Impressionism and Surrealism: Techniques and Connections

Introduction to Impressionism

Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s (Rewald, 1973, p. 6). The name of the style itself is derived from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satirical review published in a Parisian newspaper (Rewald, 1973, p. 7).

Defining Characteristics of Impressionist Painting

Several defining features align Impressionist works together. Artists tended to use short, thick brushstrokes, which were thought to capture the essence of a subject rather than its precise details. Colors were often applied side by side with little mixing, creating a vibrant surface that produced an optical blending of hues perceived by the viewer when standing at a distance. Additionally, Impressionists favored the inclusion of unusual angles within their compositions in order to provoke different visual perceptions and responses from the viewer.

Most notably, Impressionists made innovative use of light. New techniques were developed to capture the changing qualities of sunlight and twilight, which can be observed in the way colors reflect from object to object within many Impressionist works.

In viewing contemporary art, Impressionism may seem quite restrained in terms of technique and subject matter, but the Impressionists were considered radicals in their time. Painters such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Cézanne began to violate the rules of academic painting in favor of the techniques described above, offering viewers the chance to experience realistic scenes of modern life and landscape rather than the staged still lifes or studio portraits that dominated conventional art.

Surrealism: The Art of the Unconscious

Far different from Impressionism is Surrealism, an art style that developed in the early 1920s. It stresses the subconscious or non-rational significance of imagery arrived at through automatism, the exploitation of chance effects, and unexpected juxtapositions (Ades & Gale, 2007, p. 15). Largely developed into a movement by individuals who sought to reclaim a meaningful state of being in the aftermath of the horrors of World War I, Surrealists used their work as a means to celebrate positive expression and nonconformity.

Surrealists employed techniques that had never before been seen in the art world. Believing in the "innocent eye" — the concept that art is truly created in the unconscious mind — Surrealists engaged with psychology and fantastic visual imagery, basing their art on their own memories, feelings, and dreams (Durozoi, 2004, p. 6). Many Surrealists even used hypnotism and other altered states to achieve a dream-like unconsciousness before beginning their work. Rather than being defined by a shared physical use of materials or styles, Surrealism and its noted artists — including Picasso, Dalí, and Miró — encompassed not just a physical style of painting but a broader mindset and belief system rooted in the movement's philosophy.

Conclusion

In viewing both paintings together, it becomes clear that the latter would cease to exist without the foundation laid by the former within the broader context of the art world. Had the Impressionist movement been widely accepted rather than causing an uproar within society and the art community, the development of revolutionary tactics like those practiced by the Surrealists might never have occurred. It is precisely because Impressionism disrupted the existing order that Surrealism found the cultural and artistic space it needed to flourish.

References

Ades, D., & Gale, M. (2007). Surrealism. London, UK: Oxford University Press.

Durozoi, G. (2004). History of the Surrealist movement. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Rewald, J. (1973). The history of Impressionism (4th ed.). New York, NY: MOMA Publications.