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En plein
air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is
often used to describe the practice of painting in the outside
environment rather than indoors (such as in a studio). In English
alfresco has the same meaning, however in Italian the term al fresco
has
a rather different one, either in jail or simply cool air !
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. The Newlyn School in Cornwall is
considered another major location of such painting in the late 19th
century.
French
Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet, Camille Pisarro, and
Pierre-Auguste Renoir advocated en plein air painting, and much of their
work was done outdoors. Lucien Pisarro spent quite a bit of time in
Youlgrave. I even know which house he lodged at in Bradford Dale. I hope
I might spot a Pisarro painting each time I go to a car boot sale
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