Exam Notes
Chapter 3: Post Impressionism
Post-Impressionism Lecture
Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Neo-Impressionism & Post-Impressionism
Neo-Impressionists:
George Seurat
Division / Color Theory / Mechanical
French painter who is credited with changing the direction of modern art
Born into a wealthy family in Paris in 1859
His father was a retired civil servant who made a fortune from property owned
Known for being a very private person who kept to himself and enjoyed spending time alone
He was also extremely interested in science
Liked to spend his time reading and learning different scientific methods
Seurat begins to experiment with placing dots of color on the canvas
Discovers that one color is able to make another appear luminous, vibrant, and bright
Neo-Impressionists are interested in what the Impressionists are doing and being to include undertones of social criticism in their paintings
Ex: Le Chahut, 1889-90
Chromo-luminarism
Seurat wanted his colors to be even more luminous than the Impressionists
Pure, bright colors
He referred to his method as “chromo-luminarism”
Neo-Impressionists did not mix complimentary colors on their palettes (colors opposite on the color wheel
Instead, they relied on “optical mixture,” which meant they placed small dashes or dots of paint next to each other on the canvas
The viewer’s eye does the mixing when stepping back from the canvas
Seurat’s technique is nicknamed Pointillism at this time. The French term for “dot” is “pointillés” so the style is referred to as Pointillism (pretty derogatory). However, the Neo-Impressionists preferred the terms Chromo-luminarism or Divisionism
Seurat begins painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte in 1884 when he is 27 years old
Featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where Cameron stands in front of this painting at the Art Institute in Chicago in awe
The work was exhibited at the final Impressionist exhibition of 1886
Wealthy class is represented in this painting
His Bathers at Asnières, 1884, represents almost the opposite of La Grande Jatte on both sides of the Seine
Located at the National Gallery in London
At this point, Seurat has not yet fully developed his divisionism technique
The Circus, 1890-91, is Seurat’s final painting and shows his fully developed technique
Unsure if the painting is actually finished
Paul Signac
Large Canvas (not en plein air)
Similar subject matter to Impressionists + Social Critique
Paintings
The Bonaventure Pine, 1893 by Signac
Young Woman Powdering Herself, 1889 by Seurat
Both of these are small paintings – Seurat’s painting is only a little over 9 in x 6 in. Signac’s painting is approximately 25 in x 31 in.
Dots of color
Post-Impressionists:
Vincent van Gogh
Color Theory / Expressive brushstrokes
Dutch artist - born on March 30 in 1853 in Zundert, a town south of the Netherlands
His father was a protestant pastor
He was the eldest of six children
He loved nature and spent a lot of time outside as a child
Does not start painting until he is 27 years old
Writes more than 600 letters to his brother, Theo van Gogh, who is an art dealer
Did not like photographs but cherished his portrait by John Peter Russell, few photographs of Vincent van Gogh exist today
Vincent and Theo travel to Paris for the last Impressionist exhibition in February 1886
He meets the Impressionist painters, but in particular, he befriend Paul Gauguin
Had a tumultuous relationship, but at times they were very productive
Van Gogh has over 35 known self-portraits (many can be found at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam)
Van Gogh has digitized all the known letters between Vincent and Theo
Begins to use bright an unblended colors that are opposite on the color wheel (similar to Seurat)
17 self-portraits at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
These portraits were study materials - what does this mean?
Never meant to be sold, but instead Van Gogh tried something new in each portrait
After spending two years in Paris, Van Gogh uses bright and unblended contrary colors in his paintings
“Studio of the South”
Van Gogh moved to Arles is 1888 and purchases “the yellow house” in hopes of creating a brotherhood of artists that would live together
Theo supports Gauguin as long as he is living with Vincent
Competitive relationship of producing paintings
Four different rooms
Second floor had two bedrooms - Van Gogh’s and the guest room where Gauguin stayed
The Bedroom, 1888, is one of his most famous
Very expressive painting technique
In a letter to his brother Theo, Vincent describes his intention:
This time it's simply my bedroom, but the colour has to do the job here, and through its being simplified by giving a grander style to things, to be suggestive ere of rest or sleep in general. In short, looking at the painting should rest the mind, or rather, the imagination.
Letter to Theo van Gogh, Arles, Tuesday, 16 October, 1888
Paul Gauguin
Use color to convey emotion and feelings
Born in Paris in 1848 and dies in 1903 on Hiva Oa
His father was a journalist, and his mother was the daughter of an important French feminist named Flora Tristan
His father fought for women’s right to vote and universal suffrage, which did not exist during the Third Republic in France
His family goes into exile in Lima, Peru, where his grandmother lives, when he is three years old
His father dies on the journey to Peru and he and his mother live in Peru until he is 8 years old
His mother appoints the Arosa family as Gauguin’s guardian
Gauguin feels a sense of dual-citizenship because of his early life in Peru
In the 1870s he becomes a banker and marries a young Danish woman named Mette Sophie Gad in 1873, and they later have five children
Is a successful businessman and begins collecting works by Degas, Pissarro, Monet, Renoir, and Delacroix
He meets Pissarro at Arosa’s house and Pissarro begins teaching Gauguin to paint
Gauguin begins to spend less time with his family and instead of working he turns to painting
Ultimately is not able to provide for his children
Causes problems in his marriage, and after the 1881 stock market crash he pursues painting full time, causing his wife and children to go live with his wife’s family
Pissarro invites Gauguin to exhibit with the Impressionist painters in 1881
Two Self Portraits
Both Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh wanted to create a brotherhood of painters
Van Gogh moves to Arles in the South of France
Japanese woodblock printmakers often exchanged prints as a way to form communities of artists
Gauguin conveys himself as Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables
Van Gogh compares himself to a monk
Both created self portraits dedicated to each other
Paul Cezanne
Subject matter sometimes comes from the imagination
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Born into a noble French family, his father was the Court of Toulouse and he was the only son
Toulouse-Lautrec suffered from an inherited degenerative bone disease. By the time he was 20, he had horrible pain in his legs and lower back
In 1884 he moves into his own studio in Montmartre, a neighborhood popular amongst artists in Paris known to have many cafes and nightclubs
He beings taking art lessons at a studio in Montmartre known as the Atelier Cormon, where he meets many foreign artists
For the first time, he is able to socialize with the middle and working classes, as well as explore the city
Twelve years after the 3rd Impressionist Exhibition in 1877, where Renoir reveals his sunny daytime outing for the middle class in the Bal du Moulin de la Galette (1876), Toulouse-Lautrec paints the late hours of the night at the same location in Moulin de la Galette (1889)
The figures in this painting can be identified – the artist includes himself in this painting standing next to his tall cousin, Tapié de Celeyran
The woman with the red hair is Jane Avril, a popular dancer
The figure on the right is May Milton, another famous performer; her face is green from the new electric lights now used on the stage
Videos
The Artist Project: Maureen Gallace
Maureen Gallace's Perspective on Cézanne
Maureen Gallace is a painter.
She credits Cézanne with opening the door for abstraction.
Cézanne's paintings are highly relevant today, showing abstraction and representation equally.
She found his early paintings inspiring and not intimidating, feeling they "gave permission" and "a way in" for her as an artist.
After 25 years as a painter, his works still "deliver".
Cézanne's Artistic Process and Influence
Cézanne focused on simple, everyday objects like apples, but his paintings are "about painting," not merely copying them.
The canvas is visible, and "every single Mark is laid bare," revealing the painter's experience.
He took "forever to make the paintings," and Gallace relates to this, sometimes taking "an hour to make a brush Mark" herself.
Apples were likely chosen because they "didn't spoil," allowing for extended work.
Characteristics of Cézanne's Still Lifes
The emotion in his paintings comes from "the way pain is handled".
Forms, like the apples, appear "crude" because they are "built up from the marks," making them solid and almost "sculptural".
The viewer can almost "feel those apples in your hand".
A black outline often doesn't quite touch the shape, causing the forms to "vibrate".
An "uneasiness" in the paintings stems from a "shifting perspective," often lacking a horizon line.
Elements like the tablecloth hiding the edge of the table and the tilting forms can create a "claustrophobic and destabilizing" feeling.
Cézanne's Philosophy on Art and Imperfection
His work shows perfectionism and is "so tightly controlled".
However, the goal was not to create one masterpiece but "to keep going keep going and keep going and get better and better and better".
It was "okay to fail" because there was "less pressure on the painting" with the understanding that he would "just get it right the next time".
He aimed to distill things down "to get at the essence of what painting is," even when using a simple apple.
The Story of Cezanne | Tate
Early Life and Move to Paris
Paul Cézanne was born in 1839 in Aix-en-Provence, France.
He lived through a period of extreme social and artistic change, and his art bridged the shift from tradition to modernity.
His challenge to existing ideas of beauty, color, and painting inspired a generation of younger artists.
In 1861, at 22, he quit law school and moved to Paris to study art.
Paris was a turbulent capital with growing industry, new social conventions for women, and widespread poverty, violence, and discrimination, which Cézanne tried to capture.
Impressionist Connections and Early Style
In Paris, he met other ambitious young artists like Claude Monet, Pierre-August Renoir, and Camille Pissarro, who sought to reflect their world in art.
Their work, including portraits, landscapes, and real/imaginary scenes, became known as the Impressionist Revolution.
At the start of his career, Cézanne's paints were so thick an art critic remarked "they could have been shot out of a pistol".
He aimed to set himself apart from fashionable Parisian artists, stating, "'the others see and feel like me, but they do not dare. Me, I dare. I have the courage of my convictions.'".
Personal Life and Artistic Development
In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Cézanne and his partner Marie-Hortense Fiquet fled to L'Estaque.
They defied middle-class conventions by living together outside of marriage.
Fiquet became one of his favorite models, painted nearly 30 times over 25 years, demonstrating their continuous closeness.
He preferred painting people he knew, which allowed for repeated studies and experimentation.
In the 1870s, working with his friend and mentor Pissarro, Cézanne developed his signature technique of "considered, measured parallel brushstrokes".
His color palette lightened, using a small range of colors in a rich variety of shades.
He traveled between Paris and the south of France (Aix and L'Estaque), describing the views as "like a playing card. Red Roofs against the blue sea".
This period defined the "Cezanne we now know".
Still Lifes and Later Years
During the 1880s and 1890s, still lifes of common household items (bowls, jugs, fruit, L'indienne fabric) became his favorite area of experimentation.
Though traditionally considered the least important art genre, he aimed to show its profound meaning.
He famously declared, "'With an an apple, I will astonish Paris!'".
In 1899, aged 60 and diagnosed with diabetes, he felt increasingly frail, sold his Paris studio, and settled in Aix.
Despite declining health, he channeled his concerns into "moody, dark landscapes and ominous compositions with skulls" with "bursting creativity".
His technique varied from thick oils to delicate, luminous watercolor washes.
For the first time, he painted portraits of people outside of his studio.
Legacy
After his death in 1906, the Salon d'Autumne held an exhibition in his memory in 1907, featuring over 50 paintings and watercolors.
His legacy grew, influencing many artists.
Today, he is considered an innovator and one of the most well-known artists of the late 19th century.
Who Was Van Gogh? The Yellow House to The Night Cafe | Part 1
Van Gogh's Time in Arles, Southern France
Arles was Van Gogh's first stop after leaving Paris, chosen for its beauty.
He painted over 187 works of art in Arles.
He arrived in late February, waiting for springtime, as he had been suffering from a bad cold exacerbated by drinking and smoking.
As soon as spring started, he was out painting.
Many locations in Arles where Van Gogh painted still exist and are marked with pictures of his paintings against their actual backgrounds.
After Arles, he moved to Saint-Rémy, where he painted 142 works, including the famous Starry Night.
Key Locations and Experiences in Arles
Les Alyscamps: An ancient Roman graveyard with sarcophagi lining the street.
This site is notable as one of the places Van Gogh and Gauguin painted together during a two-month period when they got along.
Both artists took different approaches to painting the same space.
The location remains largely unchanged from Van Gogh's time.
Public Garden (Jardin): A beautiful garden in town, where a picture of Van Gogh with his easel is on the ground.
The Arena: An ancient Roman arena, still in use today and in better condition than the Colosseum.
Historically used for gladiatorial events, it hosted bullfighting during Van Gogh's time (which continues today), reflecting Arles' close connection to Spain.
Van Gogh and Gauguin frequented the arena, and Van Gogh's paintings show his focus on the large crowds, enjoying the excitement and upliftment it provided him.
Place de Forum / The Night Cafe: A historic Roman Forum square where the exact cafe Van Gogh painted, The Night Cafe, is located.
The cafe was remodeled in the 1990s to look like the painting and renamed the "Van Gogh Cafe," though the original French awning still says "The Night Cafe".
Van Gogh painted the scene from a specific angle, and the cafe is part of the ancient Roman Forum area.
The Yellow House: Van Gogh rented four rooms here on May 1, 1888, aiming to establish an artist colony.
He rented two ground-floor rooms for an atelier/workshop and kitchen, and two smaller rooms on the first floor.
The guestroom, where Paul Gauguin stayed for nine weeks, had open shutters, while Van Gogh's bedroom shutters were nearly closed.
The door and window locations match those in his famous paintings.
The pink building next to it was a restaurant he frequented, and The Night Cafe was to its left.
Artist Paul Signac painted the building in 1932, showing it as a bar and tabac.
Unfortunately, the building was severely hit during WWII bombings and later torn down; only the train bridge visible in his paintings remains.
The Rhone River: Located a short walk from the Yellow House.
This is where Van Gogh painted Starry Night on the Rhone.
It is important to note that this is not the more famous Starry Night, which was painted in Saint-Rémy.
Starry Night on the Rhone is displayed in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
Hospital Courtyard: The hospital where Van Gogh was admitted after cutting part of his ear during a manic episode.
He painted while recovering, with his paints and easel brought in.
The painting depicts yellow arches, flowers, and a fountain, characteristic of the actual courtyard.
This was his last stop in Arles before his doctor and Theo decided he needed to go to Saint-Rémy for proper treatment.
Van Gogh and Gauguin's Relationship
Contrary to common assumption, Van Gogh and Gauguin did get along for two months out of the 444 days Van Gogh was in Arles.
During this period, they painted together and enjoyed the open spaces outside of Paris.
They shared interests in brothels, bars, and the arena.