The prefix post literally means “after” or “behind” and is often used in the world of art and culture to refer to what comes after a creative movement. Thus, one speaks of post-modernity , post- romanticism, post-feminism and post-impressionism. Obviously, to understand what comes after something, it is necessary to understand the previous trend.
From the second half of the 19th century onwards, a series of artistic movements developed that formed the origin of contemporary painting
One of them is impressionism, a style that in his time was undervalued by various social sectors, more particularly by art critics. It emerged as an evolution of the previous realism.
The most authentic features of this movement are as follows:
1) painters abandon the custom of painting from memory and begin to take reference from the natural to complete their work; Post Impressionism
2) a great importance is given to light, as it is the element that determines shapes and makes colors vary;
3) the color acquires a particular relevance and is registered on the canvas with loose brush strokes, stretching out with several spots to create a greater visual impact ;
4) the impressionist painter must express the changing reality , in such a way that he seeks to freeze time in his work.
Among the most important painters the following should be mentioned: Renoir, Cézanne, Monet, Degas and Van Gogh.
Post-impressionism
It is not an artistic style or trend in the traditional sense , as it should be understood as a name to refer to the creators who were part of impressionism and who over time evolved into other pictorial manifestations. It should be noted that impressionism as a current had a very limited duration (about ten years) and this circumstance led most of its representatives to incorporate other ways of understanding art.
From a chronological point of view, it covers the end of impressionism (in 1890) and the beginning of Cubism in the beginning of the 20th century. In relation to the Post-impressionism term, it was designed by artist and British critic Roger Fry, who understood that new creators did not seek the representation of objects, but rather communicate ideas.
Among the most particular characteristics, the following should be highlighted: the importance of the drawing , the expressiveness of the image, the geometric figures and the creation of simplified compositions. Its most representative painters are Gauguin, Van Gogh and Cézanne.
