Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

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The different art movements are created as a reflection of the type of response to the existing or older art movement. It does not necessarily mean scrapping the old to make way for the new. In art, the new movement always takes with it part of the past, but what makes it distinct is the new and fresh perspective that it brings to the table that wasn't present or appreciated before. If anything, the chronology of art movements is testament to the growth process of the world of art, proof of how the art has been evolving ever since. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism are two art movements that happened in succession, and the characteristics of and existence of Post Impressionism reflects how Post Impressionism is a reaction to the earlier Impressionism and how Post Impressionism, despite its efforts to introduce something new still retained many important characteristics found in Impressionism.

Discussion

A. Impressionism

Impressionism happened during the nineteenth century particularly in France although there is also impressionist movement in other places although the number of artists involved does not match the number of artists involved in impressionism in France. The characteristics of impressionism include the use of short brush strokes (Perry, 1995) and the lack of effort to veil or hide or keep these brushstrokes from being noticeable as the audience looks at the painting. There is also a renewed attention and focus on the effect of light, particularly the natural ambient light which is why many Impressionist painters work outside the studio, the paintings featuring a subject that is often found outside or outdoors, from Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol to Alfred Sisley’s Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne. There is ...

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...encing and affecting the art movement and its contribution in shaping how art is produced and critiqued based on the standards that it had set.

Conclusion

History repeats itself, and this is reflected in how Post Impressionism’s similarities with the earlier Impressionism act as proof of the cyclical nature of new things surfacing as a reaction to the old existing conditions. Impressionism and Post Impression gave the world a fine list of painters and an equally excellent collection of masterpieces which, when placed side by side reveals the similarities of Post Impressionism and Impressionism and reflects the connection and relation of one art movement with the other.

Works Cited

Collischan, J. (2010). Made in the U S A: Modern/Contemporary Art in America. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse

Perry, G. (1995). Impressionist quilts. Lafayette, CA: C&T Publishing Inc

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