ELEMENTS AND

PRINCIPLES OF ARTS

GUESS ME 
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be
able to:
1. describe the history of Impressionism in
Arts;
2. enumerate the distinct characteristics of
impressionism; and
3. appreciate the importance of impressionism
Modern Art “Impressionism:
Origins of the Movement and
A Break from Past Painting
Traditions”
Modern Art
In all of human history, art has mirrored
life in the community, society, and the
world in all its colors, lines, shapes, and
forms.
The same has been true in the last two
centuries, with world events and global
trends being reflected in the art
movements.
TECHNOLOGICAL
BREAKTROUGHS
Technological
breakthroughs
In just over 100 years, humans went
from hand-cranked telephones to hands-
free mobile phones, from the first
automobiles to inter-planetary space
vehicles, from local radio broadcasting
to international news coverage via
satellite, from vaccinations against polio
and smallpox to laser surgery.
Social, political and
environmental
changes
Social,
political and
environmental
changes
There has been migration across
the globe, allowing different
cultures, languages, skills, and
even physical characteristics of
different races to intermingle like
never before.
The 20th century also
suffered through two World
Wars, and several regional
wars in Asia, Africa, and the
Middle East
There was the Great Depression of the 930s,
and the Asian economic crisis of the 1990s.
Considered the modern-day plague, AIDS has
afflicted millions the world over, while
millions more continue to live in hunger,
disease, and poverty.
Environmental destruction has also become a
major concern.
Effects on the world
of art
The art movements of the late 19th
century to the 20th century captured
and expressed all these and more.
Specifically, these were the
movements known as impressionism
and expressionism.
Impressionism: Origins of the
Movement
According to Merriam Webster
Dictionary, Impressionism is a style of
painting that began in France around
1870, that uses spots of color to show
the effects of different kinds of light and
that attempts to capture the feeling of a
scene rather than specific details.
The name impressionism was
coined from the title of a work
by French painter Claude Monet,
Impression, soleil levant (in
English, Impression, Sunrise).
Impression
Sunrise by
Claude
Monet

Le Havre in the
Northwest of France,
Claude Monet's
hometown
The term precisely captured what this group
of artists sought to represent in their works:
the viewer’s momentary “impression” of an
image.
The practice of painting out of doors and
spontaneously 'on the spot' rather than in a
studio from sketches. Main impressionist
subjects were landscapes and scenes of
everyday life
Impressionism: A Break from
Past Painting Traditions
There were several areas in which
impressionist artists moved away from
the established practices of art at that
time. These are its depiction of light, its
brush strokes, and its open
composition. Secondary, to this are its
focus on movement or subject matter of
the everyday.
The thick application of
paint to emphasize light meant
that it stands on a platform as a
defining feature of most pieces.
Light dancing upon water can
be as important as the object
being reflected to it.
Distinct Characteristics
1. Color and Light
The painting The impressionists
conventions painted with freely
and brushed colors that
techniques of conveyed more of a
earlier art visual effect than a
periods were detailed rendering of
very much the subject. They also
concerned often placed pure
with line, unmixed colors side by
side, rather than
form, and
blended smoothly or
composition.
The laws of contrast colors in 1939,
explored the interaction of colors
and how they can effect each other
when placed side by side.
The simultaneous contrast and the
optical mixing of colors were
embraced by the impressionist, who
sought to capture the vibrant and
dynamic nature of light.
Another important scientific
advancement was the invention of
the portable paint tube in the
19 century.
th

This allowed artist to work outdoors

more easily, enabling them to
directly observe and capture the
changing effects of natural light
.
The Red
Boats,
Argenteuil

by Claude
Monet
Irises in
Monet’s
Garden

by Claude
Monet
La
Promenad
e

by Claude
Monet
2. EVERYDAY
SUBJECT
Old artforms Impressionists capture scenes
of life around them, household
emphasize the objects, landscapes and
creation of formally seascapes, houses, cafes, and
posed portraits and buildings. They presented
ordinary people seemingly
grandiose depictions caught off-guard doing
of mythical, literary, everyday tasks, at work or at
historical, or religious leisure, or doing nothing at all.
subjects.
Luncheo
n of the
Boating
Party by
Auguste
Renoir
The Bar at
the Folies-
Bergere

by Edouard
Manet
 3. PAINTING
OUTDOORS/PLAIN AIR
PAINTING
Previously, still Impressionists found
lifes, portraits, that they could best
and landscapes capture the ever-
were usually changing effects of light
painted inside a on color by painting
studio. outdoors in natural
light.
Argenteuil

by Edouard
Manet
A Girl with
a Watering
Can

by Auguste
Renoir
 4. OPEN
COMPOSITION
Formal, Impressionists

structured experimented with

unusual visual angles,
approach to sizes of objects that
placing and appeared out of
positioning proportion, off-center
subjects. placement, and empty
spaces on the canvas.
Cafe
Concert

by
Edouard
Manet
 Open
Composition
THE INFLUENCE OF
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography was in its early stages at
this time as well. As it gained popularity,
photography inspired impressionists to
capture fleeting moments of action,
whether in landscapes or in the day-to-
day lives of people.
The invention of camera allowed
artists to experiment with
unconventional compositions,
cropping, and capturing candid
moments, which influenced the
impressionist emphasis on capturing
fleeting impressions artists and
spontaneous scenes.
Mlle Irene
Cahen
d’Anvers

by Auguste
Renoir
 Influence of
Photography
Directions: Identify the
distinct characteristics of
Impressionism from the
following pictures.
Influence of Photography
Color and Light
Everyday’s Subject
Painting Outdoors
Open Composition
MATCHING TYPE: Match column A to column B. Write the letters only.
1. Captures the ever-changing effects of A. Color and Light
light on color by painting outdoors in B. Everyday
natural light. Subjects
2. Capture fleeting moments of action, C. Open
whether in Composition
landscapes or in the day-to-day lives of D. Influence of
the people Photography
3. Paintings also moved away from the E. Painting
formal, Structured approach to placing Outdoors
and
positioning their subjects
4. It presented ordinary people doing
everyday
tasks, at work or at leisure
ACTIVITY
Task 1: Impressionist Painting (Distinct
Characteristics of Impressionism) LANDSCAPE
PAINTING
 Students will create their own Impressionist-style painting,
applying the techniques and characteristics they have
learned.
 They should focus on capturing the effects of light, using
loose brush strokes, and depicting a natural scene. Provide
guidance and feedback throughout the process.
Task 2: Impressionist Poetry Writing
Materials: Pen, paper
Students will write a poem inspired by Impressionist
artworks.
 They should aim to capture the essence of a
particular painting or the overall atmosphere of
Impressionism.
Encourage them to experiment with descriptive
language and sensory imagery