Impression, Sunrise | Sauna Room at Dawn

Finding 'totonoi' while envisioning 'Impression, Sunrise'

Even if you are not well-versed in art, many of you have likely heard the term 'Impressionism', haven't you?

When people think of painting, many may think of 'Impressionism'. Some of you may have even wondered if paintings like those of the Impressionists are truly valued as 'art'.

'Impressionism' was the first movement that emerged in the late 19th century, from the 1870s to the 1880s, and created the flow of modern art that continues to this day.

It is a painting technique that captures the flickering of light, changes in scenery, and movement occurring before one's eyes. Instead of drawing the 'outlines' found in traditional painting, it uses layers of mixed or primary colors to depict vibrant hues as if they were vibrating due to light and natural movement.

The term 'Impressionism' is said to have originated from the painting 'Impression, Sunrise' painted by Claude Monet' in 1872.

'Impression, Sunrise' 1872
<Impression, soleil levant>

Claude Monet

When I saw the sunrise shining into the sauna room, 'Impression, Sunrise' came to my mind.

I watch from the sauna room as the sunlight melts the surrounding scenery, blurring it into an impression. The sunrise changes its appearance moment by moment, altering the impression. The light illuminating the sauna room makes the interior appear realistic, but except for the direction from which the light shines, the field of vision is dyed white, and the outlines blur and melt into abstraction.

The sensitivity sharpened by the sauna captures the light sensitively, inviting me into a mysterious sensation. It is a scenery as colorful, light-filled, and completely melted as the paintings expressed by Impressionist artists. The beauty of the flickering light seen through the combination of the sauna and the light. And... the 'totonoi' where the mind and body are tuned and organized.

That day, I had a sauna experience that will remain in my memory.

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'Sauna Room at Dawn vol.1'

The sauna room was dimly lit and wrapped in silence.

It was a space so lonely and quiet that it felt as if I might be under the illusion that no one else was awake.

The sound of the loyly rang out, and the air wavered slightly.

Feeling the invisible movement of the heat, I indulged in the warmth.

Before long, the horizon in the distance began to turn red.

Then, an intense light that dyed the crimson sky white enveloped me.

The powerfully shining sunlight dyed my field of vision white, the scenery lost its contours, and it became vaguely impressive. When I looked away from the light, I could see the light spreading throughout the sauna room moment by moment. The world was being projected vividly.

The idealized sauna room realistically transformed into its unidealized, true form due to the filling light.

I shifted my gaze toward the direction of the light, watched the impression of the "as-seen" form melting into the light, and slowly closed my eyelids.

The sauna stove let out a low rumble, and sweat slowly dripped down to my feet.

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What is Impressionism?

In 19th-century France, emphasis was placed on historical and religious subjects, while landscape and still-life paintings were looked down upon.

It was an era where paintings rendered beautifully down to the smallest detail were considered fine, and the Academy's standard was a painting technique that depicted "ideal beauty" on a glossy surface without leaving any brushstrokes.

During the same period, many painters who opposed the Academy's ideals emerged, and movements that would become the precursors to Impressionism were born.

Romanticism
Characterized by dramatic expressions that passionately empathized with events, it emphasizes the suppressed fundamental uniqueness of the individual (movements of the heart) and possesses qualities such as existential anxiety stemming from the desires of the ego.
It is characterized by dramatic composition and brilliant color expression, and its vivid colors and dramatic expressions greatly influenced the later Impressionists.

Realism
Rather than idealized fantasy, it is characterized by expressions that depict the raw reality of contemporary society, faithfully painting the workers and farmers actually living their lives and the natural scenery spreading out before one's eyes as they are "seen."

The style of depicting the reality spreading out before one's eyes influenced the Impressionists, who placed importance on the expression of impressions and light.

Barbizon School (Naturalism)
Characterized by painters who were fascinated by the beauty of nature not found in cities being lost to the Industrial Revolution, they depicted natural landscapes such as forests, valleys, rural scenery, and village life.

The Barbizon School, which took the beauty of nature as its subject for landscape painting, greatly influenced the Impressionists, who depicted the changes in light.

Influenced by the ideas and production methods of painters who deviated from conventional values like those of Romanticism, Realism, and the Barbizon School, the Impressionist painters worked outdoors, capturing not only the momentary sunlight but also how it changed, incorporating the fluctuations of light and changes over time into their paintings.

Even as movements deviating from conventional wisdom sprouted, the Academy's aesthetic sense remained sublime, and in an era where it was considered the most valuable, the Impressionist painters who would build the era—Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Frédéric Bazille, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, Armand Guillaumin, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas...—met.

Artists who were not evaluated at the Salon and were rejected planned their own unique exhibition to display their works. This is the "legendary exhibition" later called the First Impressionist Exhibition.

At the time, this exhibition was not accepted by society at all, and there were many critical reactions; Monet and Cézanne, in particular, were subjected to especially fierce attacks.

Louis Leroy, an engraver, painter, and playwright, wrote a scathing review in the satirical newspaper "Le Charivari," coining the term "Impressionists" for the painters by punning on the title of Monet's painting, "Impression, Sunrise," and thus the group of painters who depicted light and impressions came to be called the "Impressionists."

In an article titled "Exhibition of the Impressionists," which also carried a mocking tone, Leroy judged Monet's painting to be at best a sketch and not a finished work. Borrowing the form of a conversation between visitors, Leroy wrote as follows.

[French]
Impression, I was sure of it. I was just telling myself, since I am impressed, there must be some impression in it... And what freedom, what ease in the workmanship! A preliminary wallpaper pattern is more finished than this seascape!

[English]
Impression I was certain of it.
I was just telling myself that, since I was impressed,
there had to be some impression in it — and what freedom, what ease of workmanship!
A preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more finished than this seascape.

[Japanese]
It is certainly an impression.
Since I received an impression, that means the impression is depicted.
Still, what freedom, and what a rough finish.
An unfinished wallpaper pattern is much better executed than this landscape painting.

Impressionism was a name that spread with a sense of contempt, but the Impressionist painters grew to like the name, and the Impressionist exhibitions continued to be held up to the eighth one.

In the 21st century, the reputation of Impressionism is extremely high, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the most widely accepted art movement in the world.

Japanese people in particular love Impressionism, to the extent that an Impressionist exhibition is held at some museum every single year without fail. Monet and Renoir are especially popular among them, and they are often the highlight of any exhibition held.

Van Gogh and Gauguin, who follow the lineage of Impressionism, are also popular in Japan, and they are often included in exhibitions that feature Impressionist works.

Among such Impressionist works, "Impression, Sunrise," which gave the movement its name, is such an important piece that it is no exaggeration to call it the painting that started it all.

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"Sauna Room at Dawn vol. 2"

When I entered the sauna room late at night, there was no one else inside.

The background music was off, and the only sounds I could hear when I strained my ears were the humming of the sauna stove and the ticking of the sauna timer.

When I poured water onto the heated sauna stones, a quiet "hiss" echoed through the room.

The steam generated began to swirl and move toward the lower levels, and the heat pierced my body.

The sweat forming on my skin slowly dripped down.

I slowly moved my body, which was filled with heat, toward the cold water bath, and as I slowly submerged into the ice-cold water, a warmth began to form a membrane over me.

The outside temperature was 1 degree Celsius.

The freezing cold could be felt through the window and the wind.

I changed into my loungewear and headed to the balcony. After being in the sauna, you are wrapped in a warm glow even in the middle of winter outdoors, so you can actually stay out for quite a while.

The residential area spread out before me, the group of buildings visible in the distance, and the pitch-black sky before dawn.

The lights spreading across the ground flickered, the outlines of the buildings became blurred, and they melted into an impression.

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The essence within the shifting changes

Today we must do something very special, for it will be a glorious day.

Today we must do something very special, for it will be a glorious day.

"Moomin" (by Tove Jansson) / Snufkin

In Finland, the home of the sauna, there is a saying: "Löyly is the soul of the sauna."

Löyly refers to the steam bath experience where water is poured onto the stones in the sauna stove (sauna stones) to create rising steam, and in Finland, it is considered a sacred act that houses the spirit of the forest.

The history of the sauna in Finland is very long, spanning 2,000 years. Long before electric stoves existed, people used wood as a heat source to burn sauna stones and enjoyed steam baths by pouring water onto the heated stones.

Even in modern times, with the widespread use of electric stoves, the sacredness of löyly remains unchanged, and it is positioned as an essential element.

"Löyly" is an eternal theme for sauna enthusiasts and an element to be pursued; modern sauna-goers are attempting to develop the sauna experience and sauna culture through löyly.

Löyly brings a change called "humidity" to the sauna room.

When steam fills the dry, low-humidity sauna room with a "hissing" sound, invisible "waves of steam" fill the entire space.

"Aufguss," which originated in Germany and involves using a towel to fan and control the steam, manipulates the heat and brings "wind," "steam," and "heat" into an otherwise empty sauna room.

In other words, "löyly," one of the essences of the sauna, demonstrates its true value through the generation of steam and the movement of air, becoming an act that creates change within a space.

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Impressionist painters place more importance on light than anything else when creating their works.

The changes in "light" transform what the viewer sees into various forms, turning scenery viewed from the same angle into something completely different.

For Impressionist painters, light is the essence of expression and the soul.

The process of capturing the impression received from light and translating the changing scenery into a painting is similar to the changes one experiences when the mind and body are tuned after reaching a state of 'totonou' in a sauna.

There are times when the same scenery feels completely different before and after entering a sauna.

The sauna room environment, which changes moment by moment due to the loyly, treats humidity as something essential; when you embody the 'essence of the sauna' by absorbing these changes in humidity as heat into your body, your body becomes tuned.

The nerves sharpened by the sauna perceive light more sensitively, making it easier to feel the changes in light that Impressionist painters aimed to capture.

To feel the light that moved Impressionist painters through the sauna.

Don't you think that's a little romantic?

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'Sauna Room at Dawn vol.3'

The distant sky begins to dye crimson.

The newborn light begins to dye the scenery black.

The outlines emerging from the darkness are faint, and the lines break off vaguely.

An unrealistic reality, like an idealized fantasy, was reflected in my eyes, so much so that I could hardly believe I was looking at the actual form, with silhouettes emerging and only shadows making their existence known.

A red just like the one in Monet's 'Impression, Sunrise'.

The morning sunlight, unchanged from 200 years ago, was letting out its first cry.

When I returned to the sauna room, the red was dimly visible from inside.

I stand alone in the silent sauna room, watching the light change slowly.

Before long, the light begins to exert its power more and more strongly, changing its color from red to white. At the same time, light pours into the sauna room, and the sauna stove becomes more clearly visible.

Even though nothing should have changed from a moment ago, the mere increase in light changes the impression of the world I see.

Surely, the Impressionist painters must have felt a similar sense of wonder.

I performed a loyly, letting the light, sound, and heat strike my body, and left the sauna room along with the falling sweat.

The powerful light dyed the world white, melting away all its contours.

And only the impression remained.

"Impression, Sunrise"

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Sauna and Light

I felt as if I had relived the beginning of Impressionism in the sauna room.

Embarrassingly, it had been a long time since I last greeted the morning sun, and perhaps because I felt that watching the sunrise itself was something sacred, I was filled with more exhilaration than usual.

I was alone in the sauna room.

Only the sound of the loyly echoed, and the steam moved freely through the space. Being alone might have been a factor in why I noticed the changes in light.

Also, the fact that my senses were sharpened from having entered the sauna was likely another factor.

The cityscape illuminated by the sunlight and the melting contours were as beautiful as an Impressionist painting.

And the sauna room, illuminated by the light, was realistic and had a distinct presence, like Realism.

The steam from the loyly was invisible, and only the sound could be heard. Even so, I felt as if something sacred was there.

I stood still in the sauna room at the moment when clarity and ambiguity intersected.

Before long, the beautiful and dramatic light display did not last, and the sauna room returned to its usual scenery.

What a luxurious and mysterious experience it was.

It has been a while since I had a sauna experience where I could truly say I felt 'totonotta' (perfectly refreshed).

Thinking of the 'Impression, Sunrise' that came to mind, I head to the sauna again today.

To the facility where I had such a wonderful sauna experience

Thank you, Marushin Spa, for providing such a wonderful sauna experience.

I am always deeply moved by the wonderful sauna whenever I go, but that day I spent an even more wonderful time than usual.

I will go again.