Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism was a reaction to the Impressionists’ concern for naturalistic depictions of light and colour, developed by Van Gogh and others.
Post-Impressionism was an art movement – roughly between 1886 and 1905 – developed by artists including Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin and Seurat. The term was coined by the English art critic and painter, Roger Fry, in 1910, when he organised the exhibition, Manet and the Post-Impressionists. It was a reaction against the naturalism of Impressionism, instead focusing on emotional and psychological responses to the world through bolder colours. Van Gogh painted from nature but employed a deeply personal palette and brushwork, conveying his emotional and inner responses. Cézanne adhered to naturalistic painting but with greater precision, aiming to ‘redo Poussin from nature’. Gauguin maintained vibrant light and colour while breaking from naturalism, introducing imaginative subjects. Seurat established a scientific foundation for Impressionist techniques through neo-Impressionism and divisionism.
