1. Henri Matisse, Woman with the Hat, 1905. Oil on canvas.
Andre Derain, Turning Road, L’Estaque, Oil on canvas.
Henri Matisse, Woman with the Hat, Oil on canvas.

2. Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral series, 1892-94.
Impressionism
Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral series,
Claude Monet would often do a series of the same subject at various times of day and under different conditions in an effort to explore the effects of light on the appearance, and specifically the color, of a subject.

3. Georges Seurat, La Parade de Cirque, 1887-89. Oil on canvas.
Post-Impressionism
Inspired by the Impressionists experiments with light and color, the post-impressionists began their own color experiments, exploring color’s optical effects and expressive capabilities. Georges Seurat became fascinated by theories and principles of color organization, specifically the way in which colors affect each other when placed side by side. (See detail of painting)
Georges Seurat, La Parade de Cirque, Oil on canvas.

4. Georges Seurat, La Parade de Cirque, 1887-89. Detail. Oil on canvas.
Post-Impressionism
For example, each color will impose its own complementary on its neighbor; if red is placed next to blue, the red will cast a green tint on the blue, making it appear greenish blue, while the blue imposes a pale orange on the red. Seurat, like the Impressionists, realized that nature was made up of various colors, not neutral tones. His pictures were made up of small, dot-like brushstrokes of generally complementary colors that optically blend together to create more neutral tones.
Notice how the whole circus scene has a brownish-red tint, yet on closer inspection we see the picture is made up of bright orange, blue, green, yellow, red, and purple dots.
Georges Seurat, La Parade de Cirque, Detail. Oil on canvas.

5. Vincent Van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888.
Post-Impressionism
“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use color more arbitrarily in order to express myself forcibly.” – Vincent Van Gogh
Other artists, like Vincent Van Gogh, were less interested in the optical effects of color and more concerned with the psychological and expressive qualities of color. In his painting, The Night Café, Van Gogh uses the harsh contrast of red and green to express what he called “the terrible passions of humanity.”
Vincent Van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888.

6. Henri Matisse, Woman with the Hat, 1905. Oil on canvas.
Fauvism
Beginning in the first decade of the twentieth century, the Fauves, as they came to be known, combined Impressionism’s interest in nature with the heightened color contrasts and expressiveness of the Post-Impressionists. They were recognized for their use of brilliant, arbitrary color. Instead of using color to describe external reality, they instead used it to express the artist’s experience of reality, both their emotional and optical sensations. When Henri Matisse, perhaps the most well-known of the Fauves, exhibited his portrait of his wife entitled Woman with the Hat as part of the Salon exhibition of 1905 caused a stir for the seemingly wild abandon the artist had applied paint.
Henri Matisse, Woman with the Hat, Oil on canvas.

7. Henri Matisse, The Green Stripe or Mme Matisse, 1905. Oil on canvas.
Fauvism
In his next portrait of Mme Matisse, her face is dominated by a bright pea-green band, emphasizing the Fauves’ belief that the artist was free to use color independently of natural appearance.
Henri Matisse, The Green Stripe or Mme Matisse, Oil on canvas.

8. Andre Derain, London Bridge, 1906. Oil on canvas.
Fauvism
Andre Derain was encouraged as an artist by Matisse. While he later became involved with the Cubists, his early work exemplifies the Fauvist ideal of brilliant, arbitrary color.
Andre Derain, London Bridge, Oil on canvas.

9. Andre Derain, Boats at Collioure's Harbor, 1905. Oil on canvas.
Fauvism
Andre Derain, Boats at Collioure's Harbor, Oil on canvas.

10. Fauvism
Andre Derain, Turning Road, L’Estaque, Oil on canvas.