Columbia Museum of Art displays paintings from famous 19th-century artists from Monet to Matisse
From scenes of nature to portraits of ballet dancers and drunk gentlemen, the Impressionists captured the world around them through the use of vibrant colors and swift, broken brush strokes.
The Columbia Museum of Art’s current exhibit, “Impressionism from Monet to Matisse,” features 55 works by the masters of the technique, including paintings by both French and American artists.
While viewers may be familiar with the names of many of the artists featured in the exhibit, like Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent, “Impressionism from Monet to Matisse” offers a glimpse at a collection of lesser-known works and showcases the genre across several decades, with works spanning from the 1870s to the 1940s.
Impressionism is marked by a summary of shape and color rather than attention to precise detail, with the resulting works capturing scenes through quickly painted lines and tiny spots of various hues. These artists’ more spontaneous, casual approach gave birth to beautifully crafted pieces that encompass the everyday wonder of the human experience. Sure, the Impressionists may not have sat for days painting their subjects, but soaking in all of the details as a viewer is still worth your while.
In “Impressionism from Monet to Matisse,” museumgoers can escape to Claude Monet’s “Village Street” and his teacher Euqene-Louis Boudin’s “Envirions of Trouville.” They can hitch a ride with a handlebar mustache–sporting gentleman in Sargent’s “Ramon Subercaseaux in a Gondola” and be swept away by Renoir’s color bursts in “The Wave.” They can admire the firework display in Gaston LaTouche’s “The Joyous Festival” and take in a show through Jean-Louis Forain’s “Evening at the Opera.”
While the paintings of the Impressionists are considered masterpieces by modern scholars, such an appreciation wasn’t always held for the genre. According to the exhibit guide, the first Impressionist exhibit received harsh reviews from the press. French journalist Louis Leroy dismissed Monet’s work, saying, “A preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more finished than this seascape.”
Leroy must be rolling in his grave now.
Though the majority of the pieces on display in “Impressionism from Monet to Matisse” are more than 100 years old, the artistry and the subject matter have withstood the test of time. Hung in ornate golden frames that signal their importance, the works still pop with brilliant colors that haven’t faded away despite each passing decade.
A Degas quote stenciled onto the gallery wall sums up Impressionism perfectly: “Art is not what you see but what you make others see.”
Admission to the exhibit is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and military and $5 for students every day. The price includes access to all galleries in the museum, including the permanent collection and Gallery 15.
The museum, located at 1515 Main St., is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.