Precursors to Impressionism, Art History Posters & Prints

PRE - IMPRESSIONISTS Karl Bodner Eugene Boudin Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Gustave Courbet Charles-François Daubigny Honore Daumier Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Pena Charles Gleyre Johan-Bartold Jongkind Edouard Manet Jean-François Millet Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli Théodore Rousseau J. M. W. Turner Felix Ziem

The 'pre-impressionists' label encompasses the artists whose work, also categorized as 'realism' and 'naturalism', paved the way for the break with the French Academy as the ultimate authority of what is “ART”.

Realism, as a precuror to Impressionism, focused on the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life and was visually supported by the advent of photography celebrating the "objectively real".

Pre-impressionists are often associated with the Barbizon School, a group of painters who gathered around the French village of Barbizon.

Eugene Boudin (1824-1898) was a French seascape painter who was one of the first artists to paint outside, a characteristic of the Impressionists. Corot called him the 'master of the sky.'

• more clouds in art posters

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
b. 7-16-1796, Paris;
d. 2-22-1875

Corot was a painter and printmaker associated with the Barbizon school and also worked in the neo-classical tradition. Corot was one of the first to paint directly on the canvas in the open air.

• Corot in Teachable Moments

Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), whose work eschewed the predominant Romantic & Neoclassical schools of 19th century French painting, coined the term 'realism'. Courbet chose to work spontaneously, without refinement, which was a visual precursor to the Impressionists.

• lake posters

Charles-Francois Daubigny
b. 2-15-1817, Paris
d. 2-19-1878

Daubigny, from a family of painters, was taught by his father and uncle. In 1843 he settled in Barbizon to work outside and also turned his boat into a floating studio on the Seine and Oise Rivers.

• river posters

Honore Daumier (1808-1879), primarily known as a lithographer and caricaturist, painted in bold brush stokes that did not find much favor in the French Academy or the larger public.

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Pena (1807-1876) was associated with the Barbizon school. Another painter in the Barbizon school, Theodore Rousseau, taught Diaz de la Pena how to paint trees in the Forest of Fontainebleau, near the French village of Barbizon.

Charles Gleyre
b. 5-2-1806, Switzerland
d. 5- 5-1874

Gleyer encouraged open air painting to his students Renoir, Sisley, Bazille and Monet, in his Paris studio.

• Charles Gleyre by William Hauptman

Johan-Bartold Jongkind (1819-1891) was a Dutch artist whose work was admired by Claude Monet.

Edouard Manet -
b. 1-23-1832; Paris
d. 4-30-1883; Paris

Manet's body of work is evidence of the transition of seeing and expression from Realism to Impressionism. He choice of subjects from the events of the day and emphasis on the arrangement of space and form, mark the beginning of modern art.

• Manet in Impressionist poster series
• music posters
• Emile Zola portrait
• Edouard Manet at Amazon.com

Jean-François Millet (1814-1875), a founder of the Barbizon school, was noted for his rural scenes paintings. His style falls into the movements of both “naturalism” and “realism”. Several of Millet's paintings are icons celebrating the working class; The Gleaners is about the practice of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been mechanically harvested or where it is not economically profitable to harvest.
FYI - Karl Marx published the Communist Manifesto in 1848; gleaning was punishable by death in the former Soviet Union; contemporary humanitarian groups "glean" from restaurants to feed the poor.

Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (1824-1886) influenced Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh. He often painted with painters in the Barbizon school.

Théodore Rousseau
b. 4-15-1812; Paris
d. 12-22-1867

Rousseau was originally trained in business; when his talent was recognized his family supported his art and sympathized with him in his difficulties with the classically trained art establishment.

J. M. W. Turner -
b. 4-23-1775; London
d. 12-19-1851; London

Joseph Mallord William Turner, English painter, printmaker and watercolorist of the Romantic period, was known as the 'painter of light' and laid the foundations for Impressionism.

• J. M. W. Turner at Amazon.com

Felix Ziem (1821-1911) was a successful artist who helped young artists over the course of his long life. He was member of the Barbizon school and a regular exhibitor in the Paris Salon.

Encampment of the Travellers on the Missouri, Giclee Print

Karl Bodmer
b. 2-6-1809; Switzerland
d. 10-30-1893

Swiss born artist Karl Bodner lived in Barbizon and became known as a painter of forest landscapes and depictions of birds and mammals. His painting and aquatints of Native Americans from his North American trip with German naturalist and explorer Prince Maximilan, were forgotten by the time of his death.