Post-Impressionism: Skira Mini Artbooks

Skira Mini Artbooks

by Flaminio Gualdoni, Skira (Publisher)

Post-impressionism was the movement that represented both an extension of Impressionism, as well as a rejection of the limitation of it. The term "post-impressionism" was coined for the work of such painters as Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and several others.

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2008

About the author

Flaminio Gualdoni è un critico d'arte, storico dell'arte e docente italiano.

Reviews

[Grady Ormsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Post-Impressionism by Flaminio Gauldoni is an interesting edition from the Taj Mini Book Series published by Taj Books International. To understand Post-Impressionism one must obviously have some understanding of Impressionism. Impressionism was an art movement that originated in France in the 1860's. It was concerned with depicting the visual impression of the moment with an emphasis on the shifting effect of light and color. Post-impressionism emerged when late 19th and early 20th-Century artists reacted against the naturalism of the Impressionists. The first notable exhibition of Post-Impressionists was by the artist-centered Salon des Artistes Independants, at the Polychrome Pavilion in Paris, in December, 1884. These artists were sometimes referred to as colorists and their paintings were characterized by the use of intense color which was often the dominant feature of the work of art, more important than its other qualities. Often called Bohemian their works also included a generally greater emotional response from the artist, which led to the development of Expressionism. The movement was characterized by a restoration of a sacred value to art beyond style and technique. In it there was a search for purity, free of cultural attachments and filters
The styles of the Post-Impressionists were anti-academic, eschewing any prescribed rules or formulas, but rather emphasizing a wider exploration of color, line, and form. There was an interest in modern scientific optical theories and the effects of complementary colors. There was less emphasis on brush strokes and how then paint was applied. More important was where the paint was applied and the juxtapositions and relationships of the colors on the surface. Many artists used a technique that came to be known as “Pointillisme” or divisionism. Among others Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, Klimt, Signac, Seurat, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne are usually considered to be Post-Impressionists. Gauldoni’s volume begins with a historical essay describing the genre. There are fifty-one color plates of art, a time-line of artistic and historic events followed by brief biographies of the main artists. The joy of looking at things can be enhanced when one is given some ideas about how to look and what to look for.