Would Monet Approve

A couple of days ago I visited an excellent exhibition in Legion Of Honor in San Francisco: The Intimate Impressionism. And I was thinking what is the difference in our days between impressionistic style and realistic one.
The art of Eugene Boudin for example, was quite realistic, when Auguste Renoir's landscapes with pastoral scenes were more on impressionistic side.

I pulled a few of my works and investigated them with the new eye.

Here is somewhat impressionistic seascape:

and here is a more realistic seascape with the girl and the ocean:

Or, here is the impressionism style rose bouquet:

Vs the one in more realistic manner:

Same comparison between the portraits of pets. This cat is painted with quite realistic approach:

When this kitty brings somewhat impressionistic feeling:

My thoughts are that when I paint with fast brush strokes, looking more at the whole picture, or working outside in the plein-air situation when weather is changing rapidly, objects are moving; then, I think the artwork has more impressionism in it. Yet still realistic, the fast and fresh approach has impressionistic feel. On another hand, the details and carefully thought composition call for more realistic style.

I hope Monet approves my thoughts :)

One of my followers later wrote:
Interesting comparisons, Irina. Now you have me curious - I must do some reading about "impressionism". I always felt that any painting was impressionistic, in that it was the artist's perception and reaction to a scene, subject or model. But I don;t know as much as I'd like about the legitimate category. Thank you for prodding my interest :)

My answer was:
That's exactly what started my thoughts! I am reading a book by S.Roe "The Private Life Of The Impressionists" and the first thing I've learned that they (lot of them at least) started studying with teachers from the Academy in Paris. Then, along the way, they started expressing themselves; and , impressionism was born. I guess, there is a very thin line between Impressionism and Realism (Academic, classical means).. And most likely you are right, it is more in the artist's feeling , the artist's ability to communicate to the public and provoke their thoughts.. Cheers! Irina

Per Oxford Dictionary:
Impressionism - A style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s, characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color.
A literary or artistic style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve accurate depiction.

Irina Sztukowski
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