1872, Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the museum/exhibition label:
Société Anonyme 1874, no. 98
Monet painted this view of the sun rising through smog in the industrial harbor at Le Havre, his native town on the northern coast of France. The atmospheric conditions of this humid, early morning scene have dispersed the light into a purple-green haze tinged with the sun's warm orange. For visitors to the first impressionist exhibition who were not accustomed to this style, the appearance of the barely legible color-field may have been bewildering.
Several critics focused on Monet's word choice for the title—"impression"—as an indication of the quick, summary nature of the artist's painterly vision. This sense of immediacy was central to impressionism. Monet's use of broad, gestural brushstrokes suggests this sketchy picture was done quickly on the spot before the light changed.
1872, Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the museum/exhibition label:
Société Anonyme 1874, no. 98
Monet painted this view of the sun rising through smog in the industrial harbor at Le Havre, his native town on the northern coast of France. The atmospheric conditions of this humid, early morning scene have dispersed the light into a purple-green haze tinged with the sun's warm orange. For visitors to the first impressionist exhibition who were not accustomed to this style, the appearance of the barely legible color-field may have been bewildering.
Several critics focused on Monet's word choice for the title—"impression"—as an indication of the quick, summary nature of the artist's painterly vision. This sense of immediacy was central to impressionism. Monet's use of broad, gestural brushstrokes suggests this sketchy picture was done quickly on the spot before the light changed.