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Not truly a cohesive movement, and was only coined posthumously by an art critic for the artists involved.
:They rejected the naturalism of Impressionism
:Thick paints, with vivid and sometimes unnatural or arbitrary colors.
:They emphasized geometric forms that were distorted in service of expression.
:Additionally, heavily influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, especially in the case of Van Gogh.
:Pointilism also made its debut during this time, a scientific approach to art. -
Georges Seurat, Bathers at Asnieres,1884,oil on canvas,201.2x298.7cm, National Gallery, London.
:The father of Pointilism made his start here, with vibrant colors all throughout
:A modern scene, and many of the figures are fairly simplified in shape but otherwise full of color.
:Bold lines define everyone and everything in this picture -
Vincent Van Gogh, The Potato Eaters, 1885, oil on canvas, 82x114cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
:One of Vincent's first paintings, the darkness seems to increase abstraction in the painting.
:There's a thick application of paint, and the dark seems to heighten the feeling of desperation for these people.
:However, other colors involved make these people seem sickly, such as the shades of yellow and red in splotches on the face. -
Vincent Van Gogh, The Courtesan, 1887, oil on canvas, 105.4x60.3cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
:Beautiful colors, as is usual for for many post-impressionist paintings, especially Van Gogh.
:However this is a clear example of Japonaiserie, a fascination with the Japanese (Primarily through the Dutch, as they had exclusive trading rights with them) art forms, especially wood-block prints, similar in feel to Orientalism but isn't usually racist, as they were imitating the art forms with care. -
Georges Seurat, Young Woman Powdering Herself, 1888, oil on wood,44.8x36.2x7.6cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.
:Aha! Pointilism! A scientific approach to painting that put dots of colors next to each other to imitate things like a blending of color!
:Vivid colors, and a rejection of Naturalism from Impressionism in the depiction of a modern woman getting ready for the day.
:Her figure is definitely more abstracted than normal, as no human could be in that shape. -
Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889, oil on canvas,73.7x92.1cm,MoMA, New York.
:Ah Van Gogh, his most well known painting full to bursting with color, some of it arbitrary in the case of the moon.
:However, it is thickly and beautifully painted onto the canvas, with each individual brushstroke visible, in the case of the sky especially.
:Forms all around are distorted, but in service to the expression of the artist and the emotion they want to capture. (Sublime wonder perhaps?) -
A heavily Eurocentric trend of white artists taking inspiration from art that came from Africa, Oceania, and Native Americans.
:potentially used to critique European painting techniques
:But employed simpler shapes and more abstract figures to seek connection on a spiritual level with an idealized pre-industry past.
:Many white artists "went native" to fully experience this connection and have illicit relations with native people. -
Paul Gauguin,Manao Tupapau,1892, oil on burlap mounted on canvas,116.05x134.62x13.34cm, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
:This creep painted his child-bride in this position, remniscent of "Olympia", but instead reducing her power by flipping her onto her stomach.
:Her form is mostly flattened, but the background and foreground aren't very merged.
:There's also a spirit of the dead in the background, his wife mentioned them following her since marrying him. -
Paul Gauguin, Two Tahitian Women, 1899, oil on canvas,94x72.4cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
:Both women are shown in native dress, partially nude for the gaze of the viewer.
:They're also seen gathering fruit and unashamed of their nakedness, a potential reference to the Garden of Eden and innocence.
:They both seem especially young, maybe because they are, but it could be another reference to that childlike innocence that's part of Primitivism. -
Paul Cezanne, Table, Napkin, Fruit, 1900,oil on canvas,47x56cm, The Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania.
:Incredible color, with an assortment apples, no arbitrary colors otherwise.
:The background seems to have merged a bit with the foreground however, as it almost looks like the fruits are going to roll right off the table.
:The form of the apples are somewhat simplified, mostly just basic spheres. -
Paul Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire,1905,oil on canvas,73x91.9cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
:Vivid colors abundant!
:Paul repainted this painting several times throughout his life
:Thick paint usage with simple geometric forms, yet still beautiful. -
Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,1907, oil on canvas, 243.9x233.7cm,MoMA, New York.
:Pablo's work here features very basic shapes and bright colors.
:The two women on the right have faces that are reminiscent of African masks, unfortunately without the original context they were held in.
:The figures are fairly abstracted as well, with major flattening of them between the background and foreground. -
Pablo Picasso, Three Women,1908, oil on canvas,200x178cm,State Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg.
:Once again, the faces of these 3 women are all made in the same style of African mask as his others
:The 3 women are all molding into one another, and the only reason they haven't molded into the background is because it's a different color.
:Each of the figures is also incredibly geometric and simplified from a real life figure. -
Pollitt, Ben. “Smarthistory – Paul Gauguin, Spirit of the Dead Watching.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/gauguin-spirit-of-the-dead-watching/.
Harris, Dr. Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Smarthistory – Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’avignon.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/pablo-picasso-les-demoiselles-davignon/.
Cramer, Dr. Charles, and Dr. Kim Grant. “Smarthistory – Pablo Picasso, Three Women.” Smarthistory, 7 Apr. 2020, smarthistory.org/pablo-picasso-three-women/. -
“Paul Gauguin - Two Tahitian Women.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436446. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Harvey, Ben. “Smarthistory – Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/cezanne-mont-sainte-victoire/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
“Table, Napkin, and Fruit (Un Coin de Table) (1895-1900) by Paul Cezanne.” Artchive, www.artchive.com/artwork/table-napkin-and-fruit-un-coin-de-table-paul-cezanne-1895-1900/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025. -
Harris, Dr. Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Smarthistory – Vincent van Gogh, the Potato Eaters.” Smarthistory, 8 Jan. 2020, smarthistory.org/van-gogh-potato-eaters/. Accessed Oct 1, 2025.
Paulson, Dr. Noelle. “Smarthistory – Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/van-gogh-the-starry-night/. Accessed Oct 1, 2025. -
Harris, Dr. Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Smarthistory – Georges Seurat, Bathers at Asnières.” Smarthistory, 27 Nov. 2015, smarthistory.org/georges-seurat-bathers-at-asnieres/.
“Young Woman Powdering Herself | All Works | the MFAH Collections.” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, emuseum.mfah.org/objects/43859/young-woman-powdering-herself. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025. -
“Courtesan: After Eisen - Vincent Van Gogh - Google Arts Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/courtesan-after-eisen-vincent-van-gogh/qQE--vZw_i8aPA?hl=en. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.