A&E
Munson-Williams-Proctor brings new exhibit featuring 18th century French Impressionsim
By Eunice Lee ’16
September 10, 2015
For those less familiar with Impressionism, it’s easy to forget that not all the artwork of the late 1800s was not fully defined by the vibrant colors and visible brushstrokes that characterize this movement. However, the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute’s latest exhibition, “Monet to Matisse: The Age of French Impressionism,” thoughtfully reminds connoisseurs and novices alike of some of the complexities that existed in the art world during this period.
Comprised of 61 pieces from the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tenn. and the MWPAI’s permanent collection, the exhibit appeals to a general audience seeking the charm and liveliness often evoked in the paintings of artists, like Auguste Renoir or Claude Monet. But certain pieces, like Edmond Georges Grandjean’s A Coach Stop on the Place de Passy—the only Salon-accepted painting on display— and those of Narcisse Diaz de la Peña from the permanent collection, prompt visitors to think outside of this style and context. Specifically, these works remind viewers that the techniques preferred by the Academie des Beaux Arts, as well as the trends for buying and selling artwork, throughout the 1800s did not always coincide with what the Impressionists depicted on their canvases.
On a simple level, the exhibit space is divided by the periods leading up to, during and after the height of French Impressionism. Visitors are first introduced to the roots of the movement, where artists, like the Barbizon school painters, began to depict pastoral life in a less structured and academic fashion. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s The Paver of the Chailly Road and Adolphe-Félix Cals’ Mother Boudoux at Her Window serve as good examples for understanding this new desire to paint scenes from everyday life.
This idea is further emphasized in the succeeding three galleries, each of which highlights the most commonly painted subjects during the movement: domestic life, country or seaside vistas and Parisian bourgeois nightlife. Oil paintings such as Alfred Sisley’s The Seine at Billancourt and Berthe Morisot’s Peasant Girl among Tulips, among works from well-known Impressionists, like Georges Seurat and Edgar Degas, are model examples of the bright color palette, flowing movement and rough brushstrokes that characterize Impressionism. But the more subdued watercolor, gouache and ink pieces of Jean-Louis Forain, depicting the newly burgeoning Parisian bourgeois society of the late 1800s, offer a nice break from the highly saturated oil paintings that often take over most Impressionist exhibits.
The last gallery of the exhibition brings the age of Impressionism to an end. Paintings in this section, such as Paul Cezanne’s Trees and Rocks near the Château Noir, Pierre Bonnard’s Woman Picking Flowers and Raoul Dufy’s View through a Window, Nice, show glimpses of how the revolutionary Impressionist movement transformed and motivated future artists to continue painting outdoors or become inspired by everyday life. The MWPAI’s “Monet to Matisse” is made unique by the museum’s efforts to create an educational experience for all visitors. The addition of a kid-friendly learning station with coloring booklets, plus a wall where visitors can place colored stickers on a blank image to better understand color theory, further enhances the museum’s mission to make art education more accessible to a wider community. Moreover, the MWPAI is offering a special guided tour for the first time that is tailored towards French-speaking high school and college students in the local area. Overall, the pedagogical nature of the exhibition allows visitors of varying ages and art backgrounds to appreciate the evolution of Impressionism in a clear, well-paced manner.
“Monet to Matisse: The Age of French Impressionism” runs until Nov. 29.