Mankind, by nature, exhibits inherent duality. Nowhere is this trait more obvious than in fine art. Impressionist artists have long provoked opposing reactions in the general public. First labeled as unskilled amateurs and rejected from the admired artistic circles, painters such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Paul Cezanne have become household names.
Known primarily for their innovative landscapes, this band of distinctive artists channeled their focus on images of flowers, food, and household items. A variety of these paintings is currently on exhibit until June 9 at the Museum of Fine Arts. The show, entitled "Impressionist Still Life," presents attempts made by artists of the Impressionist period to reconcile their inventive styles within the accepted norms of painting.
While the paintings generally depict subject matter catering to the bourgeoisie taste for still-life, the artists' individuality, and their subtle attempts at personal expression, are plainly evident.
Indeed, the represented artists involve personal and emotional qualities in their depictions of inanimate objects. While breaking away from the impersonal nature of their predecessors, many of the Impressionists embraced symbolism. Eduard Manet painted a series of flowers drawn from the bouquets given him by his friends during his last days. The images, with their quick brushstrokes, small size, and light palette, suggest Manet's awareness of his own mortality. Death is a common theme in the exhibit.
Hollyhocks, a symbol of death, are somberly displayed on an atmospheric canvas painted by Gustave Courbet during his imprisonment in a French jail; Cezanne's series of brown and gray skulls are also present. Painted near the end of his life, the images reflect the painter's increasing preoccupation with his approaching death.
Such emotion is evident in other canvases as well. Vincent Van Gogh, the once-despised and currently-adored Austrian, demonstrates his power to stir sentiment through paint in a room devoted solely to his work. Particularly tender is the "Sprig of Flowering Almond in a Glass." A relatively small work, the light gray tones shot with a line of red attract the eye, while the delicate blossom reminds one of the first feelings of spring. Van Gogh painted the image on a spring trip during which he had anticipated warm weather, but was disheartened by the reality of gray skies and cold winds. His despair in face of the weather is plainly evident in the tender painting.
Other artists demonstrate a parallel ability to elevate the still-life to a form of intimate expression. Eva Gonzales, a student of Manet, shows off her skill in a tiny picture of "White Shoes." The image, while evoking with amazing precision the tactile sense of silk and feather of the shoes, also demonstrates the simultaneous vulnerability and frivolity of the shoes' female owner.
Yet another personal message appears in Manet's "Bouquet of Violets." The painting of the simple purple blossom, while beautiful in its own right for the deft manipulation of color and stroke, takes on a sentimental tone with the inclusion of a little note inscribed "A Mlle. Morisot," a tribute to Manet's fellow artist and sister-in-law, Berthe Morisot.
While redolent with feeling, the paintings also represent unique stylistic expression. The deliberately crude brushwork in Cezanne's "Still Life with Bread and Eggs" demonstrates a conscious departure from the smooth realism of earlier depictions of the same subject matter. Meanwhile, Claude Monet liberates a traditional subject -his wife by the window- from typical settings by obscuring her figure with potted flowers in the foreground.
Henri Fantin-Latour remains true to historical precedent by painting fruit on a table, but then surprises his audience by presenting the table from a lower viewpoint and allowing blank tablecloth to dominate. Novelty is also inherent in the work of Paul Gaugin, the famed painter of Tahiti. His painting of "The Ham" employs vibrant coloration, juxtaposed patterns, and flat perspective.
Imbued with innovation and sentimentality, the collection represents art at its best. As still-lifes were an accepted genre of painting, the Impressionists designed their images to please the public and conform to the ideals of the time. However, as individuals striving for creative rebellion, they managed to permeate their canvases with unique styles.
While some may derive nothing more than aesthetic pleasure from "Impressionist Still Life," viewing the collection is a meditation on the balancing of humanity's innate contradiction.
