Post Impressionism 1880s-1900s

Post Impressionism This is a term that covers a generation of artists who sought new forms of expression in the wake of the Impressionist movement.

Post Impressionism Defined This term really describes what these artists were not -They were no longer content with recording only the immediate visual sensation of light and color. They looked for ways to express meaning beyond surface appearances, to paint with the emotions and the intellect, as well as the eye. Each of these artists explored these concepts from their own personal perspective including choice of subject matter, use of color, and technique.

Georges Seurat Created a scientific method called Pointillism in which tiny dots of various color are placed next to each other on the canvas.

This creates a dizzying effect when viewed up close. From a distance the mind mixes these dots of color to reveal a soft, almost - muted canvas.

Paul Cezanne 1839-1906 His paintings seem to be laid down in patches of color, dividing his canvases into many various planes. His colors are bright, and there is frequently a confusing sense of perspective.

There is usually a very limited sense of depth, and the contents of his still lifes seem to almost topple out of balance.

Paul Gauguin 1843-1903 Most of his paintings are expressive of his interest in the spiritual purity within people. He was fascinated by their devotion to nature and their lack of European materialism. Capturing images of the people of Tahiti became an obsession of his toward the last years of his life.

He lays down saturated colors in a rather flat manner, filling the canvas with bold and bright shapes. The Color represents the spirituality or feeling of the subject.

Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890 Van Gogh was an unhappy and unstable man who never realized the true genius of his work. Van Gogh’s life was full of rejection and poverty. He longed to be loved and to find purpose in his life.

He was a man who had compassion for the world He was a man who had compassion for the world... who wished more than anything to be of some useful purpose to others. He tried many jobs including being a minister for a short time until he was dismissed by the church for his unusual devotion to his congregation.

His brother, Theo, who was a successful art dealer in Paris, convinced him to start painting as a way to help give meaning to his life and to put money into his pocket. Inspired by the Impressionists, he spent the last ten years of his life painting.

He was afflicted with bouts of mental instability He was afflicted with bouts of mental instability. Depression, rage and insecurity haunted him his entire life. His state of mind was not helped by overwork (especially in the hot sun), bad dietary habits, and reliance on tobacco, coffee and alcohol. It is widely believed he suffered from a severe case of bipolar disorder.

During one of these bouts of instability, he cut his ear off.

Fear of further damage to himself or others, he checked himself into a sanatorium where he completed one of his most famous masterpieces. . .

This painting is of one of the doctors who helped take care of Van Gogh in the sanatorium and during the last few days of his life. It sold in May of 1990 for 82.5 million.

This is quite ironic, since Van Gogh only sold one painting during his entire lifetime. Two years after his death, his artwork became well known in Paris and eventually the entire world. Van Gogh continued to grow increasingly depressed as he realized that his mental illness would never be cured. This was coupled with the realization that he had become a financial burden to his brother, who had recently fathered a child.

Dealing with these increasing burdens, he attempted to shoot himself in a cornfield behind his apartment building. He bled to death three days later in his tiny one room apartment.

His final words were, “Who would believe that life could be so sad.”

His technique: Expression of emotion through color, movement and light.

Vibrant, contrasting colors applied with heavy brushstrokes (impasto) in order to create feeling and emotion All of his paintings have this sense of constant motion. He often used colors that were not naturally seen. He painted his own personal realism or feeling of a subject.

He once said that he wanted “to paint incorrectly so that my untruth becomes more truthful than the literal truth.”