Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

Monet Haystacks

I've found Impressionism to be the most enjoyable art period we've gone over so far. This style consists of engaging and attractive scenes painted with more light and brighter colors. It also portrays a sense of change and movement in the scene. Nature is shown in its favorable side too. The defining characteristic of this style, however, is unmistakenly the way the paintings are made up of tiny dabs or spots of color. I prefer Monet's work the most due to his use of bright colors and open form. Other artists of this period, like Renoir and Degas, also are popular.

Van Gogh Starry Night

From this style, Post-Impressionism developed. Younger artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec defined this era, using color, pattern, form, and line in new ways based off of Impressionism. Camille Pissarro and Seurat both used the pointillism technique. Paul Cézanne is also considered a Post-Impressionist artist.

Georges Seurat Le Bec du Hoc

Degas The Glass of Absinthe