#Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet series#

This is because of the way the human eye perceives luminance and colour. In fact, if this painting is viewed in black and white, the sunrise becomes almost invisible. However, the sun is no brighter than any of the other colours used. First, the brightness of the orange sun against the grey background appears to make the sunset stand out in the painting. There are several interesting points to note when studying this picture. On closer inspection, further fishing boats are seen in the background along with industrial landscapes. On first glancing at the painting, the three most prominent features of the painting are the bright sun and the two small fishing boats. It is possible that critics are now more open to the concept of new ideas and different styles than the critics at the time of the original exhibition of this work. While Monet was once seen as radical, his techniques are now simply seen as different rather than unique or shocking. Between Monet’s 'Impression, Sunrise' and the works of modern artists, styles have changed dramatically with artists using unusual subjects and painting in an ever more abstract fashion. Prior to Monet, art was very traditional and artists depicted their subjects accurately and in detail. It is possible that changing attitudes towards artistic styles are the reason for these differences of opinions. Others supported the work and explained in the reviews that the artists were not painting landscapes they were painting the impression that was given by the landscape.ĭespite the initial criticism of his painting, modern art critics take a much more favourable view of his painting and it is often described as one of the best works of Monet. Some, including Louis Leroy, ridiculed the style. The reviews mainly concentrated on the exhibition as a whole and the style of paintings displayed. In fact, just five reviews even mentioned his painting as other works exhibited had attracted more attention from the critics.

Criticism of the Paintingįollowing the exhibition, Monet’s work received very few reviews. Thus, the movement of impressionism was born. His review described the style of work displayed in the exhibition as impressionism and described Monet’s work as representing this style perfectly. Louis Leroy reviewed the exhibition for the La Charivari newspaper and referred to it as the ‘Exhibition of the Impressionist’. The term was originally used as a way of describing the effects of the scene on a painter or the effect that paintings had on viewers.įollowing the exhibition featuring Monet’s 'Impression, Sunrise', the term impressionism was applied in a different way.

It was also a term associated with the work of Manet and Daubigny. The term impressionism was not new and was used prior to Monet’s work, particularly to describe paintings from the Barbizon school. Regardless of the title, the piece did receive criticism for exactly those reasons.

Some later said that he chose the title to avoid criticism from those who would say the painting lacked detail or appeared unfinished. Therefore, he titled the piece 'Impression: Soleil Levant', or 'Impression: Sunrise'. In explanation of his title choice, he attributed his hazy painting style to using the term ‘Impression’ as he felt that the term ‘view’ was not an accurate reflection of the painting style. Amongst those exhibiting their work were Degas, Sisley, Renoir and Pissarro.Īccording to Monet, he gave the painting a title as he was asked to do so for the exhibition catalogue. The painting made its debut onto the art scene alongside the work of 30 other artists in an exhibition that was initially called ‘Painters, Sculptors, Engravers etc. This piece was painted from his hotel room just as dawn was breaking.

#Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet series#

The most famous in this series was ‘Impression, Sunrise’. There is a total of six canvases that depict the port in different ways at dawn, during the day, at dusk, in the dark, from the water and from the viewpoint of his hotel room. During these visits, he would paint scenes in the area, including the port. Le Havre in Northwest France was Monet’s hometown and during 1872 he visited the area regularly.