Post-impressionism

Post-Impressionism, also known as Synthetism, is a French art movement that

began in the late nineteen century. “It is almost absurd to call it Post-

Impressionism for two reasons: because it diverged so strongly away from its

predecessors - Impressionists, with all the admiration and due respect paid, and

because "Post-Impressionism" started in early '80s while impressionism was still

gaining speed.” One could argue it hardly is a movement, keeping in one's mind

all the diversity and brightness of artistic individuality it embraced. Struggle to

regain solidity of color and form unites it more than anything, that's where the

Synthetism as a name comes in. These artists showed a greater concern for

expression, structure and form than did the Impressionist artists.

Title: Seated Dancer in Pink Tights. (1890)

Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24

November 1864 – 9 September 1901).

Technique: Oil and ink on cardboard.

Location: Unknown.

Dimensions: 52.3 x 46.5 cm.

The painting is composed of a ballerina in her dancing hear that is composed of a

white-greyish camisole, a petticoat, ballet slippers and pink tights. She has her

hair in a lose ponytail and her legs are open and is in a slouchy position. She is

looking at someone thing cannot be seen in the painting. The background was

unfinished by the painter. There is no apparent movement. She is in a still

position as if sheʼs taking a break from her dancing class which would explain her

posture; lazy, manly as opposed to what ballerina should present herself as:

feminine and elegant. The colors that compose the artwork are very realistic. The

pink of the tights adds a touch of fantasy, feminity and playfulness. The

atmosphere reflects the dancerʼs mood. She seems tired and interestingly

enough, the painting is unfinished. Is there a link between the two? The painting

seems calm however the red lines in the background add some dynamism and

perhaps masculinity. It is composed mainly of organic shapes apart from the red

lines in the background which creates a contrast between the background and

the foreground; a contrast between strong primary colors and soft pastel colors.

Title: Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh. (1887)

Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24

November 1864 – 9 September 1901).

Technique: Pastel on cardboard.

Location: Unknown.

Dimensions: 54 x 45 cm.

The painting depicts (composition) the painter Vincent Van Gogh sitting at a table

at a bar or perhaps a café, gazing at something that cannot be seen in the

painting. He is wearing a white button up with a brown blazer with red

undertones. In the background there is a long table (or perhaps to small tables)

and a window. Even though this a portrait, the obvious pastel strokes makes the

painting a little bit dynamic (movement). The artwork is composed mainly of

yellow, red, orange, blue and green. Toulouse-Lautrec manages to make it look

quite realist despite the unrealistic colors he chose for this painting. The

paintingʼs mood is quit calm however the colors and the strokes creates a subtle

effect of movement. As said earlier, the strokes are very obvious as the view is

completely aware of them. This technique blurs the details and leaves only what

is important to see. Even Van Goghʼs face isnʼt very detailed yet the view can

perfectly recognize him.

Title: In Bed the Kiss. (1892)

Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24

November 1864 – 9 September 1901).

Technique: Pastel on cardboard.

Location: Unknown.

Dimensions: 54 x 45 cm.

In the painting In Bed the Kiss, Toulouse-Lautrec paints two characters who

seem to be two women placed in a bed next to each other. They appear to be in

a resful position. One has both of her arms crossed above her head while the

other one has her head cradled in her own arm. Both womenʼs arms are touching

each other, but only slightly. The arm of the woman on the right is supporting the

arm of the woman on the left. They are in an unperturbed and peaceful position.

The scene appears quite natural because the pose is relaxing, nurturing and

innocently intimate. The paintings is composed of colors that seem washed out,

there is no striking colors, however everything seems to blend in like the couple

in the bed.

Fauvism

Coming from the French word fauve, meaning "wild animals," Fauvism rejected

traditional painting and sculpture ideals and emphasized modern concepts,

notably machines and motion. Inspired by the late impressionist works of Paul

Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh who pushed the boundaries with their bold color

choices, the movement took this idea a step further to include simplified design.

The first Fauvist exhibition occurred in 1905.Pointillism and Post-impressionist

inspired the development of the Fauvist movement. More specifically, Fauvistʼs

work was derived from primitive and tribal art; also Paul Gauguinʼs color choice

and style. Although the movement was short-lived, it had a profound influence on

the development of the Expressionists. The name Fauvism was taken from the

French word the "fauves," meaning the wild beasts. This title was appropriate

because of their use of uncontrolled, abrasive, and intense colors. The Fauves

held their most significant exhibition at the Paris Salon dʼAutumne in 1905,

paving the way for Modernist movements. The primary focus of the Fauvist

movement is non-naturalistic and vibrant color. In addition to Gauguinʼs influence,

Vincent Van Goghʼs palette was inspirational to the Fauves. Their aim was to

express emotion through color choice. Fauvism died out after 1908, when the

group went separate ways, many turning to cubism.

Title: The Green Line: Portrait of Madame

Matisse. (1905)

Artist: Henri Matisse (December 21 1869 –

November 3 1954).

Technique: Oil and tempera on canvas.

Location: Royal Museum of Fine Arts,

Copenhagen.

Dimensions: 40.5 x 32.5 cm (15 7/8 x 12 7/8

in).

The composition of the work consists of a portrait of Madame Matisse in the

foreground and a background divided into several distinct areas of color. The

division in the background is apparent in the apposition of the mauve, orange and

blue green, with the foreground divided mainly by the green strip itself, which

runs down the middle of Madam Matisseʼs face and separates the painting along

a vertical line. The background and foreground, however, are almost completely

flat, so that they seem to become part of each other, and Madame Matisse

seems to become somewhat of a portrait within a portrait. The space in the

portrait is more or less two dimensional, with only a slight hint of depth illustrated

by a dark area of shading above Madame Matisseʼs left shoulder.. Color, along

with the subject of Madame Matisse, is the focus and most important element of

the work. These colors are primarily bright, striking colors such as orange, red,

yellow, mauve and bright green accompanied by the use of a cooler, calmer blue-

green and black. The combination of these colors is non-naturalistic and provides

a contrast that is readily apparent to the eye. There is no real light source in the

work. However, both sides of Madame Matisseʼs face seem to be illuminated by

the use of warm. The dark, shaded area behind her and over her left shoulder is

confusing because it also suggests a light source in front of her and to the right,

yet there is no shading on her face to accompany it. Lines and shapes play an

important role in this work because they work together to create balance. This is

achieved through the use of both geometric and organic shapes, with the organic

representing the figure of the woman and the geometric establishing the

background and its division of color. The lines in the work are both dominant

outlines on her shoulders, hair, and left neckline, and blurred lines like the details

on her clothes and the contour of her right cheek and chin.

Title: Vase with Flowers. (1907)

Artist: Henri Matisse (December 21 1869 –

November 3 1954).

Technique: Oil on canvas.

Location: Hermitage, Saint Petersburg.

Dimensions: 74 x 61.

The composition of this painting consist of a vase filled with a multitude of various

flowers on what appears to be a raspberry red table and a door/winder in the

background. The vase has artwork on itself similar to china porcelain and is

located at the very corner of the table. As it is a still life, the painting has no

movement however the colors –vivid, give life, energy and vitality to the painting.

The porcelain vase in place in the center of the painting and is very detailed

compared to the rest of it. The colors found in the painting are extremely vibrant

and colorful and reflect perfectly what the Fauvist movement was about. The

mood that the still life exudes is calm but also playfulness and femininity as well

(flowers and the strong presence of several shades of pinks).

Futurism

Is an Italian school of painting, sculpture, and literature that flourished from 1909,

when Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's first manifesto of futurism appeared, until the

end of World War I. Carlo Carrà, Gino Severini, and Giacomo Balla were the

leading painters and Umberto Boccioni the chief sculptor of the group. The

architect Antonio Sant' Elia also belonged to this school. The futurists strove to

portray the dynamic character of 20th-century life; their works glorified danger,

war, and the machine age, attacked academies, museums, and other

establishment bastions, and, in theory at least, favored the growth of fascism.

The group had a major Paris exhibition in 1912 that showed the relationship of

their work to cubism. Their approach to the rendering of movement by

simultaneously representing several aspects of forms in motion influenced many

painters, including Duchamp and Delaunay. Futurist principles and techniques

strongly influenced Russian constructivism.

Title: Speeding Automobile

(Automobile in Corsa) (1912). Artist:

Giacomo Balla (1871–1958).

Technique: Oil on wood.

Location: Museum of Modern Art,

New York.

Dimensions: 55.8 x 68.9 cm.

The painting is composed of various shapes juxtaposed on top of one another

and next each other. The overwhelming amount of lines and geometrical shapes

going is every direction creates a sort of chaos, but the fact that those lines are

straight and seem perpendicular creates a certain order. The main colors found

in the painting are green, black, white, red, yellow and blue. However, the white

is used to create light and the dark, to create shadow. Together they create

depth, a 3D effect.

Title: Form-Spirit

Transformation (1918).

Artist: Giacomo Balla.

(1871–1958)

Technique: Oil on canvas.

Location: Balla Collection,

Rome, Italy.

Dimensions: 51.1 x 65.5 cm.

The painting is composed a various geometrical shapes and certain abstract

ones mostly in the background. The lines create a visual path that enables the

eye to move within the piece and thus create movement. The colors found in the

artwork are mainly neon and pastel colors creating a very futurist dream-like

scene. The painting inspires mystery and euphoria

Cubism

Cubism started in 1908 and lasted through the 1920s. It was an innovative art

movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. In Cubism,

artists began to look at subjects in new ways in an effort to depict three-

dimensions on a flat canvas. They would break up the subject into many

different shapes and then repaint it from different angles. Cubism paved the

way for many different modern movements of art in the 20th century. There

were two main types of Cubism: analytical cubism where artists would study

(or analyze) the subject and break it up into different blocks. They would look

at the blocks from different angles. Then they would reconstruct the subject,

painting the blocks from various viewpoints. The second type of cubism was

called Synthetic cubism: it Cubism introduced the idea of adding in other

materials in a collage. Artists would use colored paper, newspapers, and

other materials to represent the different blocks of the subject. This stage also

introduced brighter colors and a lighter mood to the art.

Title: Violin and Sheet-Music on Table

(Petit Oiseau) (1913)

Artist: Georges Braque ((13 May 1882 –

31 August 1963))

Technique: Oil and charcoal on canvas

Location: Private Collection

Dimensions: 73 x 54 cm

Violin on Sheet-Music on Table is one of

those titles that describe exactly what is

found in the artwork. However, the

objects portrayed appear to have been

dissembled and reassembled in the most abstract of ways. There is no visible

separation between the foreground and the background: they are one. The

strokes of charcoal create movement as well as the non-aligned pieces of wood.

The colors are very neutral: brown, dark grey, black, beige and white. Braqueʼs

goal was to create dynamism with the objects and not the colors. As the piece is

about music, it appears very playful and energetic –filled with movement. Some

shapes are more organic (the violin) and others are more geometric (those

chopped pieced of wood). They create a beautiful contrast between textures and

shapes.

Title: Violin and Palette (1909).

Artist: Georges Braque (13 May 1882 – 31

August 1963).

Technique: Oil on canvas.

Location: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,

New York

Dimensions: 36 1/8 x 16 7/8 inches (91.7 x

42.8 cm)

Objects are still recognizable in the

paintings, but are fractured into

multiple pieces, as is the surrounding

space with which they fuse in. The

composition is set into motion as the

eye moves from one surface of a plane

to the other. In Violin and Palette, the segmented parts of the violin,

the sheets of music, and the artist's palette are vertically arranged,

heightening their correspondence to the two-dimensional surface. The

colors are very neutral and earthy (mainly composed of shades of

browns and greys).

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is the name for the artistic movement that started in Europe

around 1890 and lasted until around 1910. It took on many different

characteristics in different places, and some of the most famous designers

from the era have disparate styles, including Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona,

Josef Hoffmann in Vienna and Carlo Bugatti in Italy. What these designers

had in common was an interest in finding a new artistic vocabulary that

could best express the modern world. Let's take a look at a few iconic Art

Nouveau designs from France and Belgium, where the style was perhaps

most cohesive and identifiable. This style of art was characterized by a

belief that all of life was art, and as a result, all of life should be treated as

an art form. This flew in the face of classic art, which was reserved for the

wealthy. This new art philosophy was the art of the people.

Title: Reconstraction of the

Fouquet Boutique (1900).

Artist: Alphonse Mucha. (24

July 1860- 14 July 1939)

Technique: Unknown.

Location: Musée Carnavalet,

Paris, France.

Dimensions: Unknown

The artwork, which is an

architectural piece, is

composed of two parts: the front desk (foreground) and the peacock at the

back with the illuminated stained glass. The legs of the desk that are

direction attached to the base of it appear to have designs of their own.

The stained glass seems to be the illustration of a natural scene (trees,

plants, etc). There are in fact not one but two peacocks, however one is

perched on the tope of the artwork. This scene is a mating scene and the

peacock with the spread wings is trying to seduce the one that is on top.

The mood is quite light thanks to the colorful stained glass windows.

Abstract

Abstract art is a form of modern and post-modern art that focuses on the

power of each individual work to express compositions in a new way.

Works in this genre are often non-representational (which means that the

artistʼs forms may vary from a small degree of inaccurate representation of

images to total abstraction with no recognizable imagery). Abstract art

includes the movements of Cubism, Neoplasticism, and Abstract

Expressionism. With the Cubist works of Georges Braque and Pablo

Picasso, abstract art appeared regularly in the West by the early 1900s.

Artists often mirrored changes in science and technology in the twentieth

century with abstract art forms.

Metadata:

Title: Composition with Red, Yellow and

Blue (1927)

Artist: Piet Mondrian (March 7, 1872 –

February 1, 1944)

Technique: Oil on Canvas.

Location: unknown.

Dimensions: 14 7/8 x 13 ¾ inches

Dadaism

The Dada art movement, a brief trend in the tumultuous history of 20th

century, was and still is a paradox. It was a movement that proclaimed

itself to not be a movement. Despite being "anti-art," it produced visual art,

literature and performance art that that remains influential today. Situated

solidly within the era of modern art and sharing the Modernist attitude of

shunning all that had come before it, Dada also serves as an inspiration to

Postmodernism and contemporary art. More of a phase in artistic thought

than purely an art movement, Dada is best understood in the context of the

historical trends of modern art within which it arose. Like Futurism and

other modern art movements, Dada both rejected traditional art and took

its own ideology to an extreme. However, instead of promoting any

particular ethos, Dada was decidedly against having any ethos

whatsoever. Borne of the frustrations of artists who had fled to Zurich and

New York during World War I, Dada was their answer to the horrors of the

bloodiest conflict the world had ever witnessed. Viewing the war as a result

of "reason," "objectivity" and other cultural norms, these artists called upon

themselves and others to strike back with chaos, whimsy and anarchy

through a multitude of manifestos, demonstrations and performances.

Duchamp also exemplifies this movement with "Fountain," a urinal with "R

MUTT" inscribed on it. Rejected by the Society of Independent Artists in

1917 for not being art, Duchamp's piece was, like Dada, a bold attempt to

question and undermine the previous mores of the art world.

Metadata:

Title: Bottle-Rack (1914)

Artist: Marcel Duchamp (28 July

1887 – 2 October 1968)

Technique: Readymade.

Location: unknown

Dimensions: not recorded