What is Post Impressionism?
Paul Cezanne thought apples were wonderful. He
loved their juicy sweetness. He once said that he
would astonish Paris with an apple. What do you
think a famous artist could do with an apple that
would beso amazing?
Paul Cezanne was a French artist who had a
sharp eye. He was very good at looking at things
like fruit very closely. He then painted what he
saw in a fresh, new way. He also seemed to become
friends with whatever he painted. He told a story
that fruits liked to have their portraits painted. He
thought that fruits could tell artists about the
orchards they came from, the rain that fed them,
and the sunsets they have seen. Now you will never
look at a piece of fruit in the same way. Paul
Cezanne, the apple lover, started an art style called
Post Impressionism.
This style of art started in Paris. It started soon
after a style called Impressionism. Here is what
happened. In the late 1800s, a group of French
artists called the Impressionists stirred up the world
of art. They broke away from traditional ways of
painting and experimented with light and color. And
just when art critics were getting a bit used to the
Impressionists, artists like Paul Cezanne did something new...again.
Paul Cezanne painted his first Post Impressionist painting in 1880. You
can probably guess what his subject was. It was called Fruit Bowl, Glass,
and Apples. So he did astonish Paris with an apple! This painting was
different from traditional art in several ways. It had dark outlines around the
fruit. The table top seemed to tilt upward. The brush strokes made the
picture seem like it is shimmering. All of this made it a special painting. It is
now in a private collection in Paris.
Another important Post Impressionist was Vincent van Gogh. He said that
he only felt alive when he was painting. He must have loved to paint a lot.
Van Gogh wanted people to know how deeply he felt his emotions. His
famous painting, called The Starry Night, shows a lot of energy and feelings.
The swirling golden stars on the deep blue background look like they are
about to explode. This painting is now in the Museum of Modern Art in New
York. Vincent van Gogh's emotions made him a great painter, but it also
created some problems. He once cut off a chunk of his ear when he had a
fight with another artist, Paul Gauguin.
Paul Gauguin, besides being van Gogh's friend, was another Post
Impressionist. His paintings look very different from van Gogh's. He was a
successful businessman but started painting later in his life. He traveled to
many faraway places so he could find the perfect place to paint. He wanted
to have a simple, pure life. He went to the South Pacific island of Tahiti. He
painted many scenes of happy natives on sandy beaches. It looks like the
perfect place to go for a vacation. He also used outlines like Paul Cezanne.
He used flat, bright colors. He also used many religious symbols, so his
paintings looked mysterious.
Another Post Impressionist who had a mysterious feeling to his art was
Henri Rousseau. He painted a picture of a gypsy in a robe with many colorful
stripes. The gypsy is lying on the sand. A pale moon hangs in the turquoise
sky. It looks like the perfect place to go for an adventure. But the gypsy has
company. A lion with a great prickly mane is sniffing his shoulder.
The Post Impressionists paved the way for the artists of the twentieth
century. Even though they had many ways of showing it, they all expressed
lots of feelings through their art. Paul Cezanne has been called the Father of
Modern Art. Van Gogh showed his intense feeling through starry skies. Paul
Gauguin painted tropical scenes, and Henri Rousseau painted a dreamy
desert.
The next time you eat an apple, you can remember Paul Cezanne and
the Post Impressionists. Before you take a juicy bite, you can even ask it
about its favorite orchard.
What Is Post Impressionism?
1. Who started Post Impressionism?
Gauguin
Cezanne
Monet
Manet
2. What kind of fruit did Cezanne say he
would astound Paris with?
An apple
An orange
A banana
A bunch of grapes
3. What was the name of van Gogh's
famous painting?
Stormy Sky
Rainy Sky
Starry Night
Starry Sky
4. Which place inspired Paul Gauguin's
paintings?
Paris
Boston
New York
Tahiti
5. Where is the island of Tahiti?
In Antarctica
In the Atlantic
In the South Pacific
In the Mediterranean
6. At what time of day did Henri Rousseau's
painting of a desert scene take place?
Night
Sunrise
Sunset
Noon
7. What kind of animal was sniffing at the
gypsy in Rousseau's painting?
A dog
A horse
A lion
A dragon
8. Who is called the father of modern art?
Henri Rousseau
Paul Cezanne
Vincent van Gogh
Paul Gauguin