Post-Impressionism
A broad term for the diverse movements that extended and reacted against Impressionism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasizing structure, emotion, and symbolism.
Post-Impressionism is not a single unified movement but a collective term for several highly individual artistic visions that emerged in response to Impressionism. The key figures -- Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, and Georges Seurat -- each took Impressionism's color liberation in a fundamentally different direction.
Cezanne used geometric structure to build form, laying the groundwork for Cubism. Seurat developed Pointillism, applying paint in precise dots of pure color. Gauguin flattened forms and embraced bold non-realistic color for emotional and spiritual expression. Van Gogh pushed color and expressive brushwork to capture raw psychological intensity.
What these artists shared was a rejection of Impressionism's purely optical, surface-level approach. They wanted art to convey meaning, structure, and emotional truth beyond fleeting visual impression.