. and mpressionists Impressionism JZZ0L1 ; On the cover: ClaudeMonet: Impression, Sunrise(detail), 1872. MuseeMarmottan, Paris. Thispainting, shown at thefirstgroup exhibition in 1874, was singled outfor ridicule bythejournalistLouisLeroy, who ironically dubbedthegroup "impressionists"(cf. page 105). Firstpublished 1970 First paperback edition 1980 %Published in the United States of America in 1980 by ZZOLI INTERNATIONALPUBLICATIONS,INC. 712FifthAvenue New York 10019 © 1980 by Editions d'Art Albert Skira S.A., Geneva Allrightsreserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-5471 ISBN: 0-8478-0341-4 All reproduction rights reserved by S.P.A.D.E.M. (Syndicat de la Propriety Artistique), Paris A.D.A.P.G. (Association pour la Defense des Arts Plastiques et Graphiques), Paris; and Cosmopress, Geneva. PrintedinSwitzerland • Main Text Impressionists MARIA AND GODFREY BLUNDEN • Documentary Notices • Synoptic Sequence of Witness Ac- countsby the Painters,TheirFriends, and the Writers and Critics of the Impressionist Period JEAN-LUC DAVAL and Impressionism c Rizzoli V^jjNEWYORK : What this book is about THE"GILDEDANDVOLUPTUOUSPROMISES"OFTHE SECONDEMPIRE 10 INGRES 12 COROT 13 DELACROIX 14 MILLET:THECRYOFTHEEARTH 15 THEOFFICIALGLORIESOFTHESALON 18 THEDRAMATICREALISMOFCOURBET 19 FROMREALISMTOANOBJECTIVEANDPOETIC NATURALISM 22 MANET,THEFASCINATINGMANOFTHEWORLD,AND DEGAS,THESARCASTICMISANTHROPE,WEREATONE INTHEIRSCORNFORCONVENTIONS 24 DEGASFOLLOWSMANETINTHEPATHOFMODERNITY 29 INQUESTOFANIMMEDIATEEXPRESSIONOFTHE SENSES 32 ACHILDHOODFRIENDSHIP CEZANNEANDZOLA 35 : CEZANNEANDZOLAMAKINGTHEIRWAYINPARIS 36 THEACADEMIESUISSE 37 LEHAVRE SEA,SKYANDLIGHT 38 : THEYOUNGPISSARROINTHEANTILLES 41 THESTUDIOOFBAZILLE 42 "THEPAINTERSOFTHENEWPAINTING" 45 MANET,ANEXAMPLERATHERTHANAMASTER 46 WRITERSANDFRIENDS 48 THESALONS 49 DAUMIER THEPUBLICATTHESALON 53 : THE"OLYMPIA"SCANDAL 57 FONTAINEBLEAU THEFIRSTOPENAIRCOMPOSITIONS 58 : PAINTERSANDPHOTOGRAPHY 62 THEDISCOVERYOFJAPANESEPRINTSANDTHEIR INFLUENCEONTHEIMPRESSIONISTS 65 CEZANNEDIVIDESHISTIMEBETWEENPARISANDAIX 66 MANETANDHISMODELS 68 THEWORLD'SFAIROF1867 70 THECAFEGUERBOIS 74 BOUGIVAL EARLYVENTURESINOPENAIRPAINTING 75 THEFLASHOFTHESNAPSHOT 144 : LEDEJEUNERSURL'HERBE 81 MANET THEBARATTHEFOLIES-BERGERE : "SOMEDAZZLINGSEASCAPES" 82 THECAFES LAGRENOUILLERE 84 THECAFECONCERTS MONTMARTRE 87 FESTIVALMAGIC INTHESTREETSANDBOULEVARDSOFPARIS 89 GLIMPSESOFDAILYLIFE 155 THEWAROF1870 92 INTHESTREETSOFPARISWITHRENOIR 159 COURBETANDTHEPARISCOMMUNE 94 THECONSTANCYOFNATURE 160 MONETANDPISSARROINLONDON 99 FRIENDS,COLLECTORS,ANDDEALERS 164 AFTERTHEWAR 100 GATHERINGSATTHECAFEDELANOUVELLEATHENES 169 DEGASINNEWORLEANS 102 MARYCASSATT 172 AMANETSUCCESSATTHESALON 103 PISSARRO'SINFLUENCEONTHEYOUNGERGENERATION 174 1874 FIRSTGROUPEXHIBITION 105 NEWLINESOFRESEARCHANDEXPERIMENT 178 : PAINTINGFROMNATURE 115 THESALONPAINTERSANDTHEINDEPENDENTS 180 THELIGHTOFTHESEASONS 116 CEZANNE THESOLITARYPATHFINDER 181 : THERADIANCEOFSPRING 118 CEZANNE RIGOROFDESIGNANDVISION 184 : THESUMMERSUN 120 PISSARROANDHUMANITARIANSOCIALISM 193 ALLTHECOLORSOFNATURE 123 THEFIRSTCEZANNEEXHIBITIONSATVOLLARD'S 195 THETHEMEOFTHESTILLLIFE 124 DEGASANDTHESHATTERINGOFFORM 196 FITFULANDFLEETINGREFLECTIONS 126 RENOIRINTHELIGHTOFTHESOUTH 198 ARGENTEUILANDTHEBANKSOFTHESEINE 133 IMPRESSIONISMONTHEEVEOFSUCCESS 202 SUNDAYSATTHEMOULINDELAGALETTE 134 MONET'S"HOMEPORT"ATGIVERNY 204 ANDSUNDAYOUTINGSATBOUGIVAL 135 MONETANDTHEGREATSETSOFPICTURES 205 ... THEPARISBOULEVARDS 137 THEPOPLARS 205 THEEYEOFDEGAS 138 THECATHEDRALS 206 . CLAUDEMONET THEGARESAINT-LAZARE 141 LONDONANDVENICE 207 : THESUSPENDEDMOMENT 142 THEWATERLILIESOFGIVERNY 209 ANDSUSPENDEDMOVEMENT 143 "THEMAGNIFICENTPOETRYOFTHEPASSINGMOMENT" 210 ... m V (,U„»«J«M** Impressionists and Impressionism ClaudeMonet:Carriires-Saint-Denis. 1872. -""a--' { ; WH LIVE in an age of Insurgency. A score of contemporary powerseizureshavemadeusfamiliarwiththetechniqueof the coup d'etat and the ideology of the popular revolution. From the vantage point ofa sophisticated century, therefore, we may look back on the career ofLouis Napoleon Bonaparte with a certain detachment and even that wry amusement which comes from recog- nizing familiar patterns of totalitarian behavior. Louis Bonaparte was a loner, that is, he had no party behind him. nor any popular movement. He made his bid for power by means ofan alliance with the French bourgeoisie at a time when that Ihomai I ruturi Mi. Romanso) ihi I't-cadenci 1847 formidable class ofpeople was profoundly shaken by the Revolution of1848.Thatrevolutionhadwritten "finis "totherestoredmonarchy the new Republic, the second in France's history, was becoming There is —room today, in painting and threateningly class conscious. The fact that he was a nephew of the sculpture not mentioning the rest- illustrious Napoleon I gave Louis an edge with the popular electorate and at a critical hour he had seemed, not without a good deal of there is room. I don't sayfor a great maneuvering on his part, a useful compromise leader, a compromise artist (great artists are welcome at all reflected inhistitleof Prince-President. Itwasacontradiction interms times), but for a revolution. which he soon resolved in a classic coup d'etat. December 1851, by PIERRE-JOSEPH PROUDHON which means he became Emperorofthe French. Close to two hundred republican workers had been killed on the barricades while politicians and journalists were beingimprisoned. In the subsequent "cleansing" of public life, ten thousand republicans were deported to Algeria, some two thousand exiled for life (not countingthose, like Victor Hugo, whowent into voluntaryexile) and three hundred sent to Devil's Island, the "dry guillotine" ofhis late Uncle's regime. The hardy republican slogan, Liberte, Egalite. Frater- nite, was erased from the walls ofParis. Theideology upon whichtheEmperorplannedtobasehisregime wasonethat would reflect nationalglory, beconstantlydivertingand convincingly authoritarian. The career of matchless opulence and ostentation upon which he now plunged was less a matter of self- indulgence(thoughitwasthattoo)thanacalculatedpolicyofimperial grandeur, intended toinspireemulationamongtherichandadoration in the minds of the irretrievably humble. SotheFrenchsawtheirlatestEmperorinhisvoituredegala, ahuge vehicle,allredvelvetandgilding,fromthecenterofwhichroseagreat crowned eagle whose outspread wings sheltered the imperial occu- pant; or they saw theirEmperoras a "manoffashion, " gallopinghis curricle through the streets, a faint smile behind the large waxed moustache; or they saw their Emperor dancing to a barrel organ, because (popular touch) "an orchestra is so awkward. " dancing the polka, the mazurka, lancers and quadrilles like everybody else; or if privileged, they were reassured to see the Emperor in white cashmere breeches, black stockings and dress sword, the long white shirtfront barred by thecarmineofthe Legion, receivingnotablesintheSalondes Marechaux. And becauseheis, aboveall. a soldier, therearescintillat- ing military parades: the brilliant new uniforms at Longchamp as the Emperor reviews thetroops (only one in fivecan read): theCuirassiers intheirpolishedsteelbreastplatesgoingpastat thegallop;thetrotting Lancers a veritable harvest ofglittering helmets, fur busbys, shakoes and schapkas; the artillery with its new brass cannons (the secret QuaidtsGranas-Auj;ii>.rmv Paris, m 1858. Photograph weapons, e.g. thedeadly mitrailleuse and the breech-loading chassepol, are kept out of sight); the Fantassins in their long black tunics, the Franz IVinterhalter: fezzed Turcos in short pants and the turbaned Zouaves in red panta- flu Imperoi NTapoleon III loons, the Chasseurs a pied quickstepping to Rossini's new trumpet march played by a bugle band, the little canxinieres in colored petticoats with miniature casks ofcognac swinging from their shoul- ders, finally the husky Sapeurs with bristling chin-beards, fur caps, white aprons and glittering axes (at the Alcazar, crowds going mad over Theresa's deep-voiced: Rien n'est sacre pour un Sapeurl); the EmperorstandingintheChampdeMarspresentingeaglestothearmy, as his uncle had done, or signing treaties with an eagle's quill (in the shadow of the Vendome Column, decrepit veterans in the rags of Waterloo nodding solemn approval). ; And because, after all. it tak run a palace, they see the The "Gilded and Voluptuous Promises " Emperor married to tall and beautiful I ugenia Maria de Montijo de ofthe Second Empire Guzman at Notre Dame de Paris; the vast nave hung with velvet, the archesbankedwithflowersandtheaislesablazewithcandlesandgold larme, the bride wearing blue velvet with a long, lace-covered train, At the timeof the 1855 World's Fair Ingres was 75 yearsold. clustersofdiamonds inhercorsage, onherred-gold haira longveil of Corot 59, Delacroix 57, Diaz 47. Thiodore Rousseau 43, Millet 41, Alencon lace under a crown of orange flowers, the high comb and Daubigny 38andCourbet 36. diadem in magnificent sapphires; Emperor and Empress in their As for the generation of the Inpressionists, Pissarro was 25. modestlittlemarriagecarriagewith painted panelsandsatincushions MBearntehte2M3o.riDseogtas14.21, Cezanneand Ssley 16. Monet 15. Renoirand embroidered with the large "N " that was making its reappearance everywhere, intapestry,silverwareandonstonebridges; theEmperor and Empress receiving at the Tuileries Palace, the bedazzled guests Honors Daumier: An Excusable slowlyclimbingthecurvingstairwaybetweentherigidrowsofgreen- Error. Chickens imaginingsthey and-gold Cent-Gardes whose tallhelmets also bearthe Imperial cipher. have rediscovered the cage in TheyseeEmperorandEmpresssettingthefashion: femininedress Lwihtihcohgratphhe,y 1s8pe5n7t. thfir infancy. weighed down with tinsel, lace, fal-lals, tulles, ribbons and artificial flowers, thecrinolinewhichpermittedwomentoglideacrosspolished floors, but nevertosit; theirmalecompanionsofwealthandbanality wearing tight trousers and wasp-waisted long-tailed coats, painted facesandcircularmoustaches,largewatchchains,trinketsandgloves Emperor and Empress at a grand bal costume, Eugenie's lovely bare shoulders the magnet ofcompulsive stares. Foreignsovereignscometostareandwonder theCzarofRussia, : theKingofPrussia,QueenVictoria(thrilledtohaveheardtheEmperor whisper to the Empress, "Lomme tu es belle "), thePrinceofWales, the Sultan of Turkey, gentlemen from Japan. They see Emperor and Empress dancing to the melodies ofOffenbach at the Bal Mabille and theValentino, ridingtogetherat Fontainebleau. skatingonthelakeat Boulogne, at boating parties, drags, shoots, reviews; the Emperor, engagedona "LifeofCaesar" whiletheEmpress plays at spiritualism andthecultofMarieAntoinette Emperorand Empressat theTheatre ; FranqaistoseeSarahBernhardtinLaDameauxCamelias. attheThe'atre Italien to hear Adelina Patti in M. Gounod's new opera the Emperor — — ; alone in his boxtosee forthe hundredth time Hortense Schneider in La Belle Helene, alone at many another voluptuous, but private, performance. This is the wine ofsuccess. At themoment oftaking power, Louis Napoleon had quoted the — oldFrenchproverb: Quandlevinesttire, ilfaut leboire whenthewine is drawnitmust bedrunk. Thelittleman with thesallowcomplexion and dull eyes, the long cruel cheeks and the clotted moustache, had seizedthecup. Theoppositionhad beencrushed. Hehadsetthestage, he thought, for a new andglorious epoch in the history ofFrance. How could Louis Napoleon have known that France's lasting gloryin thetwodecadesofhisrule residednot inhimself, hisarmyor hiscourt,butinthetalentsofafewyoungpeople,onlyoneofthemyet ofage. In the year that Napoleon tasted the totalitarian wine Camille Pissarro was twenty-one; Edouard Manet was nineteen and Edgar Degas seventeen. Alfred Sisley and Paul Cezanne were both twelve, Claude Monet eleven, Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Armand Guillaumin and Fre'deric Bazille ten years old. "Savage young revolutionaries, " Zola was to call them. 10