POST-IMPRESSIONISM in painting: main CHARACTERISTICS

Under the term postimpressionism It encompasses a wide range of artistic styles whose common note is being a response to the Impressionist movement and concentrating on the subjective vision of the artist. A diverse answer that goes that the scientific neo-Impressionism of George Seurat to the exuberant symbolism of Paul Gauguin. The most important change is the transition from painting being a window to the world to canvas being a the mind and soul of the artist. The influence of Post-Impressionism was notable in the rest of the artistic movements that emerged throughout the 20th century.

In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we offer you the characteristics of post-impressionism in painting highlights so that you can recognize the stylistic keys of a fundamental artistic style to understand the avant-garde of the twentieth century.

In 1872, Claude monet and other painters such as Berthe Morisot, Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas, many other artists associated with the group, revolutionized the artistic panorama of painting with a

In this group of artists was also Paul cezanne, who also exhibited with the Impressionists between 1870 and 1880. In the last impressionist exhibition of 1886, critics and younger artists they clamored for a change in the representative arts since the Impressionists had left the content, the subject, in the background, prioritizing the technique and the effects of natural light.

All dissident artists of Impressionism were known as post-impressionists, a term under which different individual artistic styles were grouped, some even becoming divergent in terms of method and approach. Thus, Van Gogh idolized the work of the Impressionist Degas and the Post-Impressionist Henri Rousseau, but was skeptical of Cézanne's rigorous style.

On the other hand, and although Paris was the initial epicenter of Post-Impressionism, the symbolic and expressive content that artists were looking for led them to seek inspiration in other spaces outside the city.

Image: Art History blogger

Although we can point to these characteristics of Post-Impressionism in painting, we also find ourselves with numerous trends and styles within the movement that have particular characteristics. Thus, we can establish the following styles:

Pointillism

One of the first movements that broke with Impressionism was Pointillism, a style whose main representative was the painter. Georges seurat. Among its main stylistic characteristics are:

• The base of construction of the picture is the point.
• The movement also received the name of cronoluminarismo or divisionismo.
• Emphasis was placed on the search for a new scientific approach to color, broadening the interest in optics. Thus, individual markings and colors were visually blended in the eye of the viewer.

Japonism

The beautiful stylized representations of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints had a great influence on painters such as Vincent van Gogh or Gauguin. Japonism was the European interpretation of Japanese art styles on Western art objects. Another artist who strongly received this influence was Henri de Tou-louse-Lautrec. Among the main characteristics we highlight:

• Strong contours.
• Flat and saturated colors.
• Broad brushstrokes.

Synthetism

Synthetism is a theory developed by Gauguin after the months he spent with Van Gogh in Arles in the fall of 1888. Among the characteristics of this style we can highlight:

• The artwork was a synthesis of the outward appearance of the natural form, the artist's feelings on the subject, and the aesthetic considerations of color, line, and form.
• For this reason, Gauguin discarded shading, modeling, and single-point perspective.
• Instead he opted for pure colors, strong lines and flat two-dimensionality in order to provoke a visceral emotional impact.

Cézanne and the structure of pictorial form

For its part, Cezanne he moved away from general impressions of the scenes to focus on exploring the formal structure of objects, portraits, and landscapes. It all comes down to the simplest geometric components. Thus, Cézanne became the link between Impressionism and Cubism.

Primitivism

Primitivism attracted many Post-Impressionists for its symbolic content and more vivid style. A style that was considered more self-taught and naive and that had in Henri Rousseau to one of its most representative figures. The most interesting features of it are:

• Simplified and abstract shapes.
• Interpretations of the subconscious rather than the surrounding world.
• They were very influential in fauvists, cubists and surrealists.

Les Nabis

This group of Post-Impressionist artists were influenced by Japaneseism, Symbolist painting, and the English Pre-Raphaelites. Les Nabis receive their name from the Hebrew word "prophet" and which defines the central axis of this group: mysticism and the inner spirituality of the artist. Influenced by Gauguin, the group was founded by Paul Sérusier and its main characteristics are:

• Using paint straight from the tube in broad, unmodulated areas of color, with patterned designs and stylized outlines that reflected the subjective vision of the artist.
• In addition to painting, the Nabis also dominated engravings and stained glass.
• The main members of the group consisted of Paul Sérusier and Maurice Denis, as well as Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard.

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