Impressionism: Painting en Plein Air

Songs of the Open Road is dedicated to art and travel, and recognises that Monet was pioneering in the way he combined the two. Capitalising on the instatement of an expanded rail network, Monet travelled to every corner of his native France. He captured what he saw with immediacy, in a way that had never been seen in the history of art. A crucial catalyst for the Impressionist approach was the recent innovations of materials such as easels, that could be easily folded away to a portable size, and paint that squeezed out of aluminium tubes. These materials enabled Monet to walk 10 to 20 kilometres a day with everything he needed, hiking through the countryside in search of his subject.

Painting en plein air (outside) was a core tenet of his practice, and distinguished his art from the landscape painters of previous generations who were confined to the studio. Consequently, Monet was able to create paintings that were a more visceral and pure account of his observations in nature.

In recognition of the impact that Impressionism has had on artists ever since, Monet’s Le Val d’Antifer hangs alongside the work of Pedro Paricio and David Hockney, two artists who were directly inspired by the 19th century movement. Both artists have adopted Impressionist principles and made them a part of their distinctly 21st century practice. In 2023, Paricio travelled to the South of France, painting a series of works en plein air, paying close attention to the momentary effects of light, combined with the vibrant colours and textures that characterise his oeuvre. The set of four canvases that hang on the same wall as Monet’s landscape demonstrate the work of an artist who builds on Impressionist principles to create unique and distinctly contemporary paintings.

In parallel to the technological innovations that enabled the Impressionists to travel, the invention of the iPad has facilitated Hockney’s unique practice. Compact and lightweight, the tablet holds all resources the artist needs to work outside, combining an Impressionist attention to natural phenomena with the technicolour of the digital medium.

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