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ARTS . Quarter ! Impressionism: A Break from Past Painting Traditions There were several areas in which impressionist artists moved away from the established practices of art at that time. These involved their use of color, their choice of subject matter and setting, and their technique for capturing light and conveying movement. Color and Light The painting conventions and techniques of earlier art periods were very much concerned with line, form, and composition. In contrast, the impressionists painted with freely brushed colors that conveyed more of a visual effect than a detailed rendering of the subject. They used short "broken" strokes that were intentionally made visible to the viewer. They also often placed pure unmixed colors side by side rather than blended smoothly or or shaded. The result was a feeling of energy and intensity, as the colors appeared to shift and move-again, just as they do in reality. "Everyday" Subjects Impressionists also began to break away from the creation of formally posed portraits and grandiose depictions of mythical, literary, historical, or religious subjects. They ventured into capturing scenes of life around them, household objects, landscapes and seascapes, houses, cafes, and buildings. They presented ordinary people seemingly caught off-guard doing everyday tasks, at work or at leisure, or doi r doing nothing at all. And they were not made to look beautiful or lifelike, as body parts could be distorted and facial features merely suggested by a few strokes of the brush. Painting Outdoors The location in which the impressionists painted was also different. Previously, still lifes, portraits, and landscapes were usually painted inside a studio. However, the impressionists found that they could best capture the ever-changing effects of light on color by painting outdoors in natural light. This gave their works a freshness and earlier masters. immediacy that was quite a change from the stiffer, heavier, more studied paintings of Open Composition Impressionist painting also moved away from the formal, structured approach to placing and positioning their subjects. They experimented with unusual visual angles, sizes of objects that appeared out of proportion, off-center placement, and empty spaces on the canvas. 196