Impressionism. Nathalia Brodskaya
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To be able to translate the values, ideas, and reality of my time, according to my own understanding; in short, to make a living art, that is my goal.” (Charles Léger, Courbet, Paris, 1925, p. 62). This statement by Courbet could have just as easily been made by the Impressionists, because, although using somewhat different means, all these artists aspired to the same goal.
Each of the future Impressionists tried, with mixed results, to get into the Salon. In 1864, Pissarro and Renoir were lucky enough to be admitted, although Renoir’s accepted painting, Esmeralda, was considered a critical failure for the artist, who destroyed it as soon as the Salon closed. In 1865, paintings by Pissarro, Renoir, and Monet were accepted.
In 1866, all the Impressionists – Monet, Bazille, Renoir, Sisley, and Pissarro – had their works accepted. Pissarro was singled out in a review of the Salon by the young literary figure Émile Zola. Zola wrote that nobody would talk about Pissarro because he was unknown and that nobody liked his painting because he strove for realism. It is possible that the future Impressionists sometimes got their paintings into the Salon simply because nobody knew who they were yet. The jury of 1867 was harsh towards the young painters: Bazille was rejected and among the many paintings submitted by Monet, only one was selected. Zola, who typically focused on young artists in his reviews (as if he had failed to notice the academic paintings), wrote to a friend that the jury, annoyed by his “Salon,” had closed its doors to all those seeking new artistic paths. The Salon of 1868 nevertheless showed works by all five future Impressionists: Monet, Renoir, Bazille, Sisley and Pissarro. Even so, all of them felt an increasing desire to exhibit outside of the Salon.
11. Edgar Degas, After the Bath, c.1890–1893.
Pastel on tracing paper mounted on cardboard, 66 × 52.7 cm.
Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena.
The idea of having a separate exhibition probably came from Courbet’s example. He was the first to actually do it. In 1865 he hastily set up a shelter on the Champs-Élysées near the Universal Exposition with a sign that read “Pavilion of Realism,” sparking strong interest among the public. “People pay money to go to the theatre and concerts,” said Courbet, “don’t my paintings provide entertainment? I have never sought to live off the favour of governments…I only appeal to the public” (C. Léger, op. cit., p. 57). The future Impressionists wanted to attract attention, too. Even when they found their way into the Salon, their modest little landscapes were only noticed by their close friends. In April 1867, Frédéric Bazille wrote to his parents: “ We’ve decided to rent a large studio every year where we’ll exhibit as many of our works as we want. We’ll invite the painters we like to send paintings. Courbet, Corot, Diaz, Daubigny and many others…have promised to send us paintings and very much like our idea. With those painters, and Monet, who is the strongest of all, we’re sure to succeed. You’ll see, people are going to be talking about us.” (F. Daulte, op. cit., p. 58).
Organising an exhibition turned out to be no simple matter: it required money and contacts. One month later, Bazille wrote to his father: “I told you about the project of a few young men having an independent exhibit. After thoroughly exhausting our resources, we’ve succeeded in collecting a sum of two thousand five hundred francs, which is insufficient. We’re thus forced to give up on what we wanted to do. We must return to the bosom of officialdom, which never nourished us and which renounces us.” (F. Daulte, op. cit., p. 58). In the spring of 1867, Courbet and Édouard Manet each had their own solo exhibitions, after the Salon’s jury refused the paintings that they wanted to display there. Inspired by these examples, the future Impressionists never abandoned the idea of an independent exhibition, but left it to slowly ripen as they continued to work.
Friends of the artists worried about the consequences of such an exhibit. The famous critic Théodore Duret advised them to continue seeking success at the Salon. He felt that it would be impossible for them to achieve fame through group exhibits: the public largely ignored such exhibits, which were only attended by the artists and the admirers who already knew them. Duret suggested that they select their most finished works for the Salon, works with a subject, traditional composition, and colour that was not too pure: in short, that they find a compromise with official art. He thought the only way they could cause a stir and attract the attention of the public and critics was at the Salon. Some of the future Impressionists did endeavour to compromise. In 1872, Renoir painted a huge canvas entitled, Riders in the Bois de Boulogne, which claimed the status of an elevated society portrait. The jury rejected the painting and Renoir displayed it in the Salon des Refusés, which had reopened in 1863. When the time came to organise the first Impressionist exhibit, Bazille was no longer with the group, having died in 1870 in the Franco-German war, so the bold and determined Claude Monet assumed leadership of the young painters. In his opinion they had to create a sensation and achieve success through an independent exhibition, and the others agreed with him.
12. Pierre Auguste Renoir, Bather with a Griffon Dog, 1870.
Oil on canvas, 184 × 115 cm.
Museu de Arte, São Paulo.
13. Alfred Sisley, A Street Scene, 1872.
Oil on canvas, 65.4 × 46.2 cm.
Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Norfolk.
14. Pierre Auguste Renoir, Riders in the Bois de Boulogne, 1873.
Oil on canvas, 261 × 226 cm.
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
15. Édouard Manet, Portrait of Irma Brunner, c.1880.
Pastel on canvas and frame, 53.5 × 44.1 cm.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Exhibiting on their own nevertheless was a little frightening and they tried to invite as many of their friends as possible. In the end, the group of artists exhibiting turned out to be a varied bunch. In addition to a few adherents of the new painting, others joined in who painted in a far different style. Edgar Degas, who joined the group at this moment, proved to be especially active when it came to recruiting participants for the exhibition. He succeeded in attracting his friends, the sculptor Lepic and the engraver de Nittis, both very popular Salon artists. Degas also actively tried to persuade top society painter James Tissot and his friend Legros (who was living in London) to join their cause, but was unsuccessful. At the invitation of Pissarro, they were joined by an employee of the Orleans railroad company who was painting plein-air landscapes named Armand Guillaumin. Paul Cézanne travelled to the exhibit from his native town of Aix-en-Provence, also at Pissarro’s invitation. The young Cézanne had broken with official painting in his earliest works, but he no longer shared the Impressionists’ outlook on art. His participation may have aroused the concern of Édouard Manet, who definitely had been invited. According to his contemporaries, Manet said that he would never exhibit alongside Cézanne. But Manet may have simply preferred a different path. According to Monet, Manet encouraged Monet and Renoir to continue in their attempts to conquer the Salon. Manet found the Salon to be the best battlefield. In Degas’s opinion, Manet was prevented from joining them because of vanity. “The realist movement doesn’t need to fight with others,” Degas said. “It is, it exists, and it must stand alone. A realist salon is needed. Manet did not understand that. I believe it was due much more to vanity than to intelligence.” (Manet, Paris 1983, Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, p. 29). In the end, neither Manet, nor his best friend, Henri Fantin-Latour exhibited alongside the young artists. The idea of an independent exhibition also frightened Corot, and although he liked the painting of the future Impressionists, he discouraged the young landscape painter Antoine Guillemet from participating. But Corot was unsuccessful in dissuading the courageous Berthe Morisot, a student of both Corot and Manet, whom at that moment joined the future Impressionists.
Finding a location for the exhibit was a difficult problem to