Week Three: Post #3 (Impressionism)

For my formal analysis of an impressionist painting I will be writing about Paris Street, Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte. The painting depicts an intersection of streets in Paris on a rainy day with people out and about underneath umbrellas. This painting in my opinion embodies many of the important characteristics of Impressionistic painting. It is an excellent example of the influence of realism on impressionist works.

 According to Stokstad, Caillebotte uses an “unconventional, almost telescopic composition that tilts the perspective.” This leads me to believe that this composition is undoubtedly inspired and influenced by the invention of photography and realism. In my opinion through the perspective and the way you see off far into the distance is very much like the effect the glass of a camera lens might give, breaking it away from perfect linear perspective. Also the way that the scene is cropped is very much the way a camera would cut off a plane instead of thoughtfully placing each building and figure perfectly into the scene. This image is not just inspired by realism it is a new form of “extreme realism” it is a snapshot of a frozen moment depicting exactly what was happening that instant in Paris in 1877. Not only showing the period but a specific instant. This is seen in the glance to the side of the couple in the foreground mid stride, and all of the figures in the painting depicted frozen in motion.

Compared to works of the academy Caillebotte uses very loose brushstrokes. The composition is much more painterly and loose than what was thought of as professional perfect painting at the time and previously in history. While the scene is very tight as far as line is concerned there is much more texture in the way the objects in the foreground are depicted in comparison to the super clean and smooth historic paintings of the day. Caillebotte painted with more of an Impasto technique and you can see especially in the cobble stone street the much thicker application of paint.

I would consider this painting to be a study on the effects of muted light and reflection. It really shows how the light reacts on different surfaces like the difference between the cobble stones and the sidewalk and the fabric on the umbrella. I love the way that the shadow of the streetlight is obscured by the water and light on the sidewalk. These effects of light are rendered very nicely through the use of the impasto technique. The light and dark contrast is shown off very nicely in the figures in the foreground faces. I love the way the man’s face is much lighter below his eyes and in comparison to the way the light is obscuring the woman’s face and body.

Another reason this composition is a wonderful example of impressionistic painting is that it is depicting an outdoor scene in Paris with modern people. This scene could be considered a celebration of modernity through the way it is showing Paris Plein air (painted outdoors) and also through the immediacy of the composition (alla prima) showing the scene as if time has stopped. The composition is weighted very heavily on the right but the way that the street recedes into the distance on the left seems to make up the difference and give the composition a great sense of balance. The strange perspective helps to balance the composition allowing space for the sky on the top half. The road seems to be at the crest of a small hill the way it recedes off into the distance and then tapers to the right and left.

Overall I would say that there is no arguing that this painting, Paris Street, Rainy Day is an excellent example of impressionist painting. It depicts a modern scene with thick heavy brushstrokes while playing and experimenting with the effects light on different surfaces and reflections. The painting seems to be created alla prima or at once like a photograph, depicting a frozen moment celebrating the beauty and modernity of Paris even in the rain. The composition shows its influence of realism and even takes it further into hyper realism freezing almost every figure in the composition mid stride. In the end I find this scene an excellent example of impressionist painting.