Guarisco Gallery 2012

93 Style tylistic changes from the realist or Academic art tradition to the modern movement of Impressionism are quite significant. The Academic tradition included blending the paint on the palette and applying it to the canvas in successive layers using a time-consuming glazing technique. In contrast, the Impressionists applied paint directly to the canvas in a single layer, placing colors side-by-side to create the illusion of blended. Academic artists favored tight brushwork and a shiny finish; the Impressionists used broad and bold or feathery brushstrokes to draw attention to the texture of the painted surface. Whereas Academic art delineated form with precise hard lines usually in dark brown or black, Impressionism conveyed form without lines but through the juxtaposition of pure unblended color. In ‘On the Balcony’ François Guiguet blends several Impressionist stylistic devices with his thorough understanding of the Academic tradition. The artist has employed the high-keyed bright palette and broader, gesturely brushstrokes of the Impressionists rather than the dark colored palette and tightly controlled brushwork of the Academic artists. While still formally composed, Guiguet has explored the new cropping perspectives introduced by the recent development of photography. He has cropped the figure slightly out of the image, and has brought the point of view in so close that the viewer cannot experience the entirety of the balcony. The subject matter itself, a scene of private domestic life, is one that was extensively explored by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. François Guiguet French, 1860–1937 On the Balcony signed, d. 1893, o/c 32” x 21” 40-1/2” x 30” fr. Exhibited: Salon, Société Nationale des Beaux-arts, Paris, 1893 Great changes from the Academic tradition to the modern movement of Impressionism are evident not only in terms of style and composition, but subject matter as well. Academic art favored grand historic and religious themed scenes, meant to convey an edifying message. These pictures required a high degree of intellect on the part of the artist and the viewer in creating and deciphering their symbolic meaning. The Impressionists rejected these morally-charged Academic works for images of daily life, emphasizing the aesthetics of the image over its intended message. The camera and the advent of photography greatly influenced the subjects that Impressionists were drawn to. A photograph was able to capture a seemingly unstaged instant in time—an impression of daily life. The Impressionists were drawn to capturing similar fleeting moments of daily life, and focused on depicting the aesthetics of a moment rather than attempting to convey a deeper meaning. SubjectMatter S