Post-Impressionist Art

What is Post-Impressionism?

Post-Impressionism was an artistic movement of the late 19^th century and early 20^th century which occurred as an offshoot of, and in some ways a reaction to, the Impressionist movement which began earlier in the century. Forming out of a slightly younger generation of artists, the Post-Impressionists felt the subject matter of Impressionist art to be trivial and disliked the general lack of structure within Impressionist works. The Post-Impressionist artists wanted to refine and extend the concept of Impressionism, while eliminating its restrictions.

Like the Impressionists, the Post-Impressionist artists continued to use bright, vivid colours, thick applications of paint with clear and distinct brush strokes, and candid, real-life themes and subject matter. However, they differed in some key ways: they preferred to use more arbitrary colours, they often distorted the form of the painting for symbolic effect, and they would put extra emphasis on the geometric forms of the painting. Another defining aspect of the Post-Impressionist artists was the fact that, very much unlike the Impressionists, they did not consciously consider themselves as part of any cohesive movement. In other words, as the Impressionists banded together in defiance of the norms of art, the Post-Impressionist artists typically worked independently of one another, save for exhibiting together.

Another interesting feature of Post-Impressionist art was the fact that because the artists often worked on their own, they all didn’t adhere to the exact same style. For example, Georges Seurat enjoyed using Pointillism, the methodical use of small dots of color to make up a greater image, whereas Vincent Van Gogh was more partial to the use of large, vibrant brush strokes. Some of the primary artists involved in the Post-Impressionist movement not already mentioned were: Odilon Redon, Henri Rousseau, Paul Gauguin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec . Additionally, some of the members of the Impressionist movement eventually came to explore post impressionism, like Paul Cezanne, Camille Pissarro and Edouard Manet.

FramedCanvasArt.com invites you to browse our stunning gallery of Post-Impressionist artists.