Beyond Impressionism at the National Gallery - Pissarro, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec - Part 1

Note: This is a write-up of my visit to the National Gallery in 2022 before I started my law degree. See the index for the rest of the 2022 visit.

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The Boulevard Montmartre at Night by Camille Pissarro 1897

This is so beautiful. 

According to the National Gallery, this is Pissarro's only night scene. 

The shimmering and glowing reflections of shiny street lamps, the shop windows, the passing rudimentary motor vehicles etc. creating circular swirling planes orbiting them evocative of a warm and moist atmosphere - a rainy, humid or showery evening. I think you can discern a row of upraised umbrellas on the right hand-side pavement.

The sky has its own soft luminescence but closest artificial lamppost (to the viewer) is interesting. It's light evanescence on the boulevard. It has a swirl of black darkness floating around it. Perhaps it's a comment on the introduction (then) of the electric street lamps in city life. My own grandmother remembers her own grandmother talking about the introduction of electricity at the turn of the last century.

The painting has a dark mood to the night; but it also evokes the feel & saturation of a charming environment. I feel you can almost hear the hustle-and-bustle, the gentle chit-chat of passersby, the soft drizzle of the night sky (as the warm front rises bringing its moisture high-up in the clouds).

I love how the elegance of the paint and imagery from afar can give way to a confused muddle but a vivid mess ... when you go up close.

I love how obfuscation - almost through a rainy hazy pane - makes us notice more and more of reality.

The (then) automobiles, procession of umbrellas, pavements, trees.

There is something about that lamp. Not only does it feel like it radiates actual light; but it emits a captivating blue-darkness. Beautiful.

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The Boulevard de Port-Royal by Johan Barthold Jongkind    1877

I don't know anything about Johan Barthold Jongkind. So, I then discovered a blog mydailyartdisplay who had this to say about this 19th century Dutch painter who is "considered to be the forerunner of Impressionism".

Jongkind not only studied with Isabey but also with the French painter, François-Edouard Picot.  He also met many of the landscape painters of the Barbizon School with whom he often worked with and exhibited his works alongside theirs.  Despite his initial traditional training as a Dutch landscape artist, his painting technique evolved and soon his works took on a new range of colour and he became fascinated with the pictorial representation of light.  It was this interest in light which would become essential in the development of Impressionism.
When Jongkind had first arrived in Paris he discovered the river Seine and this became a new source of inspiration for his art. He also depicted many aspects of Paris life but preferred to concentrate on the industrial modernity and urban development of the capital rather than the touristy scenes of the crowded city.   His style is often likened to Naturalism, which is the representation of the world with a minimum of abstraction or stylistic distortion.  It is the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting and is characterised by convincing effects of light and surface texture.

I think it's a very pretty painting. It is pleasing to the aesthetic sense. The clouds are almost graceful, the plush greenery & quiet feel to this suburban streets lends a quiet arcadian feel. The thick fecund summery trees is counterposed by an imposing elegant row of homes. 

It has lots of romantic charm. I look forward to this artists work.

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Late Afternoon in our Meadow by Pissarro   1887

Again, just lovely. I can't help but smile looking at this painting. 

I like almost everything about it: the delicate skyline, the profusion of striking, small but warm colours on the ground which gives the ground a cloud-like texture, the tinges of yellow in the trees (oranges?), the woman with arm against abdomen.

It is clear Pissarro was experimenting with Seurat and Paul Signac's pointillism techniques.

Something very sweet about this lady - as if she's posing for us ... but she's impatient. She hasn't put her red sack down yet!

Wow. What a tree. If only they ever look that good!

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Coastal Scene by Theo van Rysselberghe   1892

Theo van Rysselberghe was a Belgian neo-impressionist painter.

I haven't made up my mind about this painting. 

Although I think there is something pretty in the delicacy of the colours and how they have managed to contrive a beautiful effect from a distance. Ultimately, I don't find it too captivating. I think I prefer Pissarro's work.

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The Channel of Gravelines, Grand Fort-Philippe by Georges Seurat - 1890

I like this painting; but I wonder if it's too mathematical, too precise.

This painting shows a shore after the receding tide. A semaphore and a few modest small houses along the bank. There does seem to be an illusion of depth via the big (left) to smaller houses (right). 

The dots are applied with so much skill. From tiny dabs to some relatively broad strokes. He also dabs complementary colours as part of the chromatic effect. So, we get a few blues, yellows and reds on the cleat to which the ship is knotted.

Seurat’s pointillism is quite impressive.

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The Morning Walk: Study for The Seine at Courbevoie  by Georges Seurat

These are very interesting. Bright & vivid. The first painting shows a man standing in the shade. The grass in the sunshine has daubs of red paint. I expect it is to balance out the heavy darkness and to give a texture to the grass? The 2nd one shows the reflection of the bank across the surface of the water. It's quite brilliant. 

As the National Gallery said: "these studies are closely related to Seurat's two large-scale paintings: Bathers at Asnières, hanging nearby, and Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (about 1884-6; Art Institute of Chicago)".

They seem very different to the Bathers painting. But they depict everyday Parisians on leisurely strolls on the banks of the Seine. Lovely.

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Bathers at Asnières  by Georges Seurat

Hmmm. This painting is quite large, and is intended to have a 'monumental' feel to it.

According to the National Gallery, this painting was not done via Seurat's pointillist technique, which he had not yet invented. Cross-hatched brushstrokes?

At the time, Asnières was (is still??) a suburb industrial part of Paris on the River Seine. This painting shows young guys relaxing and enjoying their afternoon. We can see the factory chimney in the background and the people sailing along the river. 

I think this painting is more interesting than really captivating - mind you, it's very striking. I find it fascinating that none of the characters seem to notice the viewer. Here a structured nuanced technique is used merely to depict urban life - and not the spontaneity of a beautiful landscape and the effect of lighting - with its everyday people. Pointillism is about a 'true' approach to art. I'm not sure I find it really amazing in a deeper way.

Cute :)

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Emile Bernard  by  Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec  1886

A fabulous portrait by Toulouse-Lautrec.

This was his fellow student Emile Bernard.

Such a lovely portrait. An orderly appearance, rich sinuous hair, intelligent eyes peering through the frame. As the National Gallery said: "Lautrec portrays him more as a young bourgeois than a radical artist". I like the ocean blue brushstrokes in the background.

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Portrait of Cezanne by Pissarro   1874

Interesting. A portrait of friendship; and yet Cezanne seems distant, perhaps in deep thought. The other elements (top, right and left) were additions by (1) André Gill on the Franco-Prussian War and (2) Léonce Petit showing painter Courbet proposing a toast.

Wow. What a beard - it seems to envelope his mouth and lips. And that huge overcoat. Those overcoat colours reminds me of Cezanne. Some brooding eyes. Those curling hairs from under his hat. Perhaps a note of wistfulness to him? 

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Self Portrait by Cezanne 1880

I think this should be in my earlier blog on the impressionist collection. But hey-ho. It makes for a great contrast.

I quite like this painting. I think we see the same eyes, same beard; same curly hair at the sides, same overcoat. But very different colours. The interesting ornate diagonal structure and diamond pattern paper-wall gives the self-portrait that geometric structure. The eyes and eyebrows are rectangular, nose triangular, head is perfectly spherical etc. And Cezzane loves those earthy colours; even his eye has a hint of rusty yellow. He is framed against a wallpaper decorated in diagonal lines and a diamond pattern. This probably draws attention to the geometric structure of the artist's face, built up with blocks of colour.

I quite like Cezanne's work.

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Portrait of Felix Pissarro Camille Pissarro - 1881

Such a beautiful painting with wonderful brushstrokes, and very sweet.  This is Felix Pissarro. Camille's 3rd son.

Mind you, I think there is a bit of an anxious look in his son's eyes; or maybe it's that serious look of a child?

What a lovely background. Those brushstrokes and swirls really give it a rich opposite. Felix has such lovely hair and the cross-crossing brushstrokes in the black coat give it a shimmering effect. And that maroon-red cap is made lushous through the dark hues at the back (which gives it depth?).

Lovely.

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Gwen John Self portrait - 1900

Hauteur? Perhaps a bit scornful to the rest of us? Certainly a confidence. A woman not to be crossed? It's not your everyday woman; that's for sure.  Hand on hip, large intensely-dark bow-tie, tight lips, narrow eyes. I like it.

It seems this Welsh artist went to Paris (1898) and attended Académie Carmen, AKA Whistler's School. She knew most of the Paris artists of the day, and she was influenced by his tonal approach. She settled in Paris & worked as Rodin's model and mistress. 

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Le Bec du Hoc by Seurat  - 1885

This promontory has a lot of charm. It seems to extend out but also rise up into the air.

If you look at the close-up vis-a-vis the pointillism; it is clear that there is a lot of varying daubs of the basic colours but the colour blue seems to be throughout. Interesting. 

The white crashing waves in the sea, and the calm skyline only interrupted by those birds. It's an incredible accomplishment. I don't know how I feel beyond astonishment at Surat's knowledge on the maths and science in the execution of the art.

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An Old Woman with a Rosary by Paul Cezanne   1895

Wow! Moving, and beautiful. 

Her thick and unseemly overcoat has the texture and asperity of the wall. Her hands busily thumbing the beads. She's distracted, stressed, frantic even. Her face is especially evocative and moving. The vulnerability is clear. From her stooped posture... to the anxiety and worry in her gaze. She has the gaunt sunken-like lower mouth of the very elderly. 

I think Cezanne shares an intimate moment and shows us frailty and mental instability.