On a French River
| On a French River (painting) | |
|---|---|
 On a French River on display in 2023 | |
| Artist | Emma Lampert Cooper |
| Year | late 1800s |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Movement | Impressionism |
| Dimensions | 45.7 cm × 56.2 cm (18.0 in × 22.1 in) |
| Location | Memorial Art Gallery |
On a French River is an impressionist oil painting on canvas painted by the artist Emma Lampert Cooper during the late 1800s. It is a landscape painting that depicts a river scene in Parthenay, France. It is part of the permanent collection at the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) in Rochester, New York.
Location
This painting was a gift of Mildred and Alted Boylan to the Memorial Art Gallery in 1996. It was also conserved in 2008 as a gift from Mildred and Alted Boylan. The painting is part of the permanent collection in American Impressionism category at the Memorial Art Gallery.[1]
Impressionism
In the painting, the American artist Emma Lampert Cooper adopts impressionism, a distinct artistic style known for narrow, small, discernible brushwork. She also applies short and thick paint strokes, a popular impressionist technique called impasto. This technique gives a rough, three-dimensional texture to the canvas.[2] In addition, impressionist artists tend to emphasize contrasting light and dark values next to each other with colors straight out of the paint tube instead of mixing the colors. They often depicted people in motion, highlighting the effect of time passing.[3]
The artistic movement, Impressionism, was developed by a collective of artists based in Paris during the 19th century. The movement gained prominence through exhibitions of these artists in the 1870s and 1880s.[4]
Artists such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Paul Cezanne had a significant influence on the movement of impressionism through their first exhibition in Paris in 1874.[4]
Parisian influences
Starting from the 1860s, American painters eagerly embraced European ideals. American artists studied art as students in Paris. For example, the American artist Marry Cassatt closely associated herself with Degas and Manet in terms of artistic style during the mid-1870s. Other American artists such as John Singer Sargent also associated themselves with impressionism during the late 1800s.[5]
The artist Emma Lampert Cooper also studied in Paris. She was born in Nunda, NY, she was first taught art by Agnes D. Abatt at Cooper Union and the Art Students League in New York City. She then left New York to study art in Paris at the art school Académie Delécluse under Harry Thompson around 1885, shortly after the popularization of the impressionist movement.[6][7]
Subject and interpretation
On the back of the painting On a French River, the following words are inscribed: "A.P. Parthenay, France 215" or "At Parthenay, France / 215."[1] Indicating that the painting depicts a town located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. The river Thouet flows through the town of Parthenay with medieval bridges spanning over it.
On a French River is one of the many impressionist landscape paintings by Emma Lampert Cooper. Impressionist painters often depicted landscape scenes with everyday people as their main subjects. They did this to capture both the ordinary working class and the bourgeoisie class. Their paintings frequently highlighted suburban and rural settings instead of cities.[8]
Nineteenth-century paintings
"On a French River" is a nineteenth-century oil painting of an outdoor scene.[1] During this period, numerous new pigments were developed due to new technological developments in the field of chemistry and organic chemistry. Experiments were conducte to discover the chemistry of oil paints. For example, French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul performed a set of experiments on how pigments reacted with linseed oils during the 1840s.[9]
As a result of the increasing popularity of outdoor landscape paintings, Artists typically used easily transportable easels and paintboxes, along with lightweight and cost-effective materials such as millboard and paper mounted on backings, in addition to traditional panels and canvases. This allowed them to conveniently carry their art supplies outdoors to conduct landscape painting studies. However, while that the artists often started their painting outdoors, they often finished their paintings in their studio. [9]
Oil paint Process
The process of creating in this medium involves mixing pigments of paint and one or more drying oils. The oils work as a binder to create this style's distinctive texture. The paint is then applied to the canvas. Popular drying oils used by artists include linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil. Different types of oils modify the properties of the paint.
Depending on the oil used, the consistency, drying time, yellowing, plasticity, and transparency of the paint changes. Resin can also be boiled with the oil or independently applied to the painting. Resin provides a clear, protective coating and gives the painting a glossy look.[10]
Other similar Impressionist oil paintings
-
Le Grand Canal, Venice, Henri Le Sidaner, 1906 -
Motive from Tartu, Villem Ormisson, 1937 -
Water Lilies, Claude Monet, 1919 -
Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, Claude Monet, 1899
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See also
References
- ^ a b c "MAG Collection - On a French River". magart.rochester.edu. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ^ The French Impressionists (1860-1900) by Camille Mauclair.
- ^ "American Impressionism Movement Overview". The Art Story. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ^ a b "Conclusion: Impressionism Leisure and Modern Society", Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society, Yale University Press, 1988, retrieved 2023-10-31
- ^ Weinberg, Helene Barbara; Bolger, Doreen; Curry, David Park (1994). American Impressionism and Realism: The Painting of Modern Life, 1885-1915. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-87099-700-6.
- ^ "Founders Biographies – Rochester Art Club". rochesterartclub.org. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ^ Waters, Clara Erskine Clement (2020-09-28). Women in the Fine Arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-8332-1.
- ^ Samu, Authors: Margaret. "Impressionism: Art and Modernity | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History". The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ^ a b White, Raymond; Pilc, Jennifer; Kirby, Jo (1998). "Analyses of Paint Media". National Gallery Technical Bulletin. 19: 74–95. ISSN 0140-7430.
- ^ Tate. "Oil paint". Tate. Retrieved 2023-10-23.