Four Great Emancipators Of Color Poem by Paul Hartal

In the post-Renaissance period,
until the 19th century, paintings iften looked dull/
They were dominated by brownish tones.
The German philosopher Immanuel Kant held
that the essence of painting was in the design;
that although colors could add some charm,
colors in themselves could not make the image
beautiful.

With the rise of Impressionism
in the 19th century a revolution occurred
in the use and appreciation of color.
The French artist Claude Monet (1940-1926)
introduced into his painted work bright colors.
He was interested in the exploration
of the connection between light and color.
He painted the same subject at different hours
of the day and in different lights. He created,
for example, a series of images of haystacks,
also many paintings of the Rouen cathedral.
as well as compositions showing
the flowers in his garden.

Another French artist, Georges Seurat (1959-1891)
developed a painterly technique, known as Pointillism,
in which tiny dots of pure color are applied to the canvas.
Viewed from a distance the color dots fuse and blend
into a brilliant haze of forms and volumes.
At first Seurat's paintings were received by art critics
with indignation and were even vandalized
by outraged spectators.

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) , also a French artist,
exerted a tremendous influence on the development
of modern art. He achieved a synthesis of realistic
representation and abstraction. Cezanne expressed
volumes and light by superimposing glazes
of pure color and tone relations. He also became
a pivotal source in the birth and evolution
of the art trends of Cubism and Fauvism.
One of his favorite subjects in painting
was Mont Sainte Victoire, which he painted
many times, reducing it into simple geometric
shapes, painted in vivid and bold colors.

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a French painter
and one of the most influential leaders of modern art.
A great liberator of color, Matisse used brilliant pigments
on his palette. His artistic style was characterized
by inventive line and color.
He played a central role in the rise
of the Fauvist movement. whose artists applied
exuberantly bold and clamorous colors in their art.
Matisse, however, became more restrained
and changed his style as he became
older. Accordingly, In 1908 he wrote in his
Notes d'un peintre, 'What I dream of is an art
of balance, purity and serenity, devoid of troubling
or depressing subject matter...an art like a good armchair
in which to rest from physical fatigue.'