they could paint exactly what they saw, as they saw it. Sisley’s style of impressionism often engaged the color directly in front of his eyes.The color use here feels lively, and as if spring is coming . Being in the paintings setting himself influenced his portrayal, so that he painted exactly what he saw.

Edouard Manet, Boating, 1874, Oil on Canvas, 38 ¼ X 51 ¼ IN. 29.100.115

Edouard Manet was one of the artists caught between the movements of Impressionism and Realism, yet he favored Realism. Manet spend some time with Monet on the Seine. Monet’s impressionism bled off onto Manet and this lightened his style. His color use here is airy and there is an overall sense of light through his emphasis on the white that the man wears. Overall Manet’s color depiction is still something a viewer might look outside and see themselves.

Georges Seurat, View of the Seine, 1882-83, Oil on wood, 6 ¼ X 9 ¾, 59.16.5

George Seurat spent a significant about of time studying the Seine. He made numerous studies of the Seine as he strove to capture what he perceived. Seurat was part of the post-impressionist movement, which eventually led into fauvism. His color shows more viberance than his predecessors, with a playful and lively interaction. Innovatively, Seurat used the techniques of Divisionism and Pointillism when applying his color. He would layer multiple colors and apply pure colors side by side so that they danced together to provide the viewer with one cohesive picture.

Claude Monet, Morning on the Seine near Giverny, 1897, Oil on Canvas, 32 ⅛ X 35 ⅝ in., 56.135.4

Claude Monet was one of the artists who wasn’t satisfied with just a bit of time at the Seine. Monet spent around a year creating a series of paintings focused on the morning at the Seine. His use of color in this particular painting is one that reminds the viewer of a cool dusk morning perhaps in the spring. The blurred application of these colors exhibits the impressionistic style of Monet. Although colorful,  the color use here is something that a viewer could perceive themselves

Maurice de Vlaminck, The Seine at Chatou, 1906, Oil on Canvas, 32 ⅛ X 39 ¾ IN., 1999.363.84

Maurice de Vlaminck was one of the leaders of the Fauves. This Wild Beast lived near the Seine his whole life, out of affection for his home and countryside he painted it over and over again. Vlaminck exhibits the wild use of color, unsaturated and straight from the tube. The fauves picked up the already progressive use of color of those like Seurat and Monet before them and brought it to its highest point. This color application is nothing the viewer sees with their naked eye rather it is simply something the artist has fully imagined.

Works Cited

“CHROMOLUMINARISM AND POINTILLISM – NEW TECHNIQUES FROM GEORGES SEURAT.” Spoken Vision, 11 Aug. 2014, spokenvision.com/chromoluminarism-pointillism-new-techniques-georges-seurat/.

.“Johan Barthold Jongkind.” Artnet, www.artnet.com/artists/johan-barthold-jongkind/.

Metmuseum.org, www .metmuseum. org/art/collection