Claude Monet, Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877. Oil on canvas, 60.3 x 80.2 cm. Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection, 1933.1158. Image © Art Institute of Chicago/ Art Resource, NY.
Pulsing with life, Paris in the 1870s was transforming – thanks to wider streets, increased traffic, an explosion of factories in the suburbs and faster, more frequent steam-powered trains. No one in France was immune to the rapid pace of change, least of all artists.
Impressionism in the Age of Industry: Monet, Pissarro and more explores how French Impressionist artists and their contemporaries, famous for their lush landscapes and sea vistas, were equally obsessed with capturing the spirit of the industrial age. The groundbreaking exhibition features over 120 artworks, including paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, sculptures and period films.
With masterpieces by beloved artists like Monet, Pissarro, Degas, Van Gogh, Cassatt and Seurat, the exhibition also highlights new favourites like Luce and Caillebotte.
The exhibition is curated by Dr. Caroline Shields, AGO Assistant Curator, European Art. “This exhibition invites us to journey through this period of immense change, experiencing its thrills and challenges alongside the artists. As our cities and technologies rapidly change, it’s a journey that continues to resonate today,” Dr. Shields says. “Seeing these works together for the first time provides an incredibly rich addition to the story of Impressionism as we know it.”
Impressionism in the Age of Industry: Monet, Pissarro and more is organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario.
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Claude Ghez, President of the Petit Palais in Geneva and the owner of the painting Le Pont de L'Europe by Gustave Caillebotte, conducted the research that’s presented here in the video. Ghez and his team documented the original architectural structure and found that the artist combined three different views in a single composition, making the bridge look far more towering than it really was.
According to Ghez’s research, Caillebotte was horrified by the experience of the Franco-Prussian War, and he channeled those emotions into this painting. Major battles occurred on this bridge, and the distant figure in the blue and red uniform is a soldier. The distorted perspective invokes the anxious tension of the modern city. This artwork was painted before the Eiffel Tower was built, so the mass of iron shown here would have raised memories of war rather than visions of progress. It shows that compositional choices can hold many layers of meaning.
This generously illustrated book examines the relationship between 19th-century Impressionism and industry in Europe.
The late-19th century was a time of new technology, industry, and modernity. People were enthralled with their changing world and artists were not an exception. Fascinated by progress in every form, artists depicted factories, trains, and construction sites. Artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, and Camille Pissarro began to paint the world around them, from laundresses in the basements of Paris to rural laborers in fields. This book focuses on how Impressionist artists engaged and treated the topic of industry in their art. Chapters discuss how Paris was transformed into a bustling, modern city, the role of women in labor, and the demographic shift from rural to urban centers. Paintings, drawings, and prints, along with archival photographs help to illustrate this rich and complicated moment in art history.
