Leroy said of this painting, “Impression – I was certain of it. The name was meant as a derision, but the artists took the label with pride and the movement became known afterwards as Impressionism. He used the name of Monet’s painting to inspire the name of his article, “The Exhibition of the Impressionists” which was printed in April 1874 in Le Charivari. The whole school of art and the group of artists who followed it were named after this piece and inadvertently by the art critic, Louis Leroy, who attended their first collective art show in 1874. They asked me for a title for the catalogue, it couldn’t really be taken for a view of Le Havre, and I said: ‘Put Impression.” I had sent a thing done in Le Havre, from my window, sun in the mist and a few masts of boats sticking up in the foreground. Monet said “Landscape is nothing but an impression, and an instantaneous one, hence this label that was given us, by the way because of me. When asked to name the catalog of work displayed at the show, Monet decided upon “The Impressionist Exhibition”. The Impressionist show was located at the salon of Nadar, the famous French photographer. It was an alternative to the famous Paris Salon that only included more conservative art, such as academic and history paintings. The artists had formed a society to be able to provide a venue for anyone to show their work who wanted greater artistic freedom and expression. At the time, the collective group of artists were called Société anonyme coopérative des artistes peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs. This is one of the paintings displayed at the very first exhibition of the Impressionist artists in 1874. The Hôtel de l’Amirauté, where Monet painted this piece, is the large white building in the center of the photo. Le Grand Quai at Le Havre, photo circa 1900. Unfortunately, many historic buildings, including Hôtel de l’Amirauté, were destroyed during WWII. Another reason was because he did not want viewers to think of the painting as unfinished. Monet decided to name the painting “Impression, Sunrise” instead of after the city, as the features were gestural and it was not an obvious painting of a location. Masts and cranes are visible on the horizon. The view is to the southeast from the harbor, looking at the quays and locks being constructed in this large port city. Monet was raised there as a boy and continued to visit the area in his adult life to garner inspiration for his art. He was staying at Le Havre where the Seine River empties out into the Atlantic Ocean. Monet painted this view from his hotel room at Hôtel de l’Amirauté in November of 1872. A detail of the red sun and boaters in the foreground. The overall palette is very light with shades of orange, purple, green, and blue. The choppy water is indicated by the loose brushstrokes of different colors, some of which reflect the rising sun. The rowboats imply space with the one closest to the viewer as the darkest and most defined and the one furthest away a pale blue, just barely discernable from the reflections of the ship masts and stacks. Three small rowboats are in a line in the water. It is early morning, and the rising sun is depicted in a bright bold color of a blend of red, pink, and orange. In this piece, Monet depicts the water off the port city of Le Havre in northern France.
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