The art of the Impressionist Masters

 

"Impressionist masters from the French painting collection of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, in Williamstown, Massachusetts is on view at CaixaForum in Barcelona. To begin with, it reconstructs the path that led to Impressionism, when a group of painters –Camille Corot, Jean-François Millet, Constant Troyon and Théodore Rousseau— decided to move to the wood of Barbizon, close to Fontainebleau, in order to be able to paint in the open air. Traditionally, the landscape had been the backcloth of mythological or religious scenes. The artists from the Barbizon school moved it into the foreground and established an intimate relationship, as if they wanted to merge it with nature.

The Impressionists quickly followed their steps. The early compositions by Claude Monet, Gustave Caillebotte or Alfred Sisley aspire to retain the impression of a moment during the day, magnificently and sumptuously, through the effects of light and colour."

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Eugene Delacroix moves Madrid

The CaixaForum Madrid is by itself a most perplexing architectural accomplishment: an old, unused warehouse raised up from its foundation and resting on one immense steel leg, with additional exhibition floors added on top. Until Jan. 15, the retrospective of  Romantic French painter Eugene Delacroix (1798–1863) is on display.


Delacroix’s considered one of the great Romantic painters and the leader of the Romantic Movement, his contribution to the art world is extensive, from Delacroix’s official commissions to his historical and religious paintings, all on an epic scale.


Over 130 works in this exhibition illustrate the many different stages of his career and inspiration. This is one of the more important exhibitions of the year for Madrid and is the most complete retrospective since the one that was organized in 1963 in Paris to mark the centenary of Delacroix’s death.


Delacroix’s “Greece Dying on the Ruins of Missolonghi,” a sketch for “The Death of Sardanapal,” plus other significant works covering 50 years of Delacroix’s prolific life are on view, including works that were inspired by travels to Spain in 1832 when he visited Seville, Cadiz, and Algeciras.


Lovers of Delacroix’s painterly traditions will also enjoy seeing how his paint brush handles interpretations of nature. Delacroix knew how to capture everything from allegory to landscape with sensual brush strokes and colors.

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