One way of viewing the history of art is of steadily increasing realism. From the earliest cave paintings to the great landscapes and portraits of the early Victorian era, artists attempted to get their work as lifelike as possible. Techniques of blending line and colour to achieve realistic-looking depictions were perfected during the Renaissance and held sway until the mid-Nineteenth Century when Realism suddenly faced a challenge from photography. The art world’s response was Impressionism.
Some of the great Impressionist Artists:
- Paul Cèzanne
- Édouard Monet
- Claude Manet
- Edgar Degas
This group of Parisian artists were ridiculed by the first critics to review their works. Even the term ‘Impressionist’ was originally intended as an insult. This couldn’t be painting, the world doesn’t look like that. The artists continued to experiment with colour and changed the art world forever.
The brochure you intend to produce does not have to be a world changing piece of artwork that divides critics, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from the Impressionists’ approach to colour.
One of the key techniques of the Impressionists was their habit of not necessarily mixing their colours in the traditional way. An orange colour can be produced by mixing red and yellow on the pallette. But putting tiny dabs of red and yellow in certain patterns can trick the eye into seeing orange. The Parisian artists eschewed black altogether, preferring to achieve dark tones by putting together complementary colours that cancelled each other out. A technique that you could easily mimic when creating an eye-catching image for a brochure or leaflet.
The Impressionists were not too bothered about sharp lines. They allowed colours to bleed into each other. This gives their paintings that slightly out-of-focus dreamlike quality.
Gradually the artists’ view of the world caught on. Paintings by the Impressionists now sell for millions. Modern critics rave about their innovative use of colour and bemoan a new generation of artists who spend their time pickling sharks in formaldehyde rather than doing 250 studies of the same water-lily pond under different lighting conditions.
At Colour Print, we understand colour. If you need any advice on printing, don’t hesitate to contact us on 01603 488001. One of our team of colour-printing experts will be happy to discuss all your printing needs.
