Impressionist broken colour theory

The theory of painting with broken colour was invented by the impressionists, by Claude Monet (1840 - 1926), as a way to give energy to a painting. It is a technique that is supposed to achieve the actual sensation of light itself. However it is a technique that can easily become empty and appear as more of just dabs of colour.

Another approch to broken colour is not to just give energy to the image but to also obscure the edges of the paintings allowing the mind to sense that the contours are there.

This way of painting broke how painters had been painting for many years Traditionally the colours would be mixed on a palette creating one single colour to work with, rather than mixing on the painting itself by dabbing the separate colours alongside eachother, to mix in our eyes from a distance.

This technique has never been a popular one and continues to be forgotten and not used. More often people are impressed with more photo-realistic type paintings.

They used a variety of methods in order to achieve this feel:

• Colour washing - a translucent paint over a colour background to allow textures and patterns to be created on the thin layer.
• Shading - Different shades to create an illusion of a transition from light to dark and vice versa.
• Sponging - A cloudy soft appearance to the composition, there is sponging on (applying) and sponging off (removing)
• Dry brushing/dragging - Dragging a dry brush through a wet glaze before it dries. This gives the illusion of wood or other woven surfaces.
• Combing/Stippling - Similar to dragging except done with a comb.
• Spattering - This involves striking a paintbrush with a piece of wood.
• Ragging and rag rolling - A colour glaze painted over a different colour which is then distressed using a rag or cloth.

Overall the impressionists managed to create a fresh and original feeling to paintings.