Q. Why does Post-Impressionism matter?

1. Paul Cezanne Q. Why does Post-Impressionism matter? The increasingly abstract content was highly influential in the development of modernist painting. Cezanne depicted Mount Sainte-Victoire at least thirty times in oil from the mid-1880’s until his death. The even lighting, still atmosphere, and absence of human activity in the landscape communicate a sense of timeless endurance which is at odds with the Impressionists’ interest in capturing a momentary aspect of the ever-changing world. This work demonstrates the artist’s willfull disregard for the rules of traditional scientific perspective. “The brush strokes, which vary from short, parallel hatchings to sketchy lines to broader swaths of flat color, not only record his “sensations” of nature but also weave every element of the landscape together into a unified surface design” (Stokstad). The illusion of consistent recession into depth is challenged by the inclusion of blues, pinks, and reds in the foreground foliage, which relate the foreground forms to the background mountain and sky, and by the tree branches in the sky which rhyme with the contours of the mountain, making the peak appear nearer and binding it to the foreground plane” (Stokstad, 1031).

2. Q. Why does Post-Impressionism matter? The increasingly abstract content was highly influential in the development of modernist painting. Cezanne depicted Mount Sainte-Victoire at least thirty times in oil from the mid-1880’s until his death. The even lighting, still atmosphere, and absence of human activity in the landscape communicate a sense of timeless endurance which is at odds with the Impressionists’ interest in capturing a momentary aspect of the ever-changing world. This work demonstrates the artist’s willfull disregard for the rules of traditional scientific perspective. “The brush strokes, which vary from short, parallel hatchings to sketchy lines to broader swaths of flat color, not only record his “sensations” of nature but also weave every element of the landscape together into a unified surface design” (Stokstad). The illusion of consistent recession into depth is challenged by the inclusion of blues, pinks, and reds in the foreground foliage, which relate the foreground forms to the background mountain and sky, and by the tree branches in the sky which rhyme with the contours of the mountain, making the peak appear nearer and binding it to the foreground plane” (Stokstad, 1031).

3. Q. Why does Post-Impressionism matter? The increasingly abstract content was highly influential in the development of modernist painting. Cezanne depicted Mount Sainte-Victoire at least thirty times in oil from the mid-1880’s until his death. The even lighting, still atmosphere, and absence of human activity in the landscape communicate a sense of timeless endurance which is at odds with the Impressionists’ interest in capturing a momentary aspect of the ever-changing world. This work demonstrates the artist’s willfull disregard for the rules of traditional scientific perspective. “The brush strokes, which vary from short, parallel hatchings to sketchy lines to broader swaths of flat color, not only record his “sensations” of nature but also weave every element of the landscape together into a unified surface design” (Stokstad). The illusion of consistent recession into depth is challenged by the inclusion of blues, pinks, and reds in the foreground foliage, which relate the foreground forms to the background mountain and sky, and by the tree branches in the sky which rhyme with the contours of the mountain, making the peak appear nearer and binding it to the foreground plane” (Stokstad, 1031).

4. Paul Cezanne The Bridge at Maincy 1879

5. Paul Cezanne The Card Players 1890-1895

6. Paul Cezanne Still Life with Apples and Oranges 1895–1900

7. Paul Cezanne Femme au Chapeau Vert (Woman in a Green Hat. Madame Cézanne) 1894–1895

8. Paul Cezanne Les Grandes Baigneuses 1898–1905