Impressionists Water Boat Leisure Period and Art Revealed

Boating on the Yerres by Gustave Caillebotte captures the Impressionists Water Boat Leisure in the new book Impressionists on the Water. Photo: John R. Glembin. Image: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

REVIEW | BOOK

The Impressionists water boat leisure period and how contemporary life influenced their art is the focus of Impressionists on the Water. The new book reveals a brilliant synthesis of boats and aesthetics.

BY KAZAD

Impressionists on the Water, an unprecedented new book celebrates the Impressionists’ themes of water and boats.  It provides an insight into the impressionists’ love of water. Published in association with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the book includes works by the movement’s most renowned artists, such as Manet and Monet, Renoir, and Seurat.

Impressionists on the Water traces the history of these delightful, light-infused water scenes within the social context of the later nineteenth century. This was a period with great attention to water and boat as a leisure craft.

For an in-depth analysis of the fascination for water and boating, the book examines the changing depictions of water from pre-Impressionism (Corot, Daubigny) through Impressionism (Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Caillebotte) to neo-and post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Seurat, Signac).

Leisure Time On Water

Water and boats as leisure in the 19^th century captivated many, including the impressionists who were also part of contemporary life.  With the growth of water and boat craft at yacht clubs and locales such as the famously depicted Argenteuil, the impressionists began to draw a connection between their art and contemporary life.

The impressionists’ allure for boats and yacht follows Zola and Maupassant who emphasized the growing use of boats as leisure craft in their literature.  Many of the impressionists, who were sailors and yachtsman themselves, explored the Plein-air painting approach for many of their works. This allowed them to spontaneously capture the colorful outdoor world with startling immediacy. From water to boats and all things nautical, the impressionists had unlimited subjects to paint.

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Scholars and connoisseurs will find Impressionist on Water appealing and beneficial. Well-designed with important images accompanying the texts, this book is a great addition to the library of water-farers everywhere.

Impressionist on Water was written by Phillip Dennis Cate, Daniel Charles, and Christopher Lloyd. Together, the authors brought to bear their world of experience. Cate is the former director of Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum in New Jersey. He is a specialist in nineteenth-century French art.  Charles is an expert in maritime heritage and a noted historian of innovation and technology.

Impressionists Water Boat Leisure

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