Impressionism and Beyond
Saint Louis Art Museum
February 1 - July 31, 2022
“Due to a surge of COVID positive cases among our staff and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the Museum is closed to the public. At this time, we anticipate reopening to the public on Tuesday, February 1"
French, 1834–1917
"Ballet Dancers in the Wings", c.1890–1900
Pastel; 28 x 26 inches
Saint Louis Art Museum, Museum Purchase 24:1935
French, 1840–1916
"Eyes in the Forest", 1882
Charcoal on pale brown paper;
framed: 23 x 19 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches
Saint Louis Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Morton D. May 234:1959
The Saint Louis Art Museum presents “Impressionism and Beyond,” an exhibition of works on paper drawn exclusively from the museum collections.
Through 59 European drawings, pastels and prints dating from the 1850s to the 1930s, “Impressionism and Beyond” highlights the many conversations occurring in the art world between tradition and innovation, representation and abstraction, and the artist’s studio and the art market.
During this period, European life underwent dramatic social, political and psychological changes, which contributed to significant artistic developments. Artists responded to this fluid environment in many ways—visualizing modern life as it was, but also viewing the world through an imaginative lens.
The exhibition reveals that, at this same moment, new attitudes about artistic practice and expressions of modernity elevated drawing and printmaking to prominence among the avant-garde.
In France, which dominated progressive trends, the Impressionists broke with traditional academic modes of representation through formal experimentation and innovative print and drawing techniques. Mary Cassatt, for example, elevated color printmaking to new heights through her adaptation of the Japanese aesthetic that was taking Paris by storm in the 1890s, while her Impressionist colleague Edgar Degas sought multiple avenues for experimentation in print. Degas and other Impressionists also developed inventive drawing styles that allowed them to capture movement and intense effects of color and light in their works.
Norwegian, 1863–1944
"The Scream", 1895
Lithograph; image: 13 3/4 x 27 1/4 inches,
sheet: 23 1/2 x 16 3/8 inches
Saint Louis Art Museum
Private Collection 2019.348
Norwegian, 1863–1944
"Moonlight", 1896; printed c. 1906
Color woodcut on Japan paper;
image: 15 13/16 x 18 9/16 inches,
sheet: 18 7/8 x 23 5/16 inches
Saint Louis Art Museum
Gift of General and Mrs. Leif J. Sverdrup 338:1952
This experimental impulse in turn provided a launchpad for later generations to push formal and technical innovations even further. Paul Cézanne’s early-20th-century watercolors transformed natural environments into abstract washes of color, while Odilon Redon focused on the expressive power of black to create images that blurred the lines between fantasy and reality. Edvard Munch rethought the ancient medium of woodcut printmaking, cutting his blocks into pieces like a jigsaw puzzle to print in multiple colors.
“Impressionism and Beyond” explores several themes that guided artists in their examinations of modernity. Subjects of modern urban life such as the domestic interior and the modern woman of fashion abound during this period. Meanwhile, experimental treatments of figures and landscapes highlight news ways artists viewed the world around them, sometimes giving way to quirky, even frightening, visions.
“Impressionism and Beyond” is curated by Abigail Yoder, research assistant, and Elizabeth Wyckoff, curator of prints, drawings and photographs.
SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM
One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park, Saint Louis, Missouri 63110
