Impressionism, Art - General & Miscellaneous, General & Miscellaneous Painting Techniques

Painting Methods of the Impressionists

Name: Painting Methods of the Impressionists
Author: Bernard Dunstan
ISBN: 9780823037100

by Bernard Dunstan

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Overview

In this new, revised edition of Painting Methods of the Impressionists, leading British artist Bernard Dunstan's authoritative text is now supplemented by 135 excellent, full-color reproductions of the works of 16 Impressionist masters. In addition, there are over 40 color details taken from various works that scrutinize the Impressionist painting surface and provide a closeup look at such aspects of Impressionist painting as the kinds of brushwork used, the effects of glazing and scraping down the surface, the use of the palette knife, stippling and impasto techniques, the effect of light, and the application of opaque and transparent veils of color. Also included are compositional sketches and color plan diagrams. The author begins with a detailed survey of 19th-century painting materials and equipment, then shows how the "revolutionary" painters of the period were, in reality, deeply rooted in traditional teachings and techniques. A separate section is devoted to each of the 16 painters, describing their materials and listing their palettes when these are known; explaining how they painted significant pictures, and reproducing these paintings in full, glorious color. Quoting extensively from their writings and the writings of their contemporaries, examining their paintings with the eye of a professional artist, and drawing upon his own vast knowledge of the craft of painting, the author reconstructs the techniques of the Impressionist masters: Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Degas; their forerunners: Constable, Turner, Manet, and Courbet; the Postimpressionists: Cezanne and Seurat; the Americans who were then working in Europe: Cassatt, Sargent, and Whistler; and the heirs of Impressionism: Vuillard, Bonnard, and Sickert. The text illustrations and enlarged details reveal an amazing diversity of techniques: the small, spontaneous oil sketches that Constable converted into large-scale canvases in the studio, working with great sweeps of the palette knife; Turner

The painting secrets of 16 impressionist masters are revealed through 176 fabulous color illustrations.