Leo Martínez
Post-Impressionism was a predominantly French art movement that emerged between 1886 and 1905, marking a shift away from Impressionism's focus on naturalistic depictions of light and colour. Post-Impressionist artists such as Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Georges Seurat, sought to express their emotions and personal interpretations through their art. This evolution in artistic style laid the foundation for early 20th-century modernism. Given this historical context, it would be inaccurate to label a contemporary painter as a Post-Impressionist. However, it is worth noting that art movements often build upon and intertwine with one another, and contemporary artists may draw inspiration from various movements, including Post-Impressionism, to create unique and innovative works that defy simple categorisation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time Period | Late 19th century to early 20th century |
| Geography | Predominantly French |
| Artists | Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Odilon Redon, Edgar Degas, Henri Rousseau, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, Louis Anquetin, Émile Bernard, Henri Matisse, Maximilien Luce, Edvard Munch, James Ensor |
| Style | Thick application of paint, real-life subjects, emphasis on geometric forms, unnatural colours, expressive effect, abstract qualities, symbolic content, bold colours, flat perspective, anti-realism, personal expression, spiritual expression |
| Techniques | Pointillism, chromoluminarism, conté crayon drawings |
| Subjects | Landscapes, scenes of modern life, rural life, nature, portraits, self-portraits, still lifes |
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What You'll Learn
Post-Impressionism's roots in Impressionism
Post-Impressionism emerged as a predominantly French art movement that developed between 1886 and 1905, marking a shift from the Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. The term "Post-Impressionism" was first used by art critic Roger Fry in 1906 and later in 1910 when he organised an exhibition titled "Manet and the Post-Impressionists". Fry described it as the development of French art since Édouard Manet, a pivotal figure in Impressionist painting.
Post-Impressionism extended Impressionism while challenging its limitations. Artists in this movement continued to use vivid colours, thick paint applications, and real-life subjects, but they increasingly emphasised geometric forms, distorted forms for expressive effect, and used unnatural or modified colours. Post-Impressionists sought to transcend the Impressionist focus on the objective recording of nature and the transient effects of colour and light. Instead, they prioritised more ambitious expressions, embracing the pure, vibrant colours of Impressionism, its freedom from traditional subjects, and its technique of defining form with short, broken brushstrokes.
The roots of Post-Impressionism can be traced to the work of artists like Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. These painters, with the exception of van Gogh, were French, and many of them started as Impressionists before forging their own unique artistic paths. Cézanne, for example, sought to bring structure and order to Impressionism, aiming to make it more solid and enduring. He achieved this by simplifying objects to their fundamental shapes while retaining the vibrant colours characteristic of Impressionism.
Another notable Post-Impressionist, Georges Seurat, shared a similar intention with Cézanne, demonstrating a greater focus on composition and delving into the science of colour. Seurat's paintings employed the Impressionist technique of using broken colour to suggest shimmering light, but he took it further by exploring optical formulas that placed tiny dots of contrasting colours side by side, blending them into a dominant colour from a distance. This technique, known as Pointillism, was later adopted by several contemporary painters, influencing the Neo-Impressionist style.
Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch painter, quickly embraced Impressionist techniques and colours when he arrived in Paris in 1886, using them to express his deeply felt emotions. He transformed the short, contrasting brushstrokes of Impressionism into curving, vibrant lines of colour, conveying his emotionally charged responses to the natural world. Van Gogh's work, such as "The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy)", exemplifies his unique approach to Post-Impressionist painting.
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Post-Impressionism's evolution into Fauvism and Cubism
Post-Impressionism is a predominantly French art movement that developed between 1886 and 1905, emerging as a reaction to Impressionists' focus on the naturalistic depiction of light and colour. Post-Impressionists sought to express their feelings and ideas through bolder colours, sharper contrasts, and more abstract qualities. This emphasis on emotion and expression heavily influenced the development of Fauvism and Cubism.
Fauvism, which emerged in the early 20th century, is characterised by the use of bright colours, bold brushstrokes, and intuition. Artists such as Henri Matisse, André Derain, and Henri de Muschamp developed this style, building upon the expressive nature, thick paint application, and bold hues of Post-Impressionism. The Fauvist movement was a natural extension of Impressionism and its successor movements, Neo-Impressionism and Synthetism, which included works by Van Gogh, Seurat, and Gauguin.
Cubism, which also emerged in the early 20th century, is characterised by the use of geometric shapes to depict objects in a simplified manner. Paul Cézanne, a principal artist of Post-Impressionism, is considered a major influence on Cubism due to his focus on the underlying structures of natural forms and the unification of surface patterns with spatial depth. Cézanne's work inspired other artists, including Pablo Picasso, to explore colour and shape in new ways.
While Fauvism and Cubism evolved from Post-Impressionism, they differ in their approaches to form. Fauvism tends to favour biomorphic or organic forms, allowing for more creative expression, while Cubism emphasises geometric shapes and intellectual exploration.
In conclusion, Post-Impressionism's evolution into Fauvism and Cubism can be traced through their shared emphasis on expression and emotion, use of vivid colours, and exploration of form. These movements challenged traditional artistic boundaries and paved the way for further experimentation in modern art.
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Post-Impressionist painters' individual styles
Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction against Impressionists' concern for the naturalistic depiction of light and colour. Post-Impressionist painters extended Impressionism while rejecting its limitations. They continued using vivid colours, thick paint application, and real-life subjects, but emphasised geometric forms, distorted forms for expressive effect, and used unnatural colours. Post-Impressionism encompasses sub-movements such as Neo-Impressionism, Symbolism, Cloisonnism, and Synthetism.
Paul Cézanne, known as the father of Post-Impressionism, sought to capture the underlying organisation of nature and suggested that landscapes were built from simple geometric shapes. He used planes of colour to create these shapes, merging foreground and background elements. Cézanne's work inspired other artists, including Pablo Picasso, who called him "the father of us all". Cézanne's work laid the foundation for Cubism, which focused on depicting the structure of objects.
Paul Gauguin, another key Post-Impressionist, sought a simpler truth and purer aesthetic in art. He turned away from the urban art world of Paris and found inspiration in rural communities with traditional values. Gauguin's work combined flat planes of colour with clear, defined lines, creating works where dreams and reality coexisted. He is celebrated for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style, which became a feature of some Post-Impressionist works.
Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch painter, quickly adapted Impressionist techniques and colours to express his emotions. He transformed the contrasting short brushstrokes of Impressionism into curving, vibrant lines of colour, conveying his emotionally charged responses to nature. Van Gogh's work influenced other art movements, including Symbolism, which he incorporated into his paintings through his personal vision, vibrant colour palette, inventive perspectives, interesting compositions, and purposeful brushstrokes.
Georges Seurat, a French painter, focused on composition and the science of colour, delving into optical formulas to achieve luminosity. He developed the technique of pointillism, using tiny dots of contrasting colours that blended into a dominant colour from a distance. This style was adopted by contemporary painters and formed the basis of Neo-Impressionism.
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Post-Impressionist painters' rejection of naturalism
Post-Impressionism emerged in France between 1886 and 1905 as a reaction against Impressionism's focus on the naturalistic depiction of light and colour. Post-Impressionist painters rejected the limitations of naturalism, seeking a more ambitious and personal form of expression. This shift marked a transition from capturing fleeting visual effects to exploring more enduring themes and underlying structures in nature.
The Impressionist movement, pioneered by painters such as Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro, emphasised the use of natural light and aimed to depict the world as they perceived it. They sought to capture the optical effects of light and the transient nature of the present moment, including changes in weather and the passage of time. However, by the 1880s, some Impressionist artists like Renoir began to feel they had "wrung Impressionism dry," seeking greater clarity of form and more deliberate brushwork, foreshadowing the emergence of Post-Impressionism.
Post-Impressionist painters such as Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Georges Seurat rejected the indifferent objectivity of Impressionism. They sought to infuse their artwork with personal and spiritual expression, exploring the underlying structures of natural forms and the unification of surface patterns with spatial depth. This shift in focus led Cézanne to withdraw from the Impressionist movement in 1878, aiming to make Impressionism "something solid and durable like the art of the museums."
Gauguin, in particular, denounced "the abominable error of naturalism" after exhibiting with the Impressionists in 1886. Together with the young painter Émile Bernard, Gauguin sought a simpler truth and purer aesthetic in art. They turned away from the sophisticated urban art world of Paris and found inspiration in rural communities with more traditional values. Their artwork drew on the pure, flat colours, heavy outlines, and decorative qualities of medieval stained glass and manuscript illumination, exploring the expressive potential of pure colour and line.
In conclusion, Post-Impressionist painters rejected the naturalism of the Impressionist movement, embracing a broader range of artistic expressions. They sought to transcend the limitations of naturalistic depiction, emphasising geometric forms, distorting forms for expressive effect, and utilising unnatural and seemingly random colours. This evolution in artistic style laid the foundation for several contemporary trends and early 20th-century modernism.
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Post-Impressionism's emphasis on symbolic and expressive content
Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction against Impressionists' focus on the naturalistic depiction of light and colour. Post-Impressionists extended Impressionism while rejecting its limitations. They continued using vivid colours, thick paint applications, and real-life subjects, but emphasised geometric forms, distorted forms for expressive effect, and used unnatural or modified colours. Post-Impressionism encompasses sub-movements such as Neo-Impressionism, Symbolism, Cloisonnism, and Synthetism.
The term Post-Impressionism was first used by English artist and critic Roger Fry in 1906 and then again in 1910 when he organised the exhibition "Manet and the Post-Impressionists", which defined it as the development of French art since Manet, a key figure in Impressionist painting. John Rewald, in his pioneering publication on Post-Impressionism, limited the scope to the years between 1886 and 1892, focusing on early Post-Impressionists active in France such as van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, and Redon.
Post-Impressionism's influence can be seen in contemporary movements like Feminist Art, which deals with identity. In addition, many Post-Impressionists were drawn to Primitivism, an aesthetic ideal that recreates a "primitive" experience, in their pursuit of more vivid styles and symbolic content.
In conclusion, Post-Impressionism's emphasis on symbolic and expressive content led to a shift in artistic focus away from urban life and towards the exploration of individual aesthetic styles and the artist's inner world. This movement had a lasting impact on art, influencing later trends such as Expressionism and contemporary movements exploring identity.
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Frequently asked questions
Post-Impressionism is a predominantly French art movement that developed between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionists extended Impressionism while rejecting its limitations, such as the focus on the objective recording of nature and light. Post-Impressionists were more inclined to emphasise geometric forms, distort forms for expressive effect, and use unnatural colours.
Notable Post-Impressionist painters include Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Odilon Redon.
While the Post-Impressionist movement is typically associated with the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is possible for contemporary painters to be influenced by and build upon the principles of Post-Impressionism. However, the term "Post-Impressionism" is often used specifically to refer to the historical movement and the artists who were a part of it. Therefore, while contemporary painters may exhibit Post-Impressionist influences or styles, they may not be strictly considered Post-Impressionists themselves.
