Join me on an adventure into the history of art, my way…

Over the next 31 days, I will share with you the most influential genres of art throughout history!

Each day, I will post a new rhino painting, created using a specific technique or with a specific genre in mind!

Rhino #1 is the the first “Impressionist” Rhino that we’ll see this month, (there may be more than one), after what is arguably one of the most popular painting styles the world over! It is evidenced by the amount of art which is still produced today using the techniques which came into favor by the late 19th century movement.

Some of the most famous artists we recognize today as Masters and indeed, among favorites to collectors, came from the impressionist movement and weren’t limited to painters, either! There were great sculptors too, as the cultural arts community was heavy patronized in all sectors of fine art: Monet (the trademark artist when we think of Impressionism), Cezanne, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Boudin, Guillaumin, Cassatt (The only American in the group), Pissarro, Sisley, Morisot, Bazille and of course, Gustave Caillebotte, of whose infamous painting of the streets of Paris we are all familiar, were among the many who were featured in the Salons of the day. Some of these painters did not consider themselves Impressionists, but have been placed here due to their loyalty to the group, like Degas, who fancied himself a realist.

Impressionist style:
There were many different painters who handled paint differently, but for the most part the style was identified by *short, thick strokes of paint which are used to quickly capture the essence of the subject, rather than its details. The paint is often applied heavily or impasto. Colours are applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible, creating a vibrant surface. The optical mixing of colours occurs in the eye of the viewer. Grays and dark tones are produced by mixing complimentary colors. In pure Impressionism the use of black paint is avoided. Wet paint is applied into wet paint without waiting for successive applications to dry, producing softer edges and an intermingling of colour. The media used were oil and pastel
-(*some excerpts from Wikipedia; Impressionism)

You might say that the impressionist movement was only slightly anti-establishment in their simultaneous denial and employment of traditional realism teachings, but with their own colorful and unique twist, creating the beloved and immortal style! They weren’t quite ready to let go of order and control. The Impressionists were the mature group who paved the way for the much looser, wilder strokes Post-Impressionism. And a few of them would soon identify more closely with Post Impressionism, where the likes of Van Gogh, Seurat, and Toulouse Lautrec would flourish and move their way into the Art Nouveau Era!