Times were changing, and the Impressionist movement of the mid-19th century, which focused on loose brushwork, brighter, intense color palettes, and capturing the impression of the moment, was declining. However, it had paved the way for other artists to evolve in their own styles and find innovative ways of expressing themselves through their art.
Paul Cézanne, an artist who had exhibited with the Impressionists, became dissatisfied with their lack of order and structure in painting. He felt that all of the potential of Impressionism had been exhausted and he was eager to take its ideas and concepts in new directions.
Cézanne wanted to “make of Impressionism something solid and durable, like the art of the museums.”
Other artists believed Impressionism focused on insignificant subject matter. They wanted to move beyond its “passive representation” of life and allow each artist’s unique and personal view of his surroundings to be expressed. So, Impressionism gave way to Post-Impressionism, a new movement which focused on the bolder use of color and line, geometrical forms and patterns, and light in painting.
Prominent Post-Impressionist artists along with Paul Cézanne were, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and others. But although they are all considered part of the same movement, they worked individually, rather than as a group.
Click on the artist’s name below to learn more.
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Post-Impressionism:
