The long nineteenth century
Post-Impressionism
c. 1886–1905
Artists who took Impressionist color in more structured, symbolic and personal directions.
Overview
Post-Impressionism is a later label for several painters who began with Impressionism and then pushed beyond it, each in a different way. Seurat applied color in tiny dots according to optical theory; Cézanne rebuilt nature out of solid, simplified forms.
Van Gogh used thick paint and intense color to convey feeling, and Gauguin flattened his compositions into bold areas of color with symbolic meaning. Between them they laid the foundations for the major movements of the early twentieth century.
What defines it
- Bold color that often departs from nature
- Emphasis on structure, pattern and geometric form
- Personal expression and symbolism over direct observation
Works to know
- A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
- The Starry Night
- Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
- Mont Sainte-Victoire