Summary

Dr. Julie Codell provided a very insightful lecture on how Impressionism rose from a kind of resistance movement by artists who rejected the formalism of the past (and were rejected by the then-closed state-controlled Establishment). A key to this change was the rise of art dealers and salons not associated with the government. Eventually artists themselves began creating exhibits and taking control of the process of selling art.

The first meeting of the Tempe Artists Guild for 2025 featured art historian Dr. Julie Codell.  Her talk featured over 80 slides illustrating the rise of Impressionism.  The idea of a looser, down-to-earth style of art portraying ordinary people and places with visible brushwork met with hostility at first.  “Impressionist” was not a compliment to an artist.  Art institutions at the time were highly centralized, with national galleries virtually the only venue for displaying and selling art.  In France,, the Salon of the French Academy was government run and controlled the art world and who was considered worthy to exhibit.  Only 40 artists could be members with the right to exhibit at any one time.  In 1863, for example, over 2000 works were rejected.  Standards were unyielding, and unchanging.  Those rejected eventually organized to resist this system, opening, ironically, Le Salon de Refuses.  More exhibits followed, and a period of change finally began to take shape.  So the rise of Impressionism was not just about a major assault on traditional painting styles and subjects, but also about a revolution in how artists exhibited and sold their work.  Dr. Codell walked us through this process with beautiful slides and many interesting asides and insights.  With Dr. Codell’s help we were able to see clearly the movement toward themes of lower classes, industry in the countryside, prostitution, leisure, train stations, and the entertainment world — all subjects once off limits for artists who hoped to exhibit their work through official channels.  Interestingly,, the art of Japan provided insights to the Impressionists that was reflected in the structure and composition of their work.  Even though none of the Impressionists ever actually visited Japan, art objects from there circulated widely in Europe.

Eventually Impressionism yielded to something new: Post-Impressionism.  Art moves on, but artists can learn a lot from looking at past masters.  Dr. Codell’s excellent lecture gave us a chance to explore that past a bit.