Post-Impressionism

Post-Impressionism is a result of the reaction against Impressionism. Starting in the 1880s some of the main post-impressionists are Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Georges Seurat. One of the main differences between the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists is that post-impressionists usually painted with more emphasis on the symbolism of various things in their painting. They also favored a more formal order and structure. This is similar to the impressionist artist however the post-impressionist often stressed the artificialness of the painting or picture. Finally, the Post-Impressionists also believed that the color they used and applied could be independent and separate from the form and composition of the painting. Often it was used as an emotional and sometimes aesthetic aspect of the painting containing their own meaning.  

When showing off their work post-impressionists put their exhibits together, however unlike the Impressionists who were a close group and sometimes painted together they painted alone. As much of a difference there was between impressionists and post-impressionists. Post-impression was still an extension of impressionism even though it rejected the stylistic limitations of impressionism. Interestingly enough the term post-impressionism was coined by Roger Fry an English art critic. The term was used for the work of notable artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Georges Seurat. 

These painters except for Van Gogh were French and most of them started out as impressionists. They then abandoned the style in favor of a more personal art form. One of the reasons for this was that impressionism was used as an objective recording of nature mainly its use of light and color. Those artists, however, reject this in favor of a more expressive use of color and light as well as breaking away from the traditional subject matter. This was defined by their use of short brush strokes of broken color. This work later forms the basis of early 20th-century modernism.

Vincent van Gogh: Self-portrait, oil on canvas, 650×545 mm, 1889 (Paris, Musée d’Orsay); photo credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY 

        Van Gogh was a Dutch painter, his works are some of the most beloved of late 19th and 20th century art. He produced about 1000 watercolors, drawings, and sketches. He also produced 1250 paintings. His style ranged from a dark realistic style to a colorful intense expressionistic one.  In many views of his work many believe him to be the prototype of the classic misunderstood and tormented artist. 

        Van Gogh struggled with mental health all throughout his life. According to Uitert, Evert van “The attacks of mental illness, called epilepsy at that time, were to recur, and from May 1889 to May 1890, van Gogh allowed himself to be institutionalized in Saint-Rémy not far from Arles. Between attacks he drew and painted in the garden and in the building, making self-portraits, portraits of the staff and patients, and depicting the view from his window.”

Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night, oil on canvas, 736×921 mm, 1889 (New York, Museum of Modern Art); photo © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by Scala/Art Resource, NY

Paul Gauguin: Washerwomen at Pont-Aven, oil on canvas, 710×900 mm, 1886 (Paris, Musée d’Orsay); photo credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Paul Gauguin a French painter, print maker, sculpture, and ceramicist. Like many other post-impressionists, he developed his style from impressionist and later turned it into a very personal brand of symbolism.  He was a self-conscious and outspoken person with a aggressively asserted position as the leader of the Pont Aven Group which is in a region in Northwestern France. His use of non-natural colors was very influential on the 20th century avant-garde artists

  According to Rapetti, Rodolphe “Gauguin’s attitude towards his own work was clear: for him, the relationship between a subject and how it was treated pictorially was of crucial importance. He used colour as an emotional and symbolic language, but at the same time a fascination with the supernatural and with metaphysical inquiry were constant features of his thought. Studies have underlined the influence of theosophy on his work: occultism was widespread among the intellectuals with whom he was friendly. 

Paul Gauguin: A Farm in Brittany, oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 35 5/8 in. (72.4 x 90.5 cm), c. 1894 (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Margaret Seligman Lewisohn, in memory of her husband, Sam A. Lewisohn, 1954, Accession ID: 54.143.2); photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/110000890

Paul Cézanne: Man with a Cloth Cap (or Dominique Aubert, the Artist’s Uncle), oil on canvas, 31 3/8 x 25 1/4 in. (79.7 x 64.1 cm), 1866 (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wolfe Fund, 1951; acquired from The Museum of Modern Art, Lillie P. Bliss Collection, Accession ID: 53.140.1); photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/110000303

Paul Cezanne he was a French painter and was considered one of the most important painters of the end of the 19th century. In some of his earlier works he depicted dark and imaginary subjects in a expressive manner. However, in 1870 he was influenced by impressionism. He even participated in the first (1874) and Third (1977) Impressionist exhibits. Though he may have participated in those exhibits and even considered studying nature essential to painting, he opposed many aspects of Impressionism. 

He believed color and form to be inseparable, and his work emphasized structure and solidity. Many of this in his opinion we neglected by impressionists. Due to this he was a central figure in post-impressionism. An interesting fact about him is that he often didn't date or sign his work. This does provide challenges now as it is very hard to date his work. Like many of the other artists his work influenced many artists and movements such as the cubist movement. He is also seen as a precursor to 20th century art.

According to Monnier, Geneviève, and André Dombrowski “For the early period the problem of establishing the chronology of Cézanne’s work is compounded by the fact that some pieces were destroyed by Cézanne himself, or by his father, which makes an exact analysis difficult. Of the remaining paintings, with the exception of portraits and still lifes, many are expressively executed in dark colors and inspired by violent, dramatic themes of murder and sexual aggression. They are full of exuberance and intensity, and the style is impetuous, the rhythm lively, and the paint thick.”

Paul Cézanne: Card Players, oil on canvas, 1890–95 (Paris, Musée Orsay); Photo credit: Réunion des Musées Nationaux/ Art Resource, NY

Georges Seurat: Circus Sideshow, oil on canvas, 997×1499 mm, 1887–88 (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Stephen C. Clark,1960, Accession ID: 61.101.17); image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Georges Seurat was a French painter and draughtsman. Though he had a very short career only lasting him 9 years he made very sophisticated drawings. He also invented the technique known as pointillism. He stressed the surface quality of his work as well as his application of scientific principles to his painting. This resulted in him having a lasting effect on the 20th century.

According to Smith, Paul. “Seurat’s influence, and especially that of his colour, may be traced in van Gogh’s work and, indirectly, through Signac’s adaptation of Neo-Impressionism and his book D’Eugène Delacroix au Néo-Impressionnisme of 1899, in the work of Matisse, Robert Delaunay and Picasso. André Breton claimed Seurat as an important predecessor of Surrealism: indeed his work was sometimes viewed as bizarre or caricatural in the 1920s. He is an important figure in modern art for shifting painting away from the goal of realism and for stressing the surface properties of painting as the prime ‘quality’ of the medium.”

Georges-Pierre Seurat: Study for “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte”, oil on canvas, 27 3/4 x 41 in. (70.5 x 104.1 cm), 1884–85 (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Sam A. Lewisohn, 1951, Accession ID: 51.112.6); photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/110002111