"How Art Impresses People" by Kurt Hare

As I wander through the exhibit of French Impressionist Paintings, I not only look at the artwork, but I also am interested in the people around me. People from all walks of life are engrossed in the paintings – young, old, middle class, students, artistic types, etc. Most are transfixed by the paintings, but there are a few young children that seem restless. I wonder if anyone else is feeling any of the same emotions that I feel as I gaze at these spectacular works of art. Do they visualize the same things I do? Do they feel the sense of awe at seeing these masterpieces?

The people around me stare intently at the Impressionist artwork. They seem impressed by the daubs of red, green, blue and yellow that dominates the work of Manet, Cezanne, Degas, Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh. Some of them hold audio headsets up around their ears like cell phones. Others just look at the descriptions off to the side. Whether they have an audio headset or not, the viewers spend no more than three minutes viewing each painting on the walls. I go along with everybody else from painting to painting without an audio headset around my ear. Sometimes I’m an interloper in their midst; listening to the comments they make about these great works of art.

Van Gogh’s Chambre d’Arles captures the attention of many of the audience. They seem captivated by the simplicity of the room - the bright colors and the intensity of emotion that the painting inspires. His use of vivid colors and simple lines light up the room. The bed almost jumps out of the painting at the viewer because it seems to dominate the painting.

The one that interests me the most is Monet’s Le jardin de l’artiste a Giverny. I am impressed by the way Monet dabbed the purple flowers on the canvas and surrounded them with bright hues of red, white and pink of the other flora. Also, the way he painted a dirt trail straight down the middle under a forest of trees with green, red, and orange foliage is sublime. This path seems to lead an unknown two-story house. Whose house is it? (Later I find out it was Monet’s house.)

After an hour of being immersed in the world of the Impressionists, I begin to become weary - I am overwhelmed by the beauty of all of the paintings. I will have to return again to view these wonderful pieces that have captivated my imagination.