Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Explained
Impressionism: A New Aesthetic Language
Impressionism represents a break with traditional painting and serves as the starting point for 20th-century art. It seeks to redefine aesthetic language and find new forms of expression, focusing on the problems of perceiving reality. Two factors influenced this rupture: photography and Japanese prints.
Key Characteristics
- Theory of color
- Depiction of light
- Successive layers
- Coloring shadows
- Loose brushwork
- Painting outdoors
Prominent Artists
- Monet: Reflects the essence of Impressionism. He focused on landscapes and the effects of light at different hours. Works: Water Lilies, Impression, Sunrise, Rouen Cathedral.
- Renoir: Known for cheerful, decorative rural and urban landscapes. His paint is applied with vigor. Works: Nude in the Sunlight.
- Sisley: Concerned with rural landscapes, water, and atmospheric phenomena. Works: Flood at Port-Marly.
- Degas: Received classical training, evident in his focus on drawing. He preferred colorful interiors and artificial light over nature. Works: L'Absinthe, The Orchestra Musicians.
- Manet: A precursor to Impressionism who bridged the gap from traditional painting. Works: Olympia.
- Pissarro: A key figure in the movement.
Neo-Impressionism: Scientific Precision
Neo-Impressionism rejects the intuitive and sensory character of Impressionism, seeking to provide a more scientific foundation. It introduced the revolutionary technique of pointillism, which is accurate, patient, and static, inviting the viewer to participate in the creation of the image.
Characteristics
- Naturalist figuration
- Rigid forms
- Cold, severe, and poetic light
Key Artists
- Seurat: His painting style is very static. Works: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
- Signac: A pupil of Seurat and a theoretician of the movement; he was the main propagator of pointillism and used vibrant colors. Works: The Papal Palace at Avignon.
Post-Impressionism: Expressiveness and Form
Post-Impressionism marks the recovery of the importance of drawing and a concern for capturing the expressiveness of objects and people, rather than just light. It serves as a precedent for 20th-century art.
Key Artists
- Toulouse-Lautrec: A fine artist known for his posters and use of diverse supports. His work reflects his life in the urban nightlife. Works: At the Moulin Rouge.
- Cezanne: Sought the essence of nature, attempting to reduce it to pure forms and basic colors. Works: The Card Players, Apples and Oranges.
- Van Gogh: His dramatic life is inseparable from his work. He utilized vivid colors and tortuous forms to show his inner world. Works: The Starry Night, Self-Portrait, The Siesta.
- Gauguin: Known for his unique use of color and form. Works: The White Horse, Breasts with Red Flowers.