Question by Bob D: How do you define “Post-impressionism”?

Best answer:

Answer by Maturin
From http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/poim/hd_poim.htm
“Breaking free of the naturalism of Impressionism in the late 1880s, a group of young painters sought independent artistic styles for expressing emotions rather than simply optical impressions, concentrating on themes of deeper symbolism. Through the use of simplified colors and definitive forms, their art was characterized by a renewed aesthetic sense as well as abstract tendencies.”
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Impressionism
“Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Post-Impressionists extended Impressionism while rejecting its limitations: they continued using vivid colours, thick application of paint, distinctive brushstrokes and real-life subject matter, but they were more inclined to emphasize geometric forms, to distort form for expressive effect, and to use unnatural or arbitrary colour.”
From http://www.answers.com/topic/postimpressionism
“Term applied to the reaction against IMPRESSIONISM led by Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Georges Seurat. It can be roughly dated from 1886, the year of the last Impressionist exhibition, to c. 1905, when Fauvism appeared and the first moves towards Cubism were made. While it was predominantly a French movement, there were related developments in other countries, which often occurred somewhat later. Post-Impressionism can be loosely defined as a rejection of the Impressionists’ concern for the naturalistic depiction of light and colour in favour of an emphasis on abstract qualities or symbolic content. It therefore includes NEO-IMPRESSIONISM, SYMBOLISM, CLOISONNISM, SYNTHETISM and the later work of some Impressionists. The term was coined in 1910 by the English critic and painter Roger Fry for an exhibition of late 19th-century French painting, drawing and sculpture that he organized at the Grafton Galleries in London.”

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