5. Post-
Impressionism
(1885 – 1905)
Influenced by:
Altered understanding of physical reality
Atomic physics & chemistry; experimental psychology & subconscious
“All things become flimsy, with no strength or certainty.” – Kandinsky
New understanding of artistic tradition
Challenges to the art establishment, new influences
Development of avant-garde culture
Democracy & pluralism; rise of mass culture; alienated artists
6. Shared Characteristics:
• Negative reaction to purely optical
• Search for new types of subjects
and forms of expression
• Attempt to deepen meaning –
focus on conceptual over
perceptual
7. Is art most rightly concerned with:
Creating a model of Creating an imaginary
the real world world
Nature as observed or Artist’s sensations
Perception Conception
Mind Spirit
Intellect Intuition
…or both?
Seurat (1859-1891) Gauguin (1848-1903)
Cezanne (1839-1906) Van Gogh (1853-1890)
8. “Woman Leaning on a “Study for Une
Parapet By the Seine” 1881 Beignade” 1883
29. "May I repeat what I told you here: treat nature by
means of the cylinder, the sphere, the cone,
everything brought into proper perspective so
that each side of an object or a plane is directed
towards a central point. Lines parallel to the
horizon give breadth... lines perpendicular to this
horizon give depth. But nature for us men is more
depth than surface, whence the need to introduce
into our light vibrations, represented by the reds
and yellows, a sufficient amount of blueness to
give the feel of air."
Paul Cézanne to Emile Bernard, 15 April 1904
36. "I have sacrificed everything for
style, because I wished to force
myself into doing something other
than what I know how to do."
Gauguin to a friend, 8 October 1888