Impressionists focused on light and color. But what are Post-Impressionists? They came after the Impressionists anso must be different. But so many of these artists are listed as both. How do they differ?
It's true. The connection between them is strong. Most of the Post-Impressionists were friends with the Impressionists, and like them, loved to play with light and color. The difference is that they thought the Impressionists didn't go far enough. Impressionists were concerned with capturing the moment, looking at reality and interpreting it in terms of the lights and darks. Post-Impressionists went one step farther.
Each of the Post-Impressionists had a different take on where they wanted to go with their art. George Seurat took light and color in a scientific direction. He looked at the latest research that examined how light was reflected or absorbed by a particular color. He combined that information with how the eye sees. He layed dots of different colors next to another, so that the human eye combines them to create a mixture of the colors. Thus, to make a green, he would place a yellow dot next to a blue dot. He still adhered to the Impressionist style of painting with complimentary colors and emphasising lights and shadows, but he did so in a controlled way. He planned his paintings carefully, working out a theme rather than drawing just what he saw. As a result, Seurat's paintings tend to look stiff and calculated, rather than as a glance or an impression.
Students are working on creating a Seurat style scientific drawing by painting with points of color.
just for fun: http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/~TriciaFuglestad/VisualArt/flashmovies/whatsthepoint.swf
