Post-Impressionism
1 min read
Period: c. 1886 – 1905 CE Region: Primarily France; key figures worked independently
Overview & Key Characteristics
Post-Impressionism is not a single, unified style but rather a broad term encompassing the diverse artistic directions taken by influential artists in France from roughly the mid-1880s to the early 1900s. These artists had often absorbed lessons from Impressionism—its bright palette, focus on modern life, and looser brushwork—but they sought to move beyond its perceived limitations, namely its concentration on fleeting visual sensations and its lack of structure or emotional depth. Post-Impressionists aimed to infuse art with renewed emphasis on formal structure, symbolic content, personal expression, and emotional intensity. They explored color, line, and form in highly individual ways, laying critical groundwork for 20th-century modernism. Two major tendencies emerged: one emphasizing order, structure, and form (Cézanne, Seurat), and another focused on emotion, symbolism, and subjective experience (Van Gogh, Gauguin).
Summary of Common Characteristics (Reflecting Diversity):
| Feature | Characteristic Description (Post-Impressionism - Highly Diverse) |
|---|---|
| Light | Used Structurally or Emotionally: Less focused on capturing natural atmospheric light. Used to define form (Cézanne), create symbolic mood (Gauguin), convey intense feeling (Van Gogh), or applied systematically (Seurat). |
| Surface/Texture | Highly Varied & Expressive: Ranges from Cézanne's parallel 'constructive' strokes, Seurat's precise dots (Pointillism), Van Gogh's thick, emotionally charged impasto, to Gauguin's flat, decorative surfaces. Often emphasizes the paint itself. |
| Figures | Stylized, Simplified, or Distorted: Figures often altered from strict naturalism to serve compositional structure (Cézanne), symbolic meaning (Gauguin), or emotional expression (Van Gogh). |
| Space/Depth | Often Flattened or Manipulated: Deliberate rejection of traditional perspective. Cézanne explored multiple viewpoints simultaneously; Gauguin used flat planes of color; Van Gogh created subjective space through line and color; Seurat built space through color theory. |
| Color Palette | Intense, Arbitrary, Symbolic, or Systematic: Color often used non-naturalistically to express emotion (Van Gogh), create symbolic meaning (Gauguin - Synthetism), define structure (Cézanne), or applied according to scientific color theory (Seurat - Divisionism). Often bold and vibrant. |
| Composition | Emphasis on Deliberate Structure or Expression: Move away from Impressionism's spontaneity towards carefully constructed compositions emphasizing formal order (Cézanne, Seurat) or compositions driven by emotional/symbolic needs (Van Gogh, Gauguin). |
| Details/Lines | Varied Usage: Can feature strong outlines emphasizing flat shapes (Gauguin's Cloisonnism), constructive hatching (Cézanne), swirling expressive lines conveying energy (Van Gogh), or near dissolution into points (Seurat). Detail often simplified or symbolic. |
| Mood/Emotion | Highly Subjective & Varied: Ranges from Cézanne's analytical detachment, Seurat's scientific calm, Van Gogh's intense passion and spiritual yearning, to Gauguin's mystical symbolism and exoticism. Focus shifts to inner vision, ideas, or underlying structures. |
| Subject Matter | Often still rooted in observable reality (landscapes, portraits, still lifes), but interpreted subjectively or symbolically. Exploration of inner states, spiritual themes, memory, peasant life (sometimes idealized), nightlife (Toulouse-Lautrec). |
Post-Impressionism marks a crucial turning point where artists began to prioritize personal vision, formal exploration, and symbolic meaning over the faithful depiction of the external world.
Historical Context & Influences
Post-Impressionism developed during the fin de siècle (end of the century) period in Europe:
- Reaction to Impressionism: Artists felt Impressionism, while revolutionary, was too focused on surface appearances and lacked substance.
- Social & Technological Change: Continued industrialization, urbanization, social debates (anarchism, socialism).
- Intellectual & Cultural Currents: Rise of Symbolist literature (Mallarmé, Verlaine), interest in psychology (early Freud), spirituality beyond established religion, Theosophy. Growing interest in non-Western art ('Primitivism').
- Art Market & Exhibitions: Continued importance of independent exhibitions (Salon des Indépendants established 1884) allowing avant-garde artists to show work outside the official Salon.
Influences: Built directly upon Impressionism (bright color, modern themes). Continued influence of Japanese prints (composition, flatness). Interest in earlier art for expressive power (medieval art, folk art, non-Western art - Gauguin). Impact of scientific color theories (Michel Eugène Chevreul, Ogden Rood) on Seurat and others.
Key Artists & Their Contributions
- Paul Cézanne (1839-1906): Sought to reveal the underlying geometric structure of nature. Used faceted brushwork ('constructive stroke') and explored multiple viewpoints within a single painting. Immensely influential on Cubism. Key subjects: landscapes (Mont Sainte-Victoire), still lifes, bathers.
- Georges Seurat (1859-1891): Developed Pointillism (applying paint in small dots of pure color) based on scientific color theory (Divisionism), aiming for greater luminosity and structure. Major works: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
- Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890): Dutch artist working in France. Used intense, often arbitrary color and thick, swirling brushwork (impasto) to express his turbulent emotions, spiritual struggles, and deep connection to nature (Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Potato Eaters).
- Paul Gauguin (1848-1903): Rejected naturalism in favor of Synthetism/Cloisonnism—using flat areas of bold, symbolic color and strong outlines. Sought spiritual truth and 'primitive' authenticity in Brittany and later Tahiti (Vision After the Sermon, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?).
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901): Aristocratic artist who immersed himself in the bohemian nightlife of Paris (Montmartre cabarets, bars, brothels). Known for his dynamic compositions, expressive line, and psychologically acute portrayals, especially in posters and lithographs.
Notable Works
- Cézanne: Mont Sainte-Victoire series, The Basket of Apples, The Large Bathers.
- Seurat: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Circus Sideshow (Parade de Cirque).
- Van Gogh: The Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Night Café, Bedroom in Arles, numerous Self-Portraits.
- Gauguin: Vision After the Sermon, The Yellow Christ, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, Spirit of the Dead Watching.
- Toulouse-Lautrec: At the Moulin Rouge, Jane Avril, Divan Japonais (posters).
Legacy and Influence
Post-Impressionism's impact on 20th-century art was profound and multifaceted:
- It definitively broke art's dependency on representing the external world accurately, emphasizing instead formal structure, symbolic content, and personal expression.
- Cézanne is often called the "Father of Modern Art" for his influence on Cubism (Picasso, Braque) and geometric abstraction.
- Van Gogh's emotional intensity and expressive technique heavily influenced Fauvism (Matisse), German Expressionism (Kirchner, Nolde), and Abstract Expressionism.
- Gauguin's symbolic use of color, flattened forms, and interest in 'primitivism' influenced Fauvism, Symbolism, and artists like Picasso.
- Seurat's systematic approach to color influenced later abstract movements concerned with optics and color theory.
- Collectively, the Post-Impressionists opened the door for the radical experiments of Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, and abstraction, defining the trajectory of modern art.