Subscribe
to the E-Star!

Post Impressionists

Sal Maccarone: How Art Shapes Our Life

Sal Maccarone

(Updated: Monday, December 27, 2010, 12:24 PM)

Through an understanding of the last 140 years in art history we can see how one thing has lead to another. The impressionists, who were certainly rebels in their day, began a trend in art that continues to the present. As a result of ever changing points of view, artists since that time have remained in constant flux. Once the mold of Realism was broken in the 1870's, there was no looking back. The defiance which the impressionist movement has come to represent, is proof positive that art always finds a way of influencing social change.

In 1910 an artist and art scholar named Roger Fry, (1868-1934), organized an exhibition of paintings in London which he called, "Manet and Post-Impressionism." This title was used as a means of describing how French art had evolved since the time of Edouard Manet, (1832-1883), who was pivotal at the start of the impressionist movement. The name Post-impressionism was "coined" and has since been used to describe the period in art history that immediately followed impressionism.

The younger artists of this evolving movement were all dissatisfied with the trivial subject matter of the impressionists. Although they all exhibited together there was no clear consensus on the way forward. While continuing to use vivid colors, short brush strokes, the modeling of paint, and contemporary subject matter, there were very distinct differences in their individual styles. For example, the work of Paul Cezanne, (1839-1906), conveys a mastery of composition, design, and color. Paul Gauguin, (1848-1903), on the other hand experimented with very bold colors, and used "expression" to convey the basic meaning of his subjects. Gauguin's work eventually led to the Synthetist style of modern art.

Vincent van Gogh, (1853-1890) is probably the most celebrated painter of the Post-impressionist era. The emotional impact of his vibrant unnatural colors and swirling brush strokes had a far reaching effect on 20th century art. His work was not appreciated during his own troubled lifetime, as he died at age thirty-seven a virtual unknown. He is now regarded as one of the most important contributors to the Modern Art movement. In 1987 his painting, "Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers" sold for $38 million which was more than tripled the amount paid for the previous most valuable painting. Currently, seven of the world's thirty most valuable paintings were done by Vincent van Gogh.

Between Sept. 25 and Jan. 18, 2011 there will be a very special exhibition at the de Young museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. (deyoung.famsf.org/). As a continuation of "The Birth of Impressionism" which is over on September 6th, this new exhibition is titled, "Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond". There will be 120 Post-Impressionist masterpieces on loan from "Musee d'Orsay", a museum in Paris which is currently under restoration. This special assemblage of paintings also includes works by the Impressionists Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir. If you plan to see this "once in a lifetime" exhibit, try to arrive at the museum early in the day as they are anticipating record crowds.

Please join me on Facebook for more art history, and news about current exhibitions.