Van Gogh Museum 4K Virtual Tour || Exhibition ‘Vive l'impressionnisme!'

Monet, Morisot, Renoir, Cézanne, Degas, and Sisley capture their personal perceptions of the light and atmosphere of a particular moment on canvas with loose brushstrokes and bright colours. Slowly but surely, it becomes one of France’s most important art movements. Vive l'impressionnisme!

00:00 – 00:40 Impression of gallery
00:40 – 02:40 The Reception of Impressionism in the Netherlands
02:40 – 07:12 The Impressionist Landscape
07:12 – 08:10 Impressionist Prints
08:10 – 08:48 Sculptures
08:49 – 16:30 Contemporary Themes of Modern Life

00:00 – 00:40 Impression of gallery
Masterpieces from Dutch Collections
It is 15 April 1874. A collective of painters, draughtsmen, graphic artists, and sculptors open the doors at a venue on a Paris boulevard to the first of their own eight exhibitions. By organising their own shows, they liberate themselves from the Salon’s stringent admission rules. At these annual, official exhibitions, the established order dictates what is on view.
The public reacts with shock. Monet, Morisot, Renoir, Cézanne, Degas, and Sisley capture their personal perceptions of the light and atmosphere of a particular moment on canvas with loose brushstrokes and bright colours. One critic writes disparagingly about ‘the exhibition of the Impressionists’: thus, the artistic phenomenon gets its name, and it slowly but surely becomes one of France’s most important art movements.
Now, 150 years later, we celebrate the birth of French Impressionism with this exhibition showcasing highlights from Dutch collections.

00:40 – 02:40 - The Reception of Impressionism in the Netherlands
Around 1874, in the West, Paris was regarded as the cultural ‘capital of the world.’ Compared to this metropolis, the Netherlands was still rather dormant. However, as its industrial development gained momentum, increased prosperity led to a growing interest in the arts. Initially, the focus was on the country’s own painting schools. After all, the 19th century was the century of nationalism.
Dutch private collectors of contemporary art at that time mainly concentrated on Hague School painters. The colours used by the French Impressionists were simply too intense for the majority of people in the Netherlands. Yet there was a small group of Dutch individuals with connections to Paris and an open mind. They tried to excite their countrymen about this new art from France. They organised (sales) exhibitions and collected Impressionist works themselves. Over the course of the 20th century, these private patrons donated the first French Impressionist works of art to Dutch museums.

02:40 – 07:12 - The Impressionist Landscape
When you think of French Impressionism, you probably envision a landscape. In the latter half of the 19th century, the development of the paint tube and the expansion of the railway network made it easier for artists to work outdoors. There, they painted the changing light, weather, and seasons. The Impressionists captured their personal perceptions of the landscape in vivid, contrasting colours. Working in a loose, sketchy style, they often let the white canvas shine through between the brushstrokes, lending their landscapes an open and ‘unfinished’ character. These pictures were purchased by wealthy citizens who displayed them in their cramped Paris apartments.
The Netherlands had a long tradition of landscape art and so perhaps it is not surprising that some 30 years after these Impressionist landscapes were made, they were precisely the first to be collected by Dutch private individuals.

08:49 – 16:30 - Contemporary Themes of Modern Life
The Impressionists saw themselves – in the words of the poet Charles Baudelaire – as ‘painters of modern life.’ In doing so, they looked first and foremost to their own class – the affluent bourgeoisie – who viewed modern Paris as a playground for adults. The ‘capital of the world’ was a place where people strolled about in the latest fashions, pursued leisure activities, flirted, and schemed to their heart’s content. In depicting all this, the Impressionists positioned themselves firmly within the modern context. Yet they also chose very simple subjects, such as an apple or a bowl of parsley.
It is striking how few Impressionist scenes of modern Parisian urban or social life have been collected in the Netherlands, especially compared to their landscapes. This provides opportunities and direction for future collecting policies.

4K Virtual Tour Music:
Debussy – Clair de lune
Chopin – Nocturne No 2 in E Flat, Opus 9 Nr. 2
Satie - Gymnopedie No 1
Debussy – Arabesques

Subscribe for our latest videos
Follow us on Instagram:   / vangoghmuseum  
Follow us on Facebook:   / vangoghmuseum  

Website: https://www.vangoghmuseum.com
Explore our collection online: https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/colle...
Sign up to our email updates: https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/stay-...

#vangogh #impressionism #art #4kvideo