Post- Impressionism

Post-Impressionism

About

Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night Over the Rhone,
1888

Post-Impressionism is regarded as a desperate way to move on from the current Impressionist movement meaning the naturalism, and the in dept study of light and colour. They emerged around 1886 during the last(8th) exhibition of the Impressionists, embracing the various trends such as the Noe-Impressionism of Seurat and Symbolism of Gauguin.

 The name was branded by a English critic called Roger Fry in 1910 to title an exhibition in London which held works by Manet,Cezanne, Van Gogh and others.

Post-Impressionist characteristics

Contrary to the previous impressionist, the artists sought out the symbolic and personal meaning. Instead of looking at the external world hey delved into themselves for inspiration.

They turned away from the traditional light and colour and turned to abstract form and and pattern.

• Gauguin and van Gogh created harmonious surface patterns
• Cezannne looked to create more structure

They developed a style which was based on colours which were applied in regular, repetitive strokes.

The movement was mostly based in France but inspired artists from Europe. Artists such as Edvard Munch, Arnold Bocklin, James Ensor, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, and London's Camden Town Group were key in its development or molded heavily by it .

Beginnings

The style was built upon the differences in style and personality of the artists which in the end brought down Impressionism. The term Post-Impressionism was not just a single movement but a collection of other styles trying to replace Impressionism. Many of the artists thought lowly of their rival counter parts.

George Seurat,  A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,
,1884-86

George Seurat Is regarded as the beginning of the new trend utilizing his Pointillism technique. He ventured into the scientific aspect of colour, though artists such as Cezanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin were equally important as they differed in style and technique.

France was the pinnacle of of the movement, and artists from around the world traveled to France to absorb the rich culture and maybe join the artistic elite. This backfired greatly as the new meaning of the movement made the city life as an artistic theme obsolete, as many of the major artists were moving out of France.

Later Developments

Paul Cezanne was the one who bridged the gap between the Impressionism and the early 20th century movements. Matisse and Picasso both were inspired by him and also referred  to him as the " father of us all " his later work was based on the underlying structure, often in way that landscape is built up from simple geometric shapes. He once wrote to a fellow painter "Treat nature in terms of the cylinder, the sphere, the cone, all in perspective.

It was only in 1910 that the title Post-Impressionism was bestowed upon the movement by Roger Fry during their exhibition in the London's Grafton Galleries.

Sources:



Art Story Foundation . 2012. The Art Story. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-post-impressionism.htm. [Accessed 07 April 13].


Van Gogh Gallery . 2013. Starry Night Over Rhone. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/509/Starry-Night-Over-the-Rhone.html. [Accessed 07 April 13].