Wonderful masterpieces that have been birthed to life are repercussions of multifarious artistic techniques. One such ethereal artistic technique is a Plein air or Plein air painting invented by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes.
This technique involves painting outdoors amidst the wilderness. This method went against the traditional old school norm of studio painting or generally painting indoors. This technique allowed the artist to capture the ever-evolving nature while bringing to life a landscape.
Like any other artistic technique, this also spread like wildfire in the Barbizon school of painting which was heavily dependent on loose brush strokes and the influence of natural light.
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Painting Water
Claude Monet was the biggest advocate of en Plein air and adored the wind against his face as he tried to capture it onto the canvas. He was amongst one of the many Impressionist painters who adopted Plein air painting with loose brushstrokes which were a trademark of Monet.
He could reproduce his beloved pond and Japanese bridge at will for he had sketched them out a gazillion times for he was a passionate botanist who loved this scenery. More than half of the painting is hoarded by the image of the lake which is a miscellany of green and blue hues, painted in loose brushstrokes with an efficient sparkling of sunlight in it. A pop of color is introduced by the water lilies painted to the utmost perfection by lathering layers of paint and mixing pink tones hues. The reflection of light which has beautifully portrayed through the visible flower reflection and bridge reflection is a repercussion of painting outdoors.
Painting Clouds
Sisley was a tough contender and contemporary of Monet in the Impressionistic Art Movement. He too was fascinated by the whole concept of chalking it out in the wilderness, almost like a real-life portrait, and also, he was much too inspired by Claude Monet paintings.
Sisley was known as the best great painter of dappled light in the history of Impressionism. If you look closely, the muddy path has been painted equal parts rugged and raw making it look almost life-like. Moreover, the ethereal sunset that you probably can’t get your eyes off of was painted spontaneously on the outside. His commons on the brush was so sturdy that he could accurately capture the movement of light as well as clouds in the sky, a skill imbibed in by canvases of en Plein air.
Painting Shrubbery
Renoir was one of the impressionists who followed Plein air painting and loved capturing the beauty of nature in its wildest and rawest forms while witnessing it face to face. While being a master at infusing a masterpiece with symbolism he had a great hand on the brush for loosely painted and pastel-hued landscapes. He was a master artist who had a steady hand with reciprocation which is why he excelled at this.
This painting is the ultimate torchbearer of Plein air painting which will definitely make you fall in love with the sheer form and concept of it. Renoir has very slightly given a twist to the old school landscape by skipping the sun and the cloud altogether. Instead, his artistry is at the display as to how he has made the dry grass and parched flowers shine with a luminosity borrowed by the Sun. Aside from this, the vivacity of the technicolor flowers and the forward swinging movements of the grass as well as the narrow perspective make commendable use of the painting technique.
Painting Deliberately Outside
Pissarro was a wonderful artist who made art out of thin air with his extensive artistic skills as well as highly anarchist-inclined ideologies, making it both aesthetically pleasing as well as pregnant with symbolism. He smoothly adopted the Plein air painting technique as it came pretty organically to him.
This painting seems to depict the domestic life of those who live over to the countryside of the state. It showcases an old lady and man working on a vegetable garden together which was a common practice amidst this kind of social setting. The colored palette seems ordinary but accurately depicts everything, making it easier for us to imagine the scene. Lastly, you’ll see that the loose brushstrokes invited here make especially the trees, intrinsically detailed, amplifying their beauty.
Painting Light
Vincent Van Gogh is often called the father of Post Impressionism who kicked the artistic norms of realistic depictions laid down by Impressionists but followed the tradition of Plein air. Van Gogh was never one for norms so painting outdoors came quite naturally for him. Artists seldom used a photograph to get the precise picture for their painting but he wasn’t one of them.
Painting light in any form came particularly easily to Van Gogh for he had painted over 800 paintings in his lifetime. For this masterpiece, he used the moonlight and the light emitted from the stars in the painting and gave it his own swing by bringing an emotional and Post Impressionistic style into it by rejecting realistic representations of landscapes. He used light blue, white, and even yellow to paint a starry night where these tints move in waves.
The Bottom Line
Plein air painting was invented after the origin of disposable paint tubes and flexible canvases came into the French art scene. These inventions pushed this artistic style forward to bloom into ethereal masterpieces.
