Impressionism (1870-1890) Mostly French artists Degas, Monet,
morisot, pissarro, Renoir, Sisley.
Impressionist paintings are brightly colored with paint applied
in disconnected strokes that were intended to be combined in the
viewer's eye rather than by the painter's brush. Whether their
subjects were indoors or outside, these painters were primarily
concerned with transient effects (e..g Monet's painting series of
Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen at different times of the day) and
the way that light or sunshine dematerializes their
subject-matter.
Post-Impressionism (all painters from France: Cezanne, Gauguin,
Van Gogh, Seurat) - 1880s thro early 1890s
These painters shared a dissatisfaction with the relative
formlessness of Impressionist paintings - its blurring of forms
which were the result of fragmented brushstrokes (which had
replaced the traditional use of a drawn line).
In contrast, the Post-Impressionists were not concerned with the
objective appearance of their subject matter. and how it looked at
different time of the day. Laying the groundwork for a Modern Art
largely based on concepts, theories and the personal emotions of
the artist, they each explored (unlike the Impressionists) in
different directions:
e.g. Seurat evolved a mosaic-like technique- pointillism-
evolved from theories of color and optics of his time. Cezanne
experimented in ways to construct landscape and still life
compositions; Gauguin and Van Gogh focussed on private
symbolism.
In practice, painting out of doors as favored by Impressionist
painters was replaced by a slow and methodical painting process
which generally could take place only inside the studio.
