The First Exhibition of the Impressionists was a bit of a bust
By 1874 the group of younger artists called the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers that would become known as the Impressionists had been trying to achieve recognition by submitting their works to the annual Salon (exhibition) held by the Academy des Beaux-Arts for over a decade in an old studio that belonged to the famous photographer Nadar. Its founding members included Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot and Camille Pissarro, among others. But the exhibition was a bit of a bust although 3,500 people came, most attended to sneer and scoff at the works on display. Art critics did not take it seriously, and the newspaper critics were remarkably hostile.
Impressionism: Bright and joyful painting
Impressionism is an artistic direction that emerged in French painting between 1860 and 1870 as a reaction to realism. It was set in motion with Claude Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise. This painting was first shown alongside over two hundred works by thirty artists, including Edgar Degas, Camille Pissaro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley at what would become known as the Exhibition of the Impressionists in Paris in April 1874. However, of all of the pieces displayed there, Impression, Sunrise became the most famous due to the criticism it attracted, which gave rise to the name of the Impressionism movement.
The painting Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet inspired the name of the Impressionism
In 1872, Claude Monet visited Le Havre, his hometown. During this holiday, he completed a series of six paintings featuring the harbor at Le Havre "during dawn, day, dusk, and dark and from varying viewpoints, some from the water itself and others from a hotel room looking down over the harbor." Impression: Sunrise resonated more strongly than other works in this series. Two years after completing this painting, Monet exhibited it in the First Impressionist Exhibition, an independent show hosted by Paris' avant-garde artists. Despite its hostile contemporary reception, the painting sold instantly and was later gifted to the Musée Marmottan in Paris where it currently resides.
Castle and Sun by Paul Klee is an abstract cityscape painting
The very individual style of the German-Swiss painter Paul Klee was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. His artworks are often full of allusions to dreams, music, poetry. Burg und Sonne was the original title of his 1928 painting, which translates directly as Castle and Sun, capturing the main focal points of this painting. Whilst conforming to abstraction, it could be argued that Castle and Sun fits into any or all of Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. Klee himself produced several of these intricate tiled scenes and this artwork becomes amongst the most reproduced of all his artworks. Today, this painting is in a private collection.
Neuschwanstein Castle, New Swan Stone Castle
The German castle Neuschwanstein is located in the southwest of Bavaria near Füssen, not far from the border with Austria. Neuschwanstein means "New Swan Castle" referencing "the Swan Knight" one of the famous German composer Richard Wagner's characters. The castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as the Fairytale King who was a great admirer and supporter of Wagner. Construction began in 1869 but was never fully completed. It is known as a symbol of idealized romantic architecture, but also because of the tragic story of its owner. It is considered the most beautiful and spectacular castle in the world and was the inspiration for Walt Disney for the castle of the Thorn Rose. Since 1886, Neuschwanstein Castle has been open to the public.
The Ugly Duckling is a reflection of Hans Christian Andersen's life
One of his best fairy tales The Ugly Duckling Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen first conceived in 1842 while enjoying the beauty of nature in the country estate of Bregentved and lavished a year's worth of attention upon it. The first tale's title was The Young Swans but he didn't want to spoil the element of surprise in the protagonist's transformation and discarded it for The Ugly Duckling. The fairy tale was first published in 1843 in Copenhagen and quickly experienced great success with audiences and critics, and Andersen enjoyed literary fame from the mid-1830s. It is considered to be his autobiographical work because he was also an ugly and poor child. Andersen told critic Georg Brandes in an interview that his autobiography had already been written in the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling, which is also a "reflection of his life". In the end, the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling and its author Andersen experienced a happy ending.