The Impressionists (2001)
Review by Cosette
Film:
DVD:

Written & Directed by Bruce Alfred
Narrated by Edward Herrmann

Features:

• Interactive Art Gallery
• Artist Timelines

Anamorphic: No

My Advice: Rent It.

A person growing up in this day and age may look at a painting by Monet or Renoir and feel that it is anything but revolutionary. In a century when artists express themselves through silkscreens of soup cans or paintings adorned with elephant dung, a group of artists experimenting with the effects of natural light on landscapes and people may seem mundane. This documentary tries to give an idea of who the artists behind Impressionism were and why it was such a new and extraordinary thing for them to paint the way they did.

The series focuses mainly on the lives and careers of five artists: Renoir, Monet, Degas, Pissarro, and Morisot. Not only does the series present a chronology of what went on in the lives of the men and women who founded Impressionism, but it also presents a sense of how the artists lived their everyday lives, through the insights of the art historians in the series as well as the written accounts we have in the artists’ letters. These details add a sense of humanity to the names we see scrawled in the corners of their paintings, and give us a chance to see the not-so pretty sides of their lives as well. As examples, in their later years, Renoir had crippling rheumatoid arthritis and could barely paint, and Degas became a rabid anti-Semite, ostracizing Jews who had been his friends for years.

Despite the neat details and the sensitive portrayal of the artists’ lives, I felt there was a little bit lacking in the art history side of things. Maybe it’s because I was an art minor in college, but I would have liked for the series to contrast what the Impressionists were doing with what was popular at the time a bit more, emphasizing the differences between the two styles, which was only touched on at the beginning. Important things were alluded to but not explained fully, like why acceptance in the government-sponsored art show, the Salon, was essential to a decent art career. The other picky thing that annoyed me about the series was the narrator’s pronunciation of "Renoir." I know it’s anal, but it amazed me that everyone took such great pains with their French pronunciations and then this glaring exception was allowed from the person doing the most talking.

The extra features were incredibly disappointing. The art gallery pictures were small and gave no details about the pieces or the circumstances in which they were painted. Also, many of the paintings in the gallery were by artists mentioned once in passing rather than the artists around which the series was focused. I would have taken the opportunity given by a gallery feature to go into more details about the pieces than were allowed in the actual series, maybe even having some of the art historians featured in the series talking about a specific piece. The timeline was even sadder. Mostly a string of birth dates, exhibition dates, and deaths, it added almost nothing to the series.

Overall, the series itself, though, was interesting and informative. It would definitely be good to show an art history class, but unless you’re a hardcore fan of Impressionism, rent it and enjoy!