Response #3

Response Essay 3
January 26, 2009
Kelly Sun


After reading Schapiro’s “The Concept of Impressionism,” I find that I have a much more refined understanding of what Impressionism is and how it came to be. I liked how Schapiro first started out with a general explanation to the concept of Impressionism – how it seems to be vague and momentary. He then goes on to elaborate on the exquisite qualities of Impressionism, such as how it was closely linked to sensation, which brought a certain essence to the painting. For a certain length he also refers to different definitions and findings on impressions; how scientists understand impressions to be a result of light rays exciting the retina, or how Locke argued visual impressions are simply results of the eyes viewing colors and lights and lines or voluminous bodies.
It was also interesting to read about the shifting from painting direct representations of objects to sensory impressions. Schapiro points out how the concept of impression was once considered unreliable for art, since they “introduced into art the impermanent, the subjective, and the illusory” (96-97). The original goal of the Classical painter or sculptor was to most accurately and precisely depict life through the way the human eye views objects, not through glimpses of color and sensory experiences. Essentially, impressionism contradicted everything the traditional artists knew and had developed for hundreds of years. The artist is no longer praised for being gifted with extraordinary precision and creativity, but for having a keen sensitivity to colors and light. I found all of this particularly riveting.
I feel that impressionism is unique because it brings the painter into the picture. The spectator now plays as big of a role as the subject matter being painted because the artist’s individual experience is being represented, whereas in traditional times the painter played a far smaller part in the actual scene. The painter was simply responsible for putting down exactly what is present before them down on the canvas. But in impressionism, the artist is no longer independent of the experience; his sense of the scene and taking in of the colors and light are the focus of the work. The art becomes purely subjective. The most important element of the painting is no longer what is being depicted; but how one sees the subject.
I found Schapiro’s introduction to impressionism to be a thorough explanation of what impressionism is, where it came from, and how it developed. He thoughtfully lays out the definition of impressionism and writes about examples of impressionist work. What I found especially helpful is that he connects the concept of impression not only to art, but also to science and philosophy. It’s intriguing to think of art as something that is involved with psychology, theory, and knowledge.