More than 50 works by renowned artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent will be on display at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens from February 16 through May 6, 2012 as part of the exhibit: Impressionism and Post Impressionism from The High Museum of Art.  The exhibit illustrates the emergence of Impressionism in France during the 1870s, the movement’s evolution to Post-Impressionism, and its later influence on American artists.  “This progressive look provides a unique perspective of one of the most controversial, significant and ultimately widely popular artistic movements,” said Hope McMath, Director of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. “We’re thrilled to bring this must-see collection to The Cummer and the city of Jacksonville.” 

The exhibit on loan from The High Museum of Art in Atlanta features works by such pre-Impressionist artists as Eugene Boudin to mark the initial transition from the traditional, academic paintings of the French Academy of Fine Arts and the Paris Salon to the loose brushwork and airy landscapes of Monet, Renoir and Pissarro that defined the Impressionist movement. The term Impressionism was derived from Claude Monet’s painting titled “Impression, Sunrise” which caused a stir when it debuted in 1872. “Today, Impressionism is one of the most beloved artistic techniques but the movement was avant-garde in its day.  Respected artists in the mid-1800s were painting dramatic historic scenes and religious works. Monet, Renoir and Pissarro rebelled against the traditional, narrowly-defined art of the time and challenged the status quo with loose, rapid brushwork and en plein air painting that explored the effects of light on the landscape,” said Cummer Curator Holly Keris.  “What critics of the time labeled ‘unfinished’ and ‘superficial’ would later draw widespread public acceptance and adoration.”

Situated on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville’s historic Riverside, The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is the largest fine arts museum in Northeast Florida.  It features a permanent collection of nearly 5,000 objects and 1.5 acres of beautifully cultivated waterfront gardens.  For more information, including hours, visit www.cummer.org.

(Pictured from the Impressionism and Post Impressionism from The High Museum of Art exhibit are: Claude Monet’s Houses of Parliament in the Fog (1903), one of a series of paintings the artist made of this important place in different light and atmospheric conditions; and Tuileries Gardens (ca. 1897) by American artist Childe Hassam, which references a famous work by his older and more well-known contemporary Claude Monet.)