Major Impressionism Exhibition at the Ringling Museum

Written by Isadore Niebold Friday, 08 October 2010 21:45

Sarasota, FL - The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art presents the famed Impressionism paintings of Monet, Hassam and others in Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism from the Brooklyn Museum, on exhibition until Sept, 16, 2007 in the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing. Spanning the mid-19th through the early-20th centuries, this important painting exhibition provides a rich and varied perspective on the Impressionist movement in France and the United States.

Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism follows the successful opening of the Searing wing, and demonstrates the Ringling’s ongoing commitment to bringing world-class art to Sarasota,” said Dr. Stephen Borys, chief curator at the Ringling Museum. “Often considered one of the first bold moves towards abstraction, the Impressionist movement heralded the beginning of modern art, and the power of looking and documenting with fresh eyes.”

The exhibition of some forty paintings includes many of the finest examples of 19^th-century French and American landscapes from the Brooklyn Museum. Ranging in date from the 1850s to the early 20th century, this presentation provides a broad sampling of the evolution of 19th-century landscape painting, first in France and later, America.

Composed of an impressive group of paintings that spans the major developments of the landscape genre, from Romanticism and Realism to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, this exhibition situates the Impressionist movement within the full context of the 19^th century.

Works by French artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Eugène Louis Boudin, Gustave Courbet, and Charles François Daubigny, as well as Americans, John Singer Sargent, William Glackens, John Henry Twachtman, Frederick Childe Hassam, and George Innis are featured in the exhibition.

Among the prominent works included are well-known paintings by Claude Monet, such as The Doge’s Palace in Venice and The Islets at Port-Villez. These enduring images demonstrate the artist’s skill at documenting atmospheric effects and his preoccupation with how changing light transforms the landscape.

Pictures by François Daubigny, the Barbizon painter Monet adored as a boy, and Eugéne Louis Boudin, Monet’s long-time friend and mentor, show the origins of Monet’s insistence on painting en plein air or out-of-doors. His commitment to this painting method emboldened the work of his friends Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who are also featured in the exhibition.

Works by American Theodore Robinson, who painted with Monet at his home in Giverny, illustrate the influence of French Impressionism on American artists. At the same time, Americans redefined Impressionism for themselves. John Henry Twachtman’s Reflections, shows his work in Tonalism, an experimental derivation on Impressionism. To the same effect, Frederick Childe Hassam’s loose brushstroke in Poppies on the Isles of Shoals indicates a strong influence from French Impressionism while maintaining the integrity of forms, a tendency that would come to characterize many American artists.

Looking for new places to paint out-of-doors, French artists abandoned the city and their own studios for the French countryside. For these new painters of modern life, nature was the totality of the visible world. Their landscapes would include not just fields, trees, rivers, and skies, but also trains, boats, bridges, factories, and almost always, human figures. The Impressionists had discovered a new manner of painting. Working in the natural light, they used bright colors, often applied in short, broken brushstrokes. They were fascinated with the relationship between color and light, and how the light was altered by changing atmospheric conditions and was reflected differently from various surfaces. Above all, they wanted to capture an immediate visual impression of a subject.

After the Impressionists were exhibited in North America, the movement slowly gained favor with artists, making it a popular style of painting in the early decades of the 20th century. Many of the French artists’ greatest admirers in the United States are included in this exhibition, which looks at the Impressionist movement on both sides of the Atlantic.

This exhibition was organized by the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Holding one of the largest and most diverse art collections in the United States, the Brooklyn Museum has a superb collection of American painting and a significant group of Impressionist works by both French and American artists.

General Admission includes the Ringling Museum of Art, special exhibitions, Cà d’Zan Mansion, Circus Museum, Mable’s historic Rose Garden and Florida’s only rose test gardens, all on 66 acres of lushly landscaped grounds. Adults are $15; senior citizens (65 and over) are $13; children ages 6-17 are $5. Free Admission for children 5 and under accompanied by an adult, museum members. Advance tickets are available by calling 941.358.3180. Visit for more information.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, in its affiliation with Florida State University, is the largest museum/university complex in the nation. It preserves the legacy of John and Mable Ringling, educating and enabling a large and diverse audience to experience and take delight in a world-renowned collection of fine art; Cà d’Zan, the Ringling historic mansion; the Circus Museum; the Original Asolo Theater; and historic architecture, courtyard, gardens and grounds overlooking Sarasota Bay. Visit for more information. : www.ringling.org