En plein air

En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting in the outside environment rather than indoors (such as in a studio). In Italian the term alfresco has an equivalent meaning.

Related Topics:
French - Painting - Studio - Italian

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Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-1800s working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism. The popularity of painting en plein air increased with introduction in the 1870s of paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes). Previously, each painter made their own paints by grinding and mixing dry pigment powders with linseed oil.

Related Topics:
1800s - Barbizon school - Impressionism - 1870s - Tube - Toothpaste - Pigment - Linseed oil

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Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir advocated en plein air painting, and much of their work was done outdoors.

Related Topics:
Claude Monet - Camille Pissarro - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

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In the second half of 19th century and beginning of the 20th century in Russia, painters such as Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, Valentin Serov, K.A. Korovin and I.E. Grabar were known for painting en plein air.

Related Topics:
19th century - 20th century - Russia - Vasily Polenov - Isaac Levitan - Valentin Serov - K.A. Korovin - I.E. Grabar

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The popularity of outdoor painting has remained constant throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century.

Related Topics:
20th century - 21st century

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