OCR Text |
Show Art 1 Talks The function of light is to reveal, re-veal, but the light of the impressionists impres-sionists basks in its own beauty, revealing almost nothing more. Painters, contemporary with or immediately following impressionists impression-ists found an emptiness, a lack of satisfaction in such painting. They are known to us as a group under the title of "Post Impressionists;" Impress-ionists;" Degas, Renoir and Cezanne, Cez-anne, being of most consequence in influence. This trend was toward to-ward the incorporation of the color brilliance of the impressionism impression-ism with more substantial form and design. This trend culminated in a school termed "Cubism.'' In Cezanne, the hero of the Modernists,, we meet the full force of this return of substance to the world of the painter. It is not that there is among painters a controversy of truths, but only a controversy of opinion as to that which is significant in nature. Once decided upon, a particular phase of viewpoint is stressed, pulling one group in this direction; another in that. Cubism, while being the fortunate for-tunate heir to the virtues of Impressionism, Im-pressionism, formed its theories from the weakness of its forerunner fore-runner and became quite contrary in aim. Cubism as a return to first principles in its own accented way, wili be discussed in subsequent articles. BY GORDON COPE In Sommerset Maugham's biographical bio-graphical novel entitled "Of Human Hu-man Bondage," the author has the character Philip discuss with a new found artist friend the age old question, "What is truth ?" In order to make his point, the friend develops his viewpoint as follows: Lawson "No one knows what's in nature and what isn't. The world sees nature through the eyes of the artist. Why, for centuries it saw horses jumping a fence with all their legs extended and by heaven, heav-en, sir, they were extended. It saw shadows black until Monet discovered they were coloured, and by heaven, sir, they w re black." If we. choose to su.'xovy't objects with a black line, 'the world will see the black line, and there will be a black line, and if we paint grass red and cows blue, it'll see them red and blue, and by heaven, they will be red and blue." To prove to one of his critics that trees were actually green and not brown, Constable placed a violin against the branches. Foliage had always been painted in browns and it must have been quite some surprise to the critic to see for himself. People who receive their experience exper-ience wholly through the eyes of others frequently have to be reminded re-minded of the primary experiences. experi-ences. Original artists always derive de-rive their experience from nature and shape that experience into communicable form. Yet, as we can readily see, artists and groups of artists see that nature from such different points of view that the vision of one seems, oftimes, to contradict the vision of another. an-other. Let us see, for a moment, if the seeming contradiction as a veritable one. The Impressionists saw nature as light and the message of nature na-ture as luminosity, demanding a certain handling of color pigment to express that approach toward nature. This all pervading light refracted from the planes of objects ob-jects and forms in nature so intensely in-tensely that the spectrum colors radiated into the areas not directly di-rectly in line with the source of light; that is to say, the shadows, shad-ows, in such a manner that the shadows were also luminous, being be-ing comprised of the same tones as found in the areas known as the lights. This is true because it was looked for. The sequence in the development develop-ment of various schools from Impressionism to our modern day of painting is the sequence of logical development of theory and approach. Let us see why Impressionism gave rise to other tendencies upon which were founded new schools. Though it had that one-sidedness, characteristic of the nineteenth century movements, Monet's contribution con-tribution to the technique of painting was very great and his influence immense, even revolutionary. revolu-tionary. He and his fellow Impressionists, Im-pressionists, among whom Pisarro and Sisley were outstanding contemporaries, con-temporaries, created a style of landscape that is beyond praise in the beauty and truth of its effect of light and color and in the skid of its technique; beyond belief in the perfection of its atmospheric quality. The trouble is that it is all atmosphere: the world floats unsubstantial in a haze of dazzling light and with the characteristic nineteenth century cen-tury limitations, every other quality qual-ity of painting is forgotten. Subject Sub-ject is inconsequent, composition is often ignored completely, and the entire attention is centered on an instant's effect of light. |