The Ru3a Arts Appreciation group met on Monday 16 June 2025 to begin our exploration of ‘The Impressionists’. As an introduction, we watched a YouTube video entitled ‘The Case for Impressionism’ which clearly explained why impressionism, which initially had been ridiculed by art critics, had become so popular and remains so today.

Examples of impressionist and post-impressionist works available on Creative Commons Licence from pixabay.com

Seven members of the group volunteered to select one impressionist artist or painting and share their views and learning:

• Margaret explained how the French Impressionists came together in the mid-1800s to use their skills to create a visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and colour. She chose the Gare Saint-Lazare series of oil paintings by Claude Monet and explained how various atmospheric conditions were painted from different points of view.
  Gare Saint Lazare and the surrounding buildings continue to be of interest to art lovers today.
• Ginny chose the fascinating ‘Hoar-Frost at Ennery’ by Camille Pissarro. Her detailed description of the intricate weaving of the colours, textures and brush strokes that enhance the morning sun shining through the poplars had everyone riveted.
• Una selected another series of oil paintings by Monet that depicted the Cathedral at Rouen at different times of the day and year. She explained that Monet used the different lighting conditions to depict changes in the building’s appearance.
• Jane had researched ‘The Starry Night’ by Vincent van Gogh to share with the group. She described how the swirling brush strokes and bright colours, seemed to enable the moon and stars to pierce through the deep blue sky. The painting had been the inspiration behind the 1971 hit record, Vincent, by Don McLean.
  Jane recommended reading the novel ‘Secret Life of Sunflowers’ by Marta Molnar if you wished to know more about how Vincent van Gogh’s legacy was eventually shared with the world.
• Janet chose the joyous ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ by Pierre-Auguste Renoir to share with the group. She described some of the characters depicted in the painting and shared photos of the modern-day location of the party, which had been painted ‘en plein air’. The link above leads to an interactive clickable image.
• Jill shared her personal photos of a trip to the Musee Marmottan in Paris and Monet’s garden and house at Giverny, which had been the inspiration for his water lily paintings.
• Richard selected ‘A Wheat Field with Cypresses’ by Vincent van Gogh, a painting which he first encountered over 60 years ago, when at school. He shared how the painting had inspired him from first sight and how his admiration and feelings for it had changed over the decades.

Throughout the presentations, everyone was enthralled - several questions were asked and learning shared e.g. Susan informed us of her trip to the Art Gallery in Ontario to view the work of the Canadian impressionists. Unfortunately, we ran out of time, so the group agreed that we would spend the next couple of sessions exploring impressionism further.