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‘It makes me sick!' How the likes of the French impressionists went from ‘lunatics' to luminaries

‘It makes me sick!' How the likes of the French impressionists went from ‘lunatics' to luminaries

The Guardian2 days ago

'Five or six lunatics deranged by ambition – one of them a woman – have chosen to exhibit their works,' French critic Albert Wolff wrote in a review of an art exhibition in Paris in 1876. The lunatics in question were a group of up-and-coming artists: Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas.
Almost 150 years later, we know now that those lunatics took over the asylum. The impressionists, who rebelled against the old masters by painting lighter, brighter, ephemeral scenes, are today's old masters; what was so shocking then is now all over our calendars, coffee cups and phone cases. But back in 1876, those looking at their works 'are content to laugh at such things,' Wolff wrote sniffily. 'But it makes me sick at heart.'
There were eight impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886. From the first, much fuss was made of these paintings that captured quotidian moments like picnics, laundry day and music lessons, rather than the few subjects deemed acceptable by the establishment (the big three: biblical, mythological or historical). The impressionists – a derogatory label they would later adopt with pride – saw worth and beauty everywhere: a garlic seller or a ballet dancer or a baby nephew deserved immortalising as much as Jesus or Napoleon.
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But newspapers recorded the public gasping, hooting and even fainting over such art. There was a shared suspicion that these sloppy rebels weren't bothered to paint properly, or perhaps simply couldn't. After the very first show in 1874, one critic accused Monet of having 'declared war on beauty', while Morisot's own tutor wrote to her mother with his damning verdict of her new gang: 'All of these people are more or less touched in the head.'
A huge collection of French impressionism has arrived at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, which is mostly on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – a gallery founded in 1870, just four years before the first impressionists were shocking France. 'Making everyday reality the subject of art – it seems so obvious today, but it's a wonderful thing to remember that it wasn't inevitable,' says Katie Hanson, a curator at MFA Boston. 'It took courage, and a village, to make impressionism a reality.'
French Impressionism opens on a room for a literal village: Barbizon, a small town located about 50km from Paris, to which many artists flocked due to its proximity to the very paintable Forest of Fontainebleau – and for being conveniently on a train line. The School of Barbizon inspired many of the impressionists who followed 30 years later. There are even direct links to be found – take Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña, who followed Theodore Rousseau around the forest watching him paint; 30 years later, Diaz was in the forest when he ran into a young Renoir at work and gave him the career-changing advice to lighten up his palette.
'When you start peeling back the onion you find all these points of connection and mutual support underneath,' says Hanson.
MFA Boston is home to more than 500,000 works, which means it can send off this many masterpieces without a second thought. It can even do it twice: French Impressionism was first staged at the NGV in 2021, before it was closed prematurely due to Covid lockdowns. It is what Julian Barnes once called a 'masterpieces-on-a-washing-line approach'; you may find you struggle to appreciate every single painting on display.
But you can navigate French Impressionism by playing who-knows-who. There are the mentors like Eugène Boudin who, despite not being an impressionist, gets a whole room to himself for having spotted teenage Monet's talent and encouraged him to work 'en plein air', as he did; and a few works by Diaz, who supported Renoir and even bought him paint when he couldn't make ends meet. Then there are the friends who didn't quite make it into the gang – like Norwegian impressionist Frits Thaulow, French realist Henri Fantin-Latour and, of course, Édouard Manet, who was so close to the impressionists that he was widely regarded as their leader, despite his choice to never exhibit with them.
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There are also the admirers, like Vincent Van Gogh, who was painting in France at the same time but noted he was not 'one of the club', and even a spot for the admired: Victorine Meurent, who was Manet's favourite model and also a painter, whose fabulously haughty self-portrait was found in a Parisian flea market in 2010 and acquired by MFA Boston in 2021. The four-year delay in this exhibition returning to Melbourne means Meurent now gets to share the spotlight with Manet's flirtier view of her – though the exhibition remains an undeniable sausage fest; in the four years since the first attempt to stage it, the number of Morisot paintings has gone from one to two.
Pleasure lies in discovering the impressionists' relationships with one another. Misanthropic Paul Cézanne and argumentative Degas; the social butterflies Monet and Renoir; Morisot, the rare woman among men and a dab hand at dealing with their moods and egos; and Pissarro, the cheerful link between everyone, affectionately dubbed 'Papa'. They painted each other's wives, brothers, children, servants, crushes. Not that they always got along – 'they were artists, after all,' Hanson says.
So why Boston? Why did a US city take such a shine to the impressionists when Paris was falling over itself to laugh at them? French gallerist Paul Durand-Ruel, the impressionists' greatest cheerleader, was already selling Barbizon landscapes to eager Americans when impressionism arrived. When he first exhibited the impressionists in Manhattan in 1886, both the public and press were more curious and impressed than the French had been a decade before. Durand-Ruel opened a permanent gallery in New York in 1888, selling impressionist masterpieces to wealthy east coast collectors, including Bostonians.
'Boston was prepared to like impressionism because they already liked French painters and unidealised landscapes,' says Hanson. 'Bostonians had a real love of nature and naturalism – think of Whitman or Thoreau. People in the Boston area were really focusing on nature's many splendours, so impressionism wasn't a step too far for them.'
If you saw the aborted version of French Impressionism in 2021, it is much more maximalist this time around, with the NGV styling the interiors to look like an opulent Bostonian mansion. The plush lounges scattered around don't make for good vantage points on busy days – but there are enough instantly pleasing sights on any horizon to keep up morale if you get frustrated by the crowds: the fizzy pastels of Monet's view of Venice, an unexpected Van Gogh, Renoir's instantly recognisable Dance at Bougival. So while you're dodging prams or queueing for a look, think back to those first exhibitions in Paris – at least you are not peering past angry Parisians in top hats. Probably.
French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is open at the NGV until 5 October.

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Sharing their thoughts on the moment, fans wrote: 'The way ben speaks to and about women is actually disturbing,'; 'Ben you've given the whole Uk the ick,'; 'Who does Ben think he issss. Seriously Toni is too good for him anyways,'; 'Ben you've given ME the ICK,'; 'Ben wants to be the main character so damn bad,'; 'How do we boot this big man child? I'm already sick of him,'; 'Ben is the type of person to be arrested for drunk driving and blame the manufacturer,'; 'Ben is so damn annoying. feels like i'm watching a 16 year old boy in a grown man's body,'; 'Why is Ben talking like a villain yeah,'; 'Why couldn't Ben just be like 'no hard feelings, I don't think we have a connection' instead of all this? 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But the dating hopefuls were left shaken on last night's show, only the second episode of this series, as Sophie was dumped from the Island. Shakira (left) tells Toni (right) that Ben said he 'gave her the ick' and suggests she pulls him for a chat about it Tonight's episode also saw the arrival of two new bombshells: semi-pro footballer Shea Mannings and fitness influencer Remell Mullins. It comes after bombshell Toni caused a stir with her late entrance to the Love Island villa on Monday night's episode. Shea, a scaffolder from Bristol, revealed he has a young son and will be taking that 'into consideration' when coupling up. He added: 'She needs to be bubbly and we need to have that initial spark. She needs to have a nice personality - like I think I have - so that we match together.' Remell, meanwhile, is a self-improvement content creator with a massive 18million likes and half a million followers on TikTok. 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I feel like Northern people have much more banter than Southerners. If you look through my previous dating history, you'll see I clearly go for personality. You can pretty much laugh me into bed. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I would say hire but then quickly fire soon after. It would only be a temporary contract. NAME: Megan Forte Clarke AGE: 24 FROM: Dublin OCCUPATION: Musical theatre performer and energy broker WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and has a sense of humour. If they're not bad looking, that's always a plus. I love a boy that's a bit pasty, like Timothée Chalamet. I don't mind scrawny, or a bit of a 'dad bod'. I'm 5ft1 so any height really. CLAIM TO FAME? Me and my friends made a Derry Girls TikTok for Halloween and it went a bit viral around Brighton. Sometimes I get stopped in the street about it. I've also done Panto. NAME: Blu Chegini AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is family oriented, has a lot of love to give and a lot of love to receive. Personality goes a long way. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? She'd fire me, but I've got the charm to smooth things over with a girl. The fact I speak fluent Spanish comes in handy when it comes to flirting! Shakira Khan NAME: Shakira Khan AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is tall, charming, witty, with big arms, a good smile and just really funny. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Booming, but they're all frogs. It's a busy love life but I've not found 'the husband', I'm looking for 'the one'. I'm looking for the ring. NAME: Harry Cooksley AGE: 30 FROM: Guildford OCCUPATION: Gold trader, semi-professional footballer and model WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? The girl next door that makes me laugh and can hold eye contact with me. I don't think I'd go for the most obvious girl, I like a real sweet girl. CLAIM TO FAME? I'm the body double for Declan Rice. So when he does a shoot, any body close ups will actually be me. You'll never see my face, but you'll see my shoulder or chest, that kind of thing. NAME: Conor Phillips AGE: 23 FROM: Limerick OCCUPATION: Professional rugby player WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic. I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn't work, but it gets them laughing. It's an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course! NAME: Toni Laites AGE: 24 FROM: Connecticut OCCUPATION: Las Vegas Pool Cabana Server WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'm looking for darker hair, definitely muscular but not too muscular. Super fit. Clean hair cut. Someone that can make me laugh - I'm super outgoing. And someone that's quite active. Maybe one day we could start our own family together. I WANT TO DATE A BRITISH GUY BECAUSE... I've lived in three different states and I'm still single. It's time to try something new! I have some British friends and they're pretty charming. I think all Americans love a good accent. British men are just more polite, with better manners. NAME: Kyle Ashman AGE: 23 FROM: Stafford OCCUPATION: Water operative WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone that's fun, confident and just themselves. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I'd say I'd be hired. I just go with it, find something to compliment a girl on and go from there. NAME: Shea Mannings AGE: 25 FROM: Bristol OCCUPATION: Scaffolder WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? She needs to be bubbly and we need to have that initial spark. She needs to have a nice personality - like I think I have - so that we match together. Also, I have a little boy, so I'll be taking him into consideration with who I couple up with, too. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I'm confident to go up and introduce myself and say, 'You look beautiful', to get a conversation flowing. NAME: Remell Mullins AGE: 24 FROM: Essex OCCUPATION: Self Improvement Content Creator WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A bubbly, confident, ambitious and fun girl. One feature that stands out to me is a nice smile, nice teeth and someone that can keep me on my toes. IF YOU WERE THE CEO OF ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I'm the CEO of flirting. Sometimes it's just unintentional.

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