In 19th-century Paris, art didn't equate to freedom of expression. There were standards for traditional French paintings stipulated by the Academie des Beaux-Arts. Artists who wanted to participate in the official art exhibition titled "The Salon" arranged by the academy had to follow its aesthetic stipulations such as using historical subjects or religious themes.
However, there was a group of rebellious artists, the Impressionists, who disagreed with the standards and challenged the Academie des Beaux-Arts. The group included Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Rousseau, George Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin.
Fast forward to 2021, visitors will be transported back to the 19th century as they step into the exhibition titled "The Impressionists" now on view at the Museum of Digital Art (Moda).
Linda Cheng, managing director of River City Bangkok, said the retrospective was created by the gallery's crew in order to inspire viewers who may be struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Impressionist art is popular around the world. We would like to tell a story of how Impressionist artists began their journeys. Their stories will be inspiration for anyone who encounters difficulties since at that time, these artists were confronted with harsh criticism and rejected by society. It was unwavering determination and diligence that prevailed. We are grateful that the later generations recognise their skills," said Cheng.
The exhibition displays The Artist's Garden At Giverny by Claude Monet, which inspired his Water Lilies series.
Located at 11 Grande Rue des Batignolles in the hillside district of Montmartre, Café Guerbois was a venue where rebellious artists, centring on Edouard Manet, gathered to discuss their ideas and question the academy's standards.
"Café Guerbois was a significant place, so our team decided to build props of the café in the show. Records showed that the group of artists gathered at the café on Sundays and Thursdays to discuss the conservative standards of The Salon. They also shared how they worked on painting. Most of them liked to paint outdoors and captured small happenings in their lives. It was difficult to build Café Guerbois because we found only Edouard Manet's drawing of the inside, but there were no details of the exterior. We had to use paintings of other cafés where artists in that period liked to spend time together instead," explained Parintra Xuto, the project co-ordinator.
The first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 at Nadar's studio, which displayed 165 pieces by 30 artists, was the most important event of the group. While more than 3,500 people paid one French Franc to attend the event, most sneered and scoffed at the artworks. However, it was the beginning of the term Impressionism.
"All 165 artworks including Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise were criticised by an art critic, Louis Leroy, who said that the paintings seemed unfinished and they were just impressions. However, capturing impressive moments was what Monet tried to do. Monet was not upset with criticism and the term, Impressionism, was born," said Parintra.
Impressionist artists became successful after a Parisian art dealer and collector, Paul Durand Ruel, brought more than 300 paintings to New York in 1886. From the props of Café Guerbois in the exhibition, visitors will be informed about the background of 10 artists and their prominent paintings including Manet's The Luncheon On The Grass, Monet's Impression, Sunrise and Degas' The Ballet Class.
George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte was celebrated for its pointillism technique.
Parintra, who earned a Master's in Cultural Management from Chulalongkorn University, noted that The Luncheon On The Grass shook the conventions of the day.
"There were nude paintings in that period, but they were of goddesses such as Venus. This naked woman is implied to be a prostitute who stares directly at viewers. At that time, no one had ever portrayed a prostitute in a painting. That's why this painting was rejected by the academy," explained Parintra.
Claude Monet is considered as the father of Impressionism since the name of the movement is taken from one of his paintings, Impression, Sunrise. Parintra said an intriguing characteristic of Monet's paintings was to portray different lights at different times.
"Monet painted the same subject in different time periods. For example, he painted the Water Lilies series in the morning, afternoon and evening. His paintings depicted lights and colours throughout a day or different seasons," said Parintra.
More than half of the paintings by Edgar Degas depicted graceful movements of ballerinas during practice.
"Some people said Degas had a friend who could take him backstage of a ballet theatre, so he drew a lot of paintings about ballerinas. His other well-known works include The Absinthe Drinker and a sculpture, The Little Dancer. Degas did not like to be called an Impressionist. He preferred to describe his work as realism," Parintra said.
Unlike many Impressionist artists, Henri Rousseau was a self-taught artist whose paintings featured unusual composition and perspective.
"During the 19th century, Rousseau's artworks were criticised as resembling a child's drawings. However, they were later described as naive art. While other artists usually depicted Parisian lifestyles, Rousseau drew jungle and wildlife even though he had never been in a jungle before," explained Parintra.
Impressionist artists were pioneers in many revolutionary techniques including pointillism by George Seurat. Pointillism is a painstaking technique in which an artist applies small dots of pure colours onto a surface so that viewers' eyes will merge them from a distance. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was another pioneer whose fame was for graphic design.
Graphic design pioneer Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was famed for theatre posters.
"Toulouse-Lautrec painted nightlife and cabaret and was celebrated for his theatre posters," said Parintra.
After viewing selected paintings from 10 Impressionist artists, visitors will experience a spectacular 45-minute multimedia exhibition, which features the world-famous paintings while classical music plays in the background. Viewing each painting on the 3m screens is an immersive experience as every brush stroke and dot can be seen up close. The organisers hope audience members will be able to feel the atmosphere and environment that inspired these artists to create their masterpieces.
The retrospective also includes poignant quotes from the artists that provide insights into their works. For example, a quote by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who had a congenital bone disease that stunted his growth, said: "Everywhere and always ugliness has its beautiful aspects; it is thrilling to discover them where nobody else has noticed them."
Cheng said she hopes that "The Impressionists" will be a worthwhile learning experience and bring moments of relief and hope to visitors.
"When you view many beautiful paintings, you will feel relief, relaxation and joy. Their stories also give feeling of hope. Our mission at RCB is to promote the culture and lifestyle of lifelong learning that enriches our soul and mind. That's why we published the book, The Impressionist, because not only children, but everyone is learning something new every day," concluded Cheng.
"The Impressionists" runs until April 18 at Moda, 2nd Floor, River City Bangkok. The number of visitors is limited per round. Tickets cost 350 baht (250 baht for students). Visit rivercitybangkok.com or Facebook/RiverCityBangkok.
