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En plein air

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En plein airpainter on theCôte d'ArgentinHourtin,France

En plein air(pronounced[ɑ̃plɛ.n‿ɛʁ];Frenchfor 'outdoors'), or plein-air[1]painting, is the act ofpaintingoutdoors.

This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is credited toPierre-Henri de Valenciennes(1750–1819), first expounded in a treatise entitledReflections and Advice to a Student on Painting, Particularly on Landscape(1800),[2]where he developed the concept of landscape portraiture by which the artist paints directly onto canvasin situwithin the landscape.

It enabled the artist to better capture the changing details of weather and light. The invention of portable canvases and easels allowed the practice to develop, particularly in France, and in the early 1830s theBarbizon schoolof painting in natural light was highly influential.[3]

Amongst the most prominent features of this school were its tonal qualities, colour, loose brushwork, and softness of form. These were variants that were particularly relevant to the mid 19th-centuryHudson River Schooland toImpressionism.[4]

History

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Claude MonetPainting by the Edge of a Wood(1885) byJohn Singer Sargent.Oil on canvas. 54.0 × 64.8 cm.Tate Gallery,London.

Before the 19th century, artists had mixed their own paints from raw pigments that they often ground themselves from a variety ofmedia.This had made for inconvenient portability and kept most painting activities confined to the studio. However, in the 1830s, the Barbizon school in France that includedCharles-François DaubignyandThéodore Rousseauused the practice ofen plein airto depict the changing appearance of light accurately as weather conditions altered.[5]

This situation improved later in the 1800s when tubes of oil paint became available, allowingEn plein airpainting to become viable for more artists. This was in part because of the invention of the collapsible paint tube in 1841 by American portraitistJohn G. Rand.[6]

In the early 1860s, four young painters:Claude Monet,Pierre-Auguste Renoir,Alfred SisleyandFrédéric Bazille,met whilst studying under the academic artistCharles Gleyre.They discovered that they shared an interest in painting landscape and contemporary life, and they often ventured into the countryside together to paint in the open air.[7]They discovered that they could paint in sunlight directly from nature, and making use of the vivid synthetic pigments that were available, they began to develop a lighter and brighter manner of painting that extended further theRealismofGustave Courbetand the Barbizon school.[8]It was radical practise at its inception, but by the later decades of the 19th-century the theory had been absorbed into normal artistic practise.

There were artists' colonies across France, such as the one atÉtapleson the Côte d'Opal that included landscape impressionistsEugène ChigotandHenri Le Sidaner.The latter artist specialised in translatingnocturnelight to canvas using oil and pastel.[9]

TheMacchiaioliwere a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century, who, breaking with the antiquated conventions taught by the Italian academies of art, did much of their painting outdoors in order to capture natural light, shade, and colour. This practice relates the Macchiaioli to the French Impressionists who came to prominence a few years later, although the Macchiaioli pursued somewhat different purposes. Their movement began in Florence in the late 1850s.

In England theNewlyn Schoolwas also a major proponent of the technique in the latter 19th century.[10]There were lesser known artist colonies practising, including a loose collective at Amberley in West Sussex centred around the Paris trainedEdward Stottwho produced atmospheric rural landscapes that were highly popular among some late Victorians.[11]

The movement expanded to America, starting in California then moving to other American locales notable for their natural light qualities, including the Hudson River Valley in New York.

The act of outdoor painting from observation has been continually popular well into the 21st century.[12][13]

Equipment and challenges

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Robert Antoine Pinchon,1898, paintingLe chemin,oil on canvas, 22 × 32 cm

It was during the mid-19th century that the 'box easel', typically known as the 'French box easel' or'field easel',was invented. It is uncertain who developed it, but these highly portable easels with telescopic legs and built-in paint box andpalettemade it easier to go into the forest and up the hillsides.[14]Still made today, they remain a popular choice (even for home use) since they fold up to the size of abrief caseand thus are easy to store.[15]

The Pochade Box is a compact box that allows the artist to keep all their supplies and palette within the box and have the work on the inside of the lid. Some designs allow for a larger canvas which can be held by clamps built into the lid. There are designs which can also hold a few wet painting canvases or panels within the lid.[16]These boxes have a rising popularity as while they are mainly used forplein airpainting, they can also be used in the studio, home, or classroom. Since pochade boxes are mainly used for painting on location, the canvas or work surface may be small, usually not more than 20 inches (50 cm).[17]

Challenges include the type of paint used to paint outdoors, animals, bugs, onlookers, and environmental conditions such as weather.Acrylic paintmay harden and dry quickly in warm, sunny weather, and it cannot be reused. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the challenge of painting in moist or damp conditions with precipitation. The advent ofplein airpainting predated the invention of acrylics. The traditional and well-established method of paintingen plein airincorporates the use of oil paint.

Advocates

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Australian impressionistArthur Streetonpaintingen plein air,c. 1892

French impressionist painters such asClaude Monet,Camille Pissarro,Alfred Sisley,andPierre-Auguste Renoiradvocatedplein airpainting, and much of their work was done outdoors in the diffuse light of a large white umbrella. Claude Monet was an aviden plein airartist who deduced that to seize the closeness and likeness of an outside setting at a specific moment one had to be outside to do so rather than just paint an outside setting in their studio.[18]In the second half of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century in Russia, painters such asVasily Polenov,Isaac Levitan,Valentin Serov,Konstantin KorovinandI. E. Grabarwere known for paintingen plein air.

In the late 19th century,plein airpainting was not limited to theOld World.American impressioniststoo, such as those of theOld Lymeschool, were avid paintersen plein air.American impressionist painters noted for this style during this era includedGuy Rose,Robert William Wood,Mary DeNeale Morgan, John Gamble, andArthur Hill Gilbert.In Australia in the 1880s and 1890s,Arthur Streeton,Frederick McCubbin,Tom Robertsand other members of theHeidelberg Schoolof Australian impressionism were also committedplein airists.In Canada in the 1920s, theGroup of SevenandTom Thomsonare examples ofen plein airadvocates.

Notable artists (selected)

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Images

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Collins Australian Dictionary - the Foremost Authority on the language of today Harper Coliins. Pymble 2073, p 1246
  2. ^Joshua Taylor (1989), Nineteenth Century Theories of Art, pages 246–7, University of California Press, USA.ISBN0520048881
  3. ^Stephen Adams (1997), The Barbizon School and the Origins of Impressionism, Phaidon Press,ISBN978-0714836232
  4. ^Bernard Denvir, (1990). The Thames and Hudson Encyclopaedia of Impressionism. London: Thames and Hudson.ISBN0500202397
  5. ^Auricchio, Laura (October 2004)."The Transformation of Landscape Painting in France".Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.
  6. ^Bird, Michael."A Real Squeeze: Paint in Tubes".Christie's.Christie's.Retrieved20 April2023.
  7. ^Harrison C White, Cynthia A. White (1993). Canvases and Careers: Institutional Change in the French Painting World. University of Chicago Press.ISBN0226894878
  8. ^Malafronte, Allison (October 2009)."The History of thePlein AirMovement ".American Artist:20–24.[dead link]
  9. ^Antoine Descheemaeker- Colle (2008),Eugène Chigot, Sa Vie, Son Oevre Peint, Editions Henri, France.ISBN9782917698020
  10. ^"Newlyn School, Landscape Painting Artist Colony, Cornwall: History, Artists, Stanhope Forbes, Frank Bramley".Visual-arts-cork.Retrieved20 August2010.
  11. ^Valerie Webb (2018), Edward Stott (1855 – 1918):A Master of Colour and Atmosphere, Sansom & Company, Bristol, England.ISBN9781911408222
  12. ^"Artists who worken plein airshare their motivations: Arts ".adn. 6 June 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2010.Retrieved20 August2010.
  13. ^"Plein Air Painting - Painting Outside Plein Air".Painting.about. 16 August 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 2 March 2017.Retrieved20 August2010.
  14. ^"Invention of box/ Field easel".Realism & Impressionism.Retrieved2015-11-02.
  15. ^"Plein Air".PBS. 6 August 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 22 August 2011.Retrieved20 August2010.
  16. ^"Pochade Boxes".
  17. ^"Pochade box".Artwork Essentials.Retrieved29 December2016.
  18. ^Kleiner, F. S.,Gardner's Art Through the Ages (15th ed.), Boston, Cengage Learning, 1915
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