0023: Impressionist Art

"It took some time before the public learned that to appreciate an Impressionist painting one has to step back a few yards, and enjoy the miracle of seeing these puzzling patches suddenly fall into one place and come to life before our eyes." - Ernst Gombrich

Seashore at Guernsey (1883) - By Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Renoir Quotes:

"There isn't a single person or landscape or subject which doesn't possess some interest, although it may not be immediately apparent. When a painter discovers this hidden treasure, other people are immediately struck by it's beauty."

"About 1883 something like a break occurred in my work. I had reached the end of "impressionism", and I had come to realize that I did not know how to paint or draw."

Monet's Garden at Argenteuil (1873) - By Oscar-Claude Monet

Monet Quotes:

"People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it's simply necessary to love."

Critic asks: "And what, sir, is the subject matter of that painting?" - "The subject matter, my dear good fellow, is the light."

Dancer with a Bouquet of Flowers
(Star of the Ballet, 1878) -
By Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas

Degas Quotes: 


"Everyone has talent at twenty-five. The difficulty is to have it at fifty."


-on his deathbed, age 83...
"Damn, and just when I was starting to get it!"