Painting Provence, France – Meeting and Analysis of Artworks

The article is given as background for a lecture. Following artists who paint Provence, France
The lecture is free (on 27.06.24 at 10:30 and 18:00) and must be registered in advance.

When you look at a work of art, you experience the world through the eyes of the artist and through him you see it in a new light. 

In a lecture Painting ProvenceNature is the starting point. 

In the period we will review through the works, we will see that the definition of the concept of “art” has undergone far-reaching changes. The definition has moved away from the academic one, which was prevalent for centuries and was formulated at the École supremaire des arts in Paris, Ecole Nationale Superior de Beausejour. 

The requirements there were:
Describe events from the Bible, the New Testament, and mythology. 
Work in the studio and prepare preliminary drafts for the work.
There is no room for spontaneity. There is no room for deviation from the rules. 
The brushstrokes should not be shown when they meet the canvas.
The piece must be coated with a layer of glaze. 
Must sign with name and date.                        

The graduates of the academy, who adhered to the procedures and served as judges at exhibitions on behalf of the state, determined the fates and careers of the painters. The works we will learn about in the lecture and article deviated from the above procedures. 

150 years of Impressionism

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the modern revolution of the painting movement known as “Impressionism.” At the time the works were published, the art community in the Western world reacted angrily to the step taken by the rebels, which to them was inconceivable.

At the beginning, these works were considered daring, outrageous, incomprehensible, a type of fringe art that “rebelled against the kingdom and hegemony” of the establishment. The patrons who purchased them were seen as oddballs, eccentrics who did not understand quality and were throwing their money away. 

Today, one can only hope for the inheritance of a “small fish” – an event that can financially secure an average family for several generations to come.
I intend to show that impressionist painting is, in modern terms, “an application of image processing according to a scientific protocol.” 

The product, the Impressionist works, are an academic/thoughtful exercise in painting. The studio “went outside” and lost the ceiling and walls. It was the sunlight that dictated the product and visibility at sunrise, midday and sunset. The eye, the paint and the hand were the tools for execution. Today it is a beloved and accepted style by art lovers around the world. Museums take pride in their collections and this year, in particular, exhibitions are dedicated to the subject inMusee d'Orsay וAt the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

We explore a group of painters who challenged and reinvented the rules of the art world. Their boldness and the waves that hit the art world are likened to a tsunami on a global scale. 

In today's terms, this is a "start-up": On April 15, 1874, the group exhibited in the studio of the photographer Nadar (NADAR 1820-1910). The production was independent, from advertising the exhibition, through the production of the catalog, to the sale. The works were sold during the exhibition - in a modern, different and unconventional approach. 

 

The criticism from the institutional press was devastating: Pregnant women were warned not to enter – for fear of miscarriage due to exposure to the horrors.   

The uniqueness and difference of the group of rebels was expressed both in the choice of painting subjects, in the treatment of the subject, and in the site where they were painted. The subjects of the pictures were city or village landscapes with descriptions of everyday moments. For example, meetings where the audience is seen while having fun, spending time with pets, while shopping, and strolling. To our eyes, they appear modern. There is no description of dramatic moments in history. Visually, the equivalent of the Impressionist movement today is the content we upload on the apps available to us: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and more. 

In another nod to familiar modern content, they recall the topics of dialogue between characters in the American sitcoms “Friends” and “Seinfeld.” Conversations about “nothing.” Moments of nothingness create routine. 

As part of the exclusion from the Academy of Fine Arts, Impressionist paintings intentionally lack the required finishing. Hence the claim that they appear imperfect.

Each of the painters I will review in this lecture explored the world through their eyes, their imagination, natural lighting, the colors they had at their disposal, the degree of density of the paint, and the rhythm of applying the paint to the canvas. The “rendering of reality” they experienced, and immortalized on a two-dimensional canvas surface, became the ironclad assets of Western culture. 

We begin with the representation of nature through the eyes of the “Impressionist” painters. The longing for the Provence region in France is understandable. The painters I will review in the lecture were drawn to the natural light of Provence and the depiction of the fleeting moment. The effect of changing light on the environment was essential to documentation. This is the essence of the rebellion against academia that began with painting on canvas outside and without preparatory drawings.

Provence region Offers and invites a challenge of painting a landscape with sunlight reflected from the Mediterranean Sea. This is dealing with a situation of glare and describing shades on one color scale and the shadow created by the clouds above the sea. The second challenge is in describing a landscape, especially one of a forest. In this case, the challenge is in dealing with the light that reflects from the ground and creates shadows. 

Three areas influenced the development of the Impressionist painting language: The margarine, the camera, and Matthew Culbright Perry (Kanagawa Treaty). 

A French chemist named Michel Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889)), is one of the founding fathers of organic chemistry. His main occupation: understanding the nature of animal fats. For the culinary world, he is associated with the discovery of margaric acid. For the world of pharmacology and cosmetics, he is mentioned as producing an early type of soap made from animal fats and salts. 

For the art world, he is remembered as the researcher who studied color contrasts. He was significant as an arbitrator in the dispute that saved the tapestry industry (thread-embroidered tapestries that decorate walls for beauty and a layer of protection against the cold) from ruin. 

Chevrelle designed the color wheel. It is an abstract representation of the different shades of color perceived by the human eye, on a circle. There are 3 primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. The combinations of them, in varying doses, create the other colors. The visibility and strength of the individual color varies according to the colors that surround it! 

The phrase, “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are,” turns out to be relevant here too. Chevreul was called upon to defend tapestry manufacturers who were accused of having second-rate colors in the finished, embroidered tapestry, of faded and pale quality. Customers claimed that they did not look as they had been chosen at the factory when they stood as individual spools of paint. Chevreul explained to the angry customers who demanded compensation that the responsibility did not fall on the tapestry manufacturers, but on the customers’ choices. The color looked pale next to its immediate neighbor. The color looked prominent when placed next to the “neighbor” across the street. 

When the color wheel was “invented,” it was possible to advise the customer on how to make a wise and scientifically correct choice. Incidentally, this is the entire Torah for the art of matching colors in clothing, furniture, and more.

The second issue – the camera:

In 1826, Nicéphore Niépce succeeded in fixing a photograph taken with a camera, although it required at least eight hours of exposure in the camera, and the results were crude. His partner, Louis Daguerre, continued to develop the daguerreotype process, which produced clear results. On August 19, 1839, the Paris Academy of Sciences published details of the process that Daguerre had demonstrated to them. Photographers of the time could step outside the studio and capture a moment for eternity. 

Positioning the camera at different and original angles, compared to its static position in the photograph, allowed for a new observation of reality. 

The third issue – the US Navy

In 1853, U.S. warships demanded the right to dock in Tokyo harbor. The Treaty of Kanagawa was signed on March 31, 1854, between Japan and the United States, and was the first diplomatic agreement between the United States and Japan, which was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate. The U.S. representative, naval officer Commodore Matthew Perry, led the talks. He is also considered the “father of the steam fleet.” The American Navy, in order to be a naval power at the time, needed to keep up with the latest technology.

Modernization alongside international capitalism were forces that no one could stop. 

This was the first time in 200 years that a foreign entity had docked on the island. The opening of the Japanese Empire's markets to the West flooded the markets of Europe and France Mainly, in Japanese goods that were perceived as exotic, innovative, and fascinating. This phenomenon is called Japanism – JaponismThe modern world of art and design, the one that rebelled against academia, found inspiration, influence, and a substitute for the demands of the art school in Japanese imports.

Japanese material culture (fans, partitions, kimonos, paper prints, utensils, etc.) inspired the Impressionist painters to depict in their works, similar to the Japanese, everyday activities (as opposed to the depictions of dramatic events in history and religion, which the Academy preferred). 

Intimate scenes of simple activities from everyday life, as we see in the work of the painter Kitagawa Utamaro, “sanctified” simplicity and everyday crafts. 

We have before us a female figure in the privacy of her room. We, with an intrusive gaze, observe her without her realizing it. 

She is busy with herself, while she examines her face. This is where modernity begins, of ephemeral and superficial content, which also has a place in documentation. 

If it were a Western work, it would be given layers of religious, moral, and social commentary on the woman's preoccupation with herself as an expression of original sin, arrogance, and the cause of man's fall from the Garden of Eden. 

The liberation from the burden and the yoke through the enjoyment of the work is possible because it is a Japanese work made by a non-Christian painter who is not bound by the above doctrine. 

 

The Japanese woodblock prints of the great painters Utagawa Hiroshige and others, which came in their thousands to mix with the ukiyo-e style, showed how a composition could be built using diagonal lines in the artistic work.

The first thing we see as spectators is the trunk and branch that block our field of vision, which lies in the depths of the landscape.

Nothing like this has yet been seen in the Western world. One would have expected the painter to choose a different point, perhaps between two trees, for the location of his viewpoint and the description of the orchard. The structure of the composition is innovative, bold, refreshing, and different from anything familiar in Europe.

 

Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) belonged to the first generation of “rebels.” They chose to come to this site and paint it 3 times a day: once at sunrise, once in the middle of the day, and once at sunset.

The intensity of sunlight changes throughout the day. The intensity of light affects the brightness of the objects, the color tone, and the shadow that the object casts. The softness of the first rays of sunlight caressing the awakening world is the emphasis of the work. Note the soft pastel tones in the depiction of nature. The top of the tree on the right side of the foreground of the work is illuminated. Along the trunk, we can estimate how high the sun has risen, because upon closer inspection we see that the lower part of the trunk is shaded. On the left side of the picture, we see the branches of the crown of a side that is not fully depicted. In the background, the city is depicted in dazzling light. This is the effect of the light reflecting off the water on the buildings. Monet combines the two challenges of impressionist painting in the work. The inspiration of the language of Japanese painting with a Western brush is evident, another step in which Monet moves away from the Academy's performance protocol, in favor of defining his own performance protocol. 

 

Renoir joined the Impressionist movement, accompanied Monet on a trip and depicted the same site in a different rendering: a different, more realistic color scale. Renoir chose to stand in nature and paint the mirrors directly on the canvas. 

This work is received by the modern viewer naturally. It has no reference or correspondence to the heroic content. Nature is a starting point for the “processing of the picture.” Renoir is not as bold as his colleague Monet, in creating a balanced composition. 

For the painter, it took enormous courage to “rebel against the monarchy,” the academy, and offer the public an alternative to the content to which it was accustomed. It would take many more years for the public to mature enough to accept such content. Note the light, feather-like brushstrokes.

Paul Cezanne

Paul Cézanne (1906-1839), born in Aix-en-ProvenceProvence (Aix-en-Provence); was the painter who gave autonomy to color. 

In research, he is seen as the “father” of modern art. His artistic ability was limited by health problems. He suffered from diabetes. It damaged his eyes. His vision was distorted. Cézanne described the world as he experienced it, as shapes or colored spots. Cézanne was also seen as a member of the group of creators The Post-ImpressionistsThese are the members of the continuing generation of the rebellion movement. Out of respect for the pioneers, they kept their name and added the word POST, which signifies the continuity of the movement and the development of the concept of painting. 

As a painter, researcher, and scientist of the visual process, Cézanne wanted to remind us that painting is a rendering of three-dimensional reality on a two-dimensional surface. Reality is a jumping-off point for the subtraction of details. What remains is the base. For those of you who wear glasses, look at your surroundings for a moment, not through the lenses. That way you will understand Cézanne accurately.

Cézanne continued the analytical exercise of giving the viewer a set of points of view on the object. 

Cézanne's developments created the "toolbox" that Pablo Picasso adopted as a jumping-off point for the Cubist style he later developed with the painter Georges Braque.

 

In the work above, we create a dance, a rhythm of beige tones merging with green. Cézanne invites us to travel with the eye from below towards the interior of the work. The surfaces of the house on the left are depicted in a few minimalist lines. 

Behind the house, through the treetops, we climb towards the mountain ranges that fill the space of the picture almost completely. They are painted blue! 

The brush strokes are precise – and reminiscent of children's coloring books in which surfaces are filled with wide spots of color.

Vincent van Gogh (1890-1853)

Vincent van Gogh painted in the city of Arles and Saint-Reny-de-Provence. 

He was drawn to the place because of the warm climate he loved, the strong light, the intense colors that made him feel alive. Like the Impressionists, he painted outdoors day and night. A close look reveals that the paint he used was not diluted. 

He “sculpted” with paint as he translated into the craft of painting his intense feelings towards the joy of life, alongside the sadness and loneliness he felt as a social outcast. The environment cut him off because he had a strange and neglected appearance. He looked like a “homeless” person during the Depression. 

There is no mimetic experience in his works – a copying of reality as in a photograph. We see his inner world, his emotions, in the encounter of the paintbrush loaded with color on the canvas. 

Two-thirds of the work is sky. Notice the shades and shapes of the clouds that blend into each other and move wildly above the ground. The clouds slide into the mountain range and these blend into the rounded hills, painted in blue and azure. Our eye is directed forward, towards the plain near us. 

We cross through a hedge of trees and bushes and find ourselves in a carpet of gold, in a field of wheat. The golden yellow of the wheat, the color he particularly liked, signified optimism for him. 

When you look at the sky again – you can see the touches he made, in the clouds, with a brush and yellow paint. Vincent van Gogh is seen as the father of the expressionist movement in the study of the art world. A style that expresses emotion through the choice of shades and the placement of paint on the easel. 

 

Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) came to live with Vincent in the city of Arles as a colleague, mentor, and supervisor. He was hired by Vincent's brother, Theo, who was anxious about the physical and emotional state of his painter brother. Vincent believed that he would be privileged to establish a commune of artists and would have a significant and social role in the community he would create. The only one who accepted the invitation, for a fee, was Gauguin. The connection between the two was complex and explosive: Professionally, Gauguin displayed enormous rivalry and jealousy toward Vincent. He, Gauguin, perceived himself as a man of the great world, hedonistic, modern, unique, incomprehensible, and a victim of society struggling to forge a unique path in the world of art. In front of him was Vincent: disabled, miserable, physically neglected, burdened with physical and mental illnesses whose work of painting flowed from the tip of his brush almost effortlessly. The only way Gauguin could demonstrate control and superiority in the situation was by belittling and teasing Vincent. Especially on rainy days when they were forced to stay home and paint. These were the days before the famous incident in which Vincent cut off his own ear.

 

Vincent suffered greatly when he was called “mad.” Gauguin enjoyed abusing him and this painting illustrates his sadistic nature. It is November, there are no sunflowers in the fields. The choice to paint Vincent while he was working on a monumental work that he had prepared for Gauguin’s arrival was intended to crush him mentally. Vincent even complained to Theo about the incident.  

Paul Gauguin is seen as the father of the Symbolist movement in the study of the art world. Color has meaning and quality, similar to the color catalog of the Middle Ages.

Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse (1954-1869), a painter in Nice and Vence – both on the French Riviera in eastern Provence. Matisse shared that when he saw Van Gogh’s works he realized how important it was to allow color to “express itself” – as an autonomous element in the work, not limited by outlines. 

In creating art, reality is a starting point. The processing of the image takes place when you, the painter, processes the experience and shares the feeling with you. You are partners in the moment. Therefore, there is no obligation to be precise in description or color. When he seated a family member at the foot of an open window facing the sea on the French Riviera, we are with him, there. The transition of the bright lighting outside illuminates the right side of the figure sitting in the house. 

Matisse plays with both dimensions, on top of a single universe that he created. The bulk of the picture depicts the open window, the sky and the sea. It is bright outside. Outside the window we see silhouettes of figures walking along the shore between two palm trees. The sea is dotted with white sailboats. The work reflects an atmosphere of liberation, of calm, of freedom, and an invitation to join in!

 

Pablo Picasso (1973-1881)

This painter was familiar with the works of all the painters we have reviewed so far. He was a talented multidisciplinary creator. In the cruel and harsh world of art, in order to remain relevant and renew himself, he created collaborations with other artists with whom he developed artistic styles and languages. 

He also had generous patrons who took care to create an aura around his works and brand him as a one-time genius. In fact, he was, throughout his life, in a struggle to succeed and rise above the competition.  

 

In this work, Picasso does an “image processing” in the spirit of the “Fauvist” group of artists to which Matisse belonged. The color is taken from their color palette. Shapes depict residential buildings on the right side of the work – they have no outlines. These are blocks of color, something that corresponds with Cézanne’s work. 

There is no precise description of nature here. Through Picasso's eyes we experience this moment, of the open-air landscape, as he paints. We feel a free hand and a quivering brush. Notice the circular movement when using the yellow color that adorns the mountain ranges – this is a direct influence from Van Gogh's painting style. 

Picasso imitates the painters before him – from each he takes a different element that he incorporates into the work. The white figure under the tree invites us to wonder whether this is Picasso's figure, or ours, the viewer who has stopped to rest.

Marc Chagall (1985-1887)

During the years he lived on the Riviera, Marc Chagall rarely painted landscapes, but instead focused on creating series that dealt with biblical stories. In his works, the Mediterranean light is evident in the intense use of color in the depiction of his figures. 

In Chagall's paintings, we are shown in the universe of "Ex-Territory". In reality, against a red-orange sky, a horse holding a bouquet of flowers flies with a pair of wings in the center of the sky. On its back are a couple, a bride and groom, holding a blue mane. The bride must hold on to the horse's mane to keep from falling, and therefore her bouquet is between the horse's front legs!

The atmosphere is surreal, the painting style is childish/naive, and the use of color is expressionistic. Note that the combination of colors – red, blue, and yellow – may be a reference to the French flag.

Behold, you are beautiful, my flock. Behold, you are beautiful, your eyes are like doves from afar, your hair is like a flock of young lions that have flown down from Mount Gilead.

2 Your years are like the flock of sheep that have come up from the flock, whose heads are in harmony, and whose heads are not in them.

3 Your lips are like a second thread, and your words are fair. Your eyes are like a pomegranate, from your forehead to your chin.

4 Like the tower of David, your shields are built to hold a thousand shields, and all the banners of the mighty are hung upon it.

5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a flock of sheep, grazing among the lilies.

6 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of the dead, to the hill of the white.

7 All your beauty is my delight, and there is no blemish in you. 

8 You are from Lebanon, all of you from Lebanon, Tabor, Tashuri, from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir, and Hermon from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.

9 My heart is like my sister's heart, my heart is like yours, "together" with your eyes, with your grace, with your creations.

10 How beautiful are your breasts, my sisters!

11 The sweetness of your lips is like honey, and milk is like honey to your teeth, and the fragrance of your breasts is like honey to a child.

12 A garden of thorns, a

13 Send me a garden of pomegranates with figs, a field of wild grapes with nard.

14 Nard, and calamus, and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense and myrrh, and tabernacles with all the chief trees of the heavens.

15 fountains of gardens, flowing with living water, flowing from Lebanon.

16 The north wind and the south wind, the wind of the valley, will flow in his name; my friend will come to his garden and eat the fruit of his pastures.

The lecture is given on Zoom and is free. 
No prior knowledge required. Just curiosity. We'll meet. At the end I'll invite you to support