
{"id":3207,"date":"2026-06-17T19:21:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/chapter\/post-impressionism-and-the-late-19th-century\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:40:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T15:40:01","slug":"post-impressionism-and-the-late-19th-century","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/chapter\/post-impressionism-and-the-late-19th-century\/","title":{"raw":"Post-Impressionism and the late 19th Century","rendered":"Post-Impressionism and the late 19th Century"},"content":{"raw":"<h2 id=\"chapter-overview-and-introduction-10\">Chapter Overview and Introduction<\/h2>\r\nRather than a unified style, Post-Impressionism is considered an era. In the late 19th century, Post-Impressionist artists working primarily in France sought to reform the techniques and ideas of Impressionism. Japanese prints and photography continued to be major stylistic influences for artists in the late 19th century introducing new form languages and ways of representing. In the dynamic context of the late 19<sup>th<\/sup> century, other styles began to emerge, including Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and the Vienna Secession movement.\r\n<h3 id=\"focus-artworks-10\">Focus Artworks<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Georges Seurat,\u00a0<em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2013 1884<\/em>, 1884\u201386, oil on canvas<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Paul Gauguin,\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em>\u00a0(or\u00a0<em>Jacob Wrestling with the Angel<\/em>), 1888, oil on canvas<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Vincent Van Gogh,\u00a0<em>Starry Night,\u00a0<\/em>1889, oil on canvas<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Edvard Munch,\u00a0<em>The Scream,\u00a0<\/em>1893, tempera and pastels on cardboard<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Gustave Eiffel, <em>Eiffel Tower<\/em>, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition, Paris, 1887\u201389, puddled iron<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em>\u200b, 1880-1917, plaster<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>The Basket of Apples<\/em>, c. 1893, oil on canvas<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3 id=\"term-list-10\">Term List<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Post-Impressionism<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Neo-Impressionism<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Pure colors<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Analogous colors<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Complementary colors<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Optical mixing<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Pointillism<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Divisionism<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Synthetism<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Nabis<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Symbolism (the movement)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Vienna Secession<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Art Nouveau<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Fin-de-siecle<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2 id=\"neo-impressionism-style\">Neo-Impressionism: Style<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1000\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a park scene with numerous people relaxing and socializing near a river, characterized by pointillism technique using small dots of color. Key elements include figures with parasols, a black dog, and sailboats on water, with vibrant greens and blues highlighting a sunny day atmosphere.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"687\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nJust a dozen years after the debut of Impressionism, the art critic F\u00e9lix F\u00e9n\u00e9on christened Georges Seurat as the leader of a new group of \u201cNeo-Impressionists.\u201d He did not mean to suggest the revival of a defunct style \u2014 Impressionism was still going strong in the mid-1880s \u2014 but rather a significant modification of Impressionist techniques that demanded a new label.\r\n\r\nF\u00e9n\u00e9on identified greater scientific rigor as the key difference between Neo-Impressionism and its predecessor. Where the Impressionists were \u201carbitrary\u201d in their techniques, the Neo-Impressionists had developed a \u201cconscious and scientific\u201d method through a careful study of contemporary color theorists such as Michel Chevreul and Ogden Rood. [footnote]F\u00e9lix F\u00e9n\u00e9on, \u201cLes Impressionnistes en 1886,\u201d as translated in Linda Nochlin, ed.,\u00a0<em>Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, 1874-1904: Sources and Documents<\/em>\u00a0(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), p. 108.[\/footnote]\r\n<h3 id=\"a-scientific-method\">A scientific method<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1740\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Auguste_Renoir_-_Dance_at_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Auguste_Renoir_-_Dance_at_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a lively outdoor social gathering with people dancing, sitting, and conversing under hanging lanterns and trees. The scene features detailed clothing from the late 19th century, with a mix of dark and light colors, capturing a festive and elegant atmosphere.\" width=\"1740\" height=\"1293\" \/><\/a> Pierre-Auguste Renoir, <em>Bal du moulin de la Galette<\/em>, 1876, oil on canvas, 131 x 175 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pierre-Auguste_Renoir,_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThis greater scientific rigor is immediately visible if we compare Seurat\u2019s Neo-Impressionist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/georges-seurat-a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884\/\"><em>Grande Jatte<\/em><\/a>\u00a0with Renoir\u2019s Impressionist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/auguste-renoir-moulin-de-la-galette\/\"><em>Moulin de la Galette<\/em><\/a>. The subject matter is similar: an outdoor scene of people at leisure, lounging in a park by a river or dancing and drinking on a caf\u00e9 terrace. The overall goal is similar as well. Both artists are trying to capture the effect of dappled light on a sunny afternoon. However, Renoir\u2019s scene appears to have been composed and painted spontaneously, with the figures captured in mid-gesture. Renoir\u2019s loose, painterly technique reinforces this effect, giving the impression that the scene was painted quickly, before the light changed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1976\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Renoir-and-Seurat_1.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Renoir-and-Seurat_1.jpg\" alt=\"Two side-by-side paintings depict social scenes with blurred faces. The left painting shows a lively crowd in dark and light clothing with dynamic brushstrokes, while the right painting features two seated figures under a large umbrella with pointillist dots and muted colors.\" width=\"1976\" height=\"959\" \/><\/a> Left: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, <em>Bal du moulin de la Galette<\/em>, 1876, oil on canvas, 131 x 175 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pierre-Auguste_Renoir,_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>); Right: Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, detail, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBy contrast, the figures in La Grande Jatte are preternaturally still, and the brushwork has also been systematized into a painstaking mosaic of tiny dots and dashes, unlike Renoir\u2019s haphazard strokes and smears. Neo-Impressionist painters employed rules and a method, unlike the Impressionists, who tended to rely on \u201cinstinct and the inspiration of the moment.\u201d [footnote]Paul Signac,\u00a0<em>From Eug\u00e8ne Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism<\/em>\u00a0(1899), as translated in Nochlin, ed., p. 122.[\/footnote]\r\n<h3 id=\"pointillism-color-and-optical-mixture\">Pointillism, color, and optical mixture<\/h3>\r\nOne of these rules was to use only the \u201cpure\u201d colors of the spectrum: violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. These colors could be mixed only with white or with a color adjacent on the color wheel (called \u201canalogous colors\u201d), for example to make lighter, yellower greens or darker, redder violets. Above all, the Neo-Impressionists would not mix colors opposite on the color wheel (\u201ccomplementary colors\u201d), because doing so results in muddy browns and dull grays.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1024\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Color-wheel-copy.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Color-wheel-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Color wheel diagram displaying a continuous spectrum of twelve colors arranged in a circular gradient from green to yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, and back to green. The wheel serves as a visual tool for understanding color relationships and harmonies, featuring evenly spaced color segments without labels or numerical data.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a> The color wheel[\/caption]\r\n\r\nMore subtle color variations were produced by \u201coptical mixture\u201d rather than mixing paint on the palette. For example, examine the grass in the sun. Seurat intersperses the overall field of yellow greens with flecks of warm cream, olive greens, and yellow ochre (actually discolored chrome yellow). Viewed from a distance these flecks blend together to help lighten and warm the green, as we would expect when grass is struck by the yellow-orange light of the afternoon sun. Rather than mixing colors on the palette, the Neo-Impressionists would juxtapose them on the canvas in small dots. Seen from a suitable distance, these dots mix in the eye and achieve the intended effects without losing the chromatic intensity of the original pigments. It was this technique of painting in tiny dots (\u201cpoints\u201d in French) that gave Neo-Impressionism the popular nickname \u201cPointillism\u201d although the artists generally avoided that term since it suggested a stylistic gimmick.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"746\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Seurat-detail.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Seurat-detail.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of a detail of pointillism painting showing a close-up of a leg on a grassy surface with a pink and purple background. The artwork uses small, distinct dots of color to create texture and depth, highlighting the post-impressionist technique.\" width=\"746\" height=\"499\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, detail, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago,\u00a0Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFor the grass in the shadows, Seurat uses darker greens intermixed with flecks of pure blue and even some orange and maroon. These are very unexpected colors for grass, but when we stand back the colors blend optically, resulting in a cooler, darker, and duller green in the shadows. This green is, however, more vibrant than if Seurat had mixed those colors on the palette and applied them in a uniform swath.\r\n\r\nSimilarly, look at the number of colors that make up the little girl\u2019s legs! They include not only the expected pinks and oranges of Caucasian flesh, but also creams, blues, maroons, and even greens. Stand back again, though, and \u201coptical mixture\u201d blends them into a convincing and luminous flesh color, modeled in warm light and shaded by her white dress.\r\n<h3 id=\"the-law-of-contrast\">The law of contrast<\/h3>\r\nPaul Signac, the Neo-Impressionist, wrote about the artist\u2019s need to take into account \u201cthe laws of contrast, of gradation, and of irradiation.\u201d These \u201claws\u201d refer to principles of color interaction discovered by nineteenth-century theorists such as Michel Chevreul, Ogden Rood, and Charles Henry, which seemed to promise that the entirety of art could be subsumed to rigorous scientific principles.\r\n\r\nChevreul\u2019s most famous contribution to color theory is the \u201claw of simultaneous contrast,\u201d which takes account of how our perception of color changes relative to adjacent colors. Look at how different the same color swatch of blue appears against a field of bright green versus a field of dull orange, for example.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1429\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image272.jpeg\" alt=\"A side-by-side comparison of two colored squares, each containing a smaller blue square centered inside. The left square has a bright green background, while the right square has a brown background, highlighting contrast differences between the two color combinations.\" width=\"1429\" height=\"713\" \/> Demonstration of the effect of simultaneous contrast[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe general form of the law of simultaneous contrast is that two juxtaposed colors will appear maximally different from one another. Thus the blue appears both darker and duller when it is seen in a field of light, high-chroma yellow-green on the left, and it appears lighter and higher in chromatic intensity when seen against a field of dark, dull orange on the right.\r\n\r\nViewed against a white field, a swatch of color will actually gain a \u201chalo\u201d of its complementary color as a result of this effect. For example, if you gaze at the green swatch without focusing for several seconds, you will begin to see magenta edges emerge around it.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1429\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Georges_Seurat_-_Models_Poseuses_-_BF811_-_Barnes_Foundation-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image273.jpeg\" alt=\"Pointillist painting of three nude female models two are seated and one is standing. The models are surrounded by clothes and props on the floor and a copy of Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte hangs in the background. \" width=\"1429\" height=\"1151\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>Models (Poseuses)<\/em>, 1886-88, oil on canvas, 200 x 250 cm (Barnes Foundation, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Georges_Seurat_-_Les_Poseuses.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSeurat records this effect in his painting\u00a0<em>The Models<\/em>. Notice how the seated model on the right has a dark, violet-blue halo around the light orange flesh of her back, and a light halo against the dark blue-violet shadowed side of her stomach and upper arm. This natural \u201cirradiation\u201d effect is exaggerated by Seurat in order to help intensify colors and values by juxtaposition with their opposites through simultaneous contrast.\r\n<h3 id=\"color-perception-color-harmony-color-expression\">Color perception, color harmony, color expression<\/h3>\r\nNeo-Impressionists used color theory to help duplicate perceptual effects. Rather than the term \u201cpointillism,\u201d Signac\u2019s preferred term \u201cdivision\u201d refers to the way the artist isolates all the component influences that contribute to a given perceived color. Neo-Impressionists employed divisionism to keep their paintings as luminous as possible while recording how perceived color is affected by factors such as the temperature of the light, reflected color, and simultaneous contrast with adjacent colors.\r\n\r\nThe aims of the Neo-Impressionists went beyond perceptual accuracy to also include the purely aesthetic effects of color: how they can be used to create pleasing color harmonies based on certain principles. Signac\u2019s \u201claws of contrast and gradation\u201d evokes two of these principles: \u201cgradation\u201d is the aesthetic harmony produced by gentle transitions between largely analogous colors, and \u201ccontrast\u201d is produced by the sharper juxtaposition of opposites. Later works by Signac seem more concerned with such harmonies than with perceptual accuracy.\r\n\r\nThe Neo-Impressionists also recognized that color has expressive effects. Signac claimed that \u201cjoy\u201d is evoked by paintings with dominant warm and light tones, while \u201csorrow\u201d is evoked by dominant cool and dark colors. [footnote]Paul Signac,\u00a0<em>From Eugene Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism<\/em>, as translated in Linda Nochlin, editor,\u00a0<em>Impressionism and Post-Impressionism<\/em>,\u00a0<em>1874\u20131904: Sources and Documents<\/em>\u00a0(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), 121.[\/footnote] Ideally, a Neo-Impressionist painting will take into account all three qualities: perceptual accuracy, formal harmony, and emotional expression. The artists believed that all of these were susceptible to rigorous scientific laws that were just being recognized and systematized in their period.\r\n<h3 id=\"compositional-rigor\">Compositional rigor<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1959\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Seurat-study.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Seurat-study.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a riverside park scene with numerous people relaxing, walking, and socializing under trees on a sunny day. Pointillist style uses small, distinct dots of color to create detailed figures, boats on water, and shaded areas, highlighting leisure and natural beauty.\" width=\"1959\" height=\"1332\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, Study for <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, 1884, oil on canvas, 70.5 x 104.1 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/437658\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Neo-Impressionists also applied scientific rigor to composition and design. Seurat\u2019s friend and fellow painter Paul Signac asserted,\r\n\r\n\u201cThe Neo-Impressionist \u2026 will not begin a canvas before he has determined the layout \u2026 Guided by tradition and science, he will \u2026 adopt the lines (directions and angles), the chiaroscuro (tones), [and] the colors (tints) to the expression he wishes to make dominant.\u201d Paul Signac,\u00a0<em>Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism<\/em>, in Nochlin, ed., p. 121.\r\n\r\nNumerous studies for\u00a0<em>La Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0testify to how carefully Seurat decided on each figure\u2019s pose and arranged them to create a rhythmic recession into the background. This practice is very different from the Impressionists, who emphasized momentary views (impressions) by creating intentionally haphazard-seeming compositions, such as Renoir\u2019s\u00a0<em>Moulin de la Galette<\/em>.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DP375450_cropped-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/DP375450_cropped-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a nighttime street scene with a central figure standing on a platform, surrounded by onlookers and performers. The artwork features muted colors, a row of illuminated lamps above, and a background with architectural elements and silhouetted trees.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1712\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>Parade de cirque<\/em>, 1887-88, oil on canvas, 99.7 x 149.9 cm ((<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/437654\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSeurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Parade de cirque<\/em>\u00a0is even more rigorously geometrical. It is dominated by horizontal and vertical lines, and the just slightly off-rhythmic spacing of the figures and architectural structure creates a syncopated grid. Scholars have debated whether the composition is based on the Golden Section, a geometric ratio that was identified by ancient Greek mathematicians as being inherently harmonious.\r\n<h3 id=\"systematized-expression\">Systematized expression<\/h3>\r\nThe Neo-Impressionists also attempted to systematize the emotional qualities conveyed by their paintings. Seurat defined three main expressive tools at the painter\u2019s disposal: color (the hues of the spectrum, from warm to cool), tone (the value of those colors, from light to dark), and line (horizontal, vertical, ascending, or descending). Each has a specific emotional effect:\r\n\r\n\u201cGaiety of tone is given by the dominance of light; of color, by the dominance of warmth; of line, by lines above the horizontal. Calmness of tone is given by an equivalence of light and dark; of color by an equivalence of warm and cold; and of line, by horizontals. Sadness of tone is given by the dominance of dark; of color, by the dominance of cold colors; and of line, by downward directions.\u201d Georges Seurat, Letter to Maurice Beaubourg, August 28, 1890, in Nochlin, ed., p. 114 (translation modified for clarity).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2109\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Georges_Seurat_1889-90_Le_Chahut_Kro%CC%88ller-Mu%CC%88ller_Museum-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Georges_Seurat_1889-90_Le_Chahut_Kroller-Muller_Museum-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicts a lively dance scene with two female ballerinas in pink tutus and two male dancers performing high kicks on stage, accompanied by musicians playing string instruments in foreground. Pointillism technique creates textured, vibrant atmosphere with warm tones and dynamic composition emphasizing movement and coordination between dancers and orchestra.\" width=\"2109\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>Le Chahut<\/em>, 1889-90, oil on canvas, 170 x 141 cm (Kr\u00f6ller-M\u00fcller Museum, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Georges_Seurat,_1889-90,_Le_Chahut,_oil_on_canvas,_170_x_141_cm,_Kr%C3%B6ller-M%C3%BCller_Museum.jpeg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSeurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Chahut<\/em>\u00a0(Can-Can) seems designed to exemplify these rules, employing mostly warm, light colors and ascending lines to convey a mood of gaiety appropriate to the dance.\r\n\r\nThe Neo-Impressionist style had a relatively brief heyday; very few artists carried on the project into the 20th century. However, a great many artists experimented with it and took portions of its method into their own practice, from van Gogh to Henri Matisse. More broadly, the Neo-Impressionist desire to conform art-making to universal laws of perception, color, and expression echoes throughout Modernism, in movements as diverse as Symbolism,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/purism\/\">Purism<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/de-stijl-part-i-total-purity\/\">De Stijl<\/a>, and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/the-bauhaus-an-introduction\/\">Bauhaus<\/a>.\r\n\r\nSo far we have concentrated on the style of Neo-Impressionism. Next, we will examine the subject matter favored by the artists, and discuss its relation to the social and political context of the late-nineteenth century.\r\n<h2 id=\"neo-impressionism-subject-matter\">Neo-Impressionism: Subject Matter<\/h2>\r\nFirst we examined the style of the movement, concentrating on the artists\u2019 attempt to systematize a method for painting according to scientific laws of perception, color, composition, and expression. Here, we will turn to the kind of subject matter typically chosen by the Neo-Impressionists and discuss its relation to late-nineteenth century social and political history.\r\n<h3 id=\"scenes-of-leisure\">Scenes of leisure<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1249\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Georges_Seurat_1891_Le_Cirque_The_Circus_oil_on_canvas_185_x_152_cm_Muse%CC%81e_dOrsay.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Georges_Seurat_1891_Le_Cirque_The_Circus_oil_on_canvas_185_x_152_cm_Musee_dOrsay.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a circus scene with performers and audience members in a pointillist style using soft, dotted brushstrokes. Central elements include a white horse with a yellow-clad acrobat balancing on its back, surrounded by other performers in vibrant costumes and a detailed crowd in tiered seating.\" width=\"1249\" height=\"1560\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>The Circus<\/em>, 1890-91, oil on canvas, 186 x 152 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Georges_Seurat,_1891,_Le_Cirque_(The_Circus),_oil_on_canvas,_185_x_152_cm,_Mus%C3%A9e_d%27Orsay.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a> in the United States)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFor the most part, the Neo-Impressionists continued to depict the kinds of subjects preferred by the Impressionists: landscapes and leisure scenes. In addition to his famous painting of people lounging in the park on the island of La Grande Jatte, many of Georges Seurat\u2019s paintings portrayed entertainments such as the circuses and music halls that contributed to Paris\u2019s reputation for mass spectacles in the late nineteenth century.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Golfe_Juan_by_Paul_Signac_1863-1935_-_IMG_7171-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Golfe_Juan_by_Paul_Signac_1863-1935_-_IMG_7171-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Painting of a coastal landscape featuring a winding path bordered by orange cliffs and green trees, leading to a calm sea with sailboats. Pointillism technique uses vibrant dots of blue, green, orange, and pink to create texture and depth, highlighting natural scenery and serene atmosphere.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2059\" \/><\/a> Paul Signac, <em>Golfe Juan<\/em>, 1896, oil on canvas, 65.4 x 81.3 cm (Worcester Art Museum, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Golfe_Juan_by_Paul_Signac_(1863-1935)_-_IMG_7171.JPG\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nPaul Signac\u2019s landscape paintings similarly reveal a concentration on leisure scenes. A sailor himself, Signac painted dozens of harbor scenes dominated by the sails and masts of small pleasure craft. The Mediterranean coast of France, where Signac spent his summers, had a reputation both for the quality of its light \u2014 a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/neo-impressionist-color-theory\/\">key interest<\/a>\u00a0of the Neo-Impressionists generally \u2014 and for a laid-back, sun-filled lifestyle. In Signac\u2019s canvases, the bright colors favored by the Neo-Impressionists perfectly complement this reputation.\r\n<h3 id=\"social-inequality\">Social inequality<\/h3>\r\nAlthough these subjects suggest carefree pleasure, there are undertones of social criticism in some Neo-Impressionist paintings. Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Circus<\/em>\u00a0shows the strict class distinctions in Paris both by location, with the wealthier patrons seated in the lower tiers, and by dress and posture, which gets markedly more casual the further the spectators are from ringside.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1000\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a park scene with numerous people relaxing and socializing near a river, characterized by pointillism technique using small dots of color. Key elements include figures with parasols, a black dog, and sailboats on water, with vibrant greens and blues highlighting a sunny day atmosphere.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"687\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nOne contemporary critic also remarked that the rigidity of the poses in Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>La\u00a0Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0reminded him of \u201cthe stiffness of Parisian leisure, prim and exhausted, where even recreation is a matter of striking poses.\u201d [footnote]Henri F\u00e8vre, \u201cL\u2019Exposition des Impressionnistes,\u201d in\u00a0<em>\u00c9tude sur le Salon de 1886 et sur l\u2019exposition des impressionnistes<\/em>\u00a0(Paris, 1886), p. 43 (our translation).[\/footnote] As we examine the characters in\u00a0<em>La Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0in detail, there are some surprising inclusions and juxtapositions. In the left foreground, a working-class man in shirtsleeves overlaps a much more formally-dressed middle-class gentleman in a top hat holding a cane. A trumpet player in the middle-ground plays directly into the ears of two soldiers standing at attention in the background. A woman with an ostentatiously eccentric pet monkey on the right and another fishing on the left have been interpreted as prostitutes, one of whom is casting out lures for clients. Between them, a toy lap-dog with a pink ribbon leaps toward a rangy hound whose coat is as black as that of the bourgeois gentleman with the cane.\r\n\r\nDespite these provocative juxtapositions and overlaps, very few of the figures actually seem to be interacting with each other; each is lost in their own world. Unlike the mood of convivial good-fellowship between the classes and sexes in Auguste Renoir\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/auguste-renoir-moulin-de-la-galette\/\"><em>Moulin de la Galette<\/em><\/a>, Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0sets up a dynamic of alienation and tension.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1800\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/seurat-sm.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/seurat-sm.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting people relaxing and swimming by a riverside on a sunny day, showcasing leisure activities and calm water with boats in the background. The scene features individuals in various poses, including a man lying down with a dog, swimmers in the water, and others sitting on grassy banks, rendered in soft, pointillist brushstrokes with muted colors.\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1180\" \/><\/a> Georges Seurat, <em>Bathers at Asni\u00e8res<\/em>, 1884, oil on canvas, 201 x 300 cm (National Gallery of Art, London) (photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2jMkRay\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<em>La Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0forms an implicit pair with an earlier painting of the same size by Seurat,\u00a0<em>Bathers at Asni\u00e8res<\/em>. Asni\u00e8res was an industrial suburb of Paris, just across the river Seine from La Grande Jatte. Unlike that island\u2019s largely middle-class patrons in their top hats and bustle skirts, here we see more working-class and lower-middle-class figures in shirtsleeves and straw hats or bowlers. In the background the smokestacks of the factories at Clichy serve as a reminder of labor, even during the men\u2019s leisure time.\r\n\r\nAs in the painting of La Grande Jatte, all of the figures are isolated in their own world, but a sense of implicit tension is raised by their insistent gaze across the river at their wealthier compatriots. A middle-class couple being rowed by a hired oarsman in a boat with a prominent French flag further adds to the class tensions raised by the work.\r\n<h3 id=\"political-revolutionaries\">Political revolutionaries?<\/h3>\r\nPerhaps it was this odd sense of unresolved class tensions that caused Signac to suggest that even Seurat\u2019s paintings of \u201cthe pleasures of decadence\u201d are about exposing \u201cthe degradation of our era\u201d and bearing witness to \u201cthe great social struggle that is now taking place between workers and capital.\u201d [footnote]Paul Signac, \u201cImpressionists and Revolutionaries,\u201d\u00a0<em>La R\u00e9volte<\/em>, June 13-19, 1891, as translated in Nochlin, ed., p. 124.[\/footnote] Seurat\u2019s own politics were unclear, but Signac was a social anarchist, as were several other Neo-Impressionists, including Camille Pissarro and his son Lucien, as well as Maximilian Luce, Theodore van Rysselberghe, Henri Cross, and the critic Felix F\u00e9n\u00e9on. Social anarchists reject a strong centralized government in which the state owns the means of production and guides the economy; they believe that social ownership and cooperation will emerge naturally in a stateless society.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1401\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/In_the_Time_of_Harmony_the_Golden_Age_is_Not_Passed..._by_Paul_Signac.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/In_the_Time_of_Harmony_the_Golden_Age_is_Not_Passed._by_Paul_Signac.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a vibrant coastal scene with people engaging in various activities such as gardening, playing, and socializing, rendered in pointillism style with small, distinct dots of color. Key elements include a large tree on the left, a sailing ship in the background, and figures spread across a sunlit landscape featuring lush greenery and a rooster in the foreground.\" width=\"1401\" height=\"1056\" \/><\/a> Paul Signac, <em>In the Time of Harmony<\/em>, 1893-95, oil on canvas, 297 x 396 cm (H\u00f4tel de Ville, Montreuil, France, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_Signac,_1893-95,_Au_temps_d%E2%80%99harmonie,_oil_on_canvas,_310_x_410_cm.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSignac\u2019s\u00a0<em>In the Time of Harmony<\/em>\u00a0was originally titled\u00a0<em>In the Time of Anarchy<\/em>, but political controversy forced a change. Between 1892 and 1894 there were eleven bombings in France by anarchists, and a very public trial of suspected anarchists that included F\u00e9n\u00e9on and Luce.\r\n\r\nSignac\u2019s painting was intended to show that, despite its current revolutionary tactics, the aim of anarchism was a peaceful utopia. In the foreground, workers lay down their tools for a picnic of figs and champagne while others play at boules. A couple in the center contemplates a posy, while behind them a man sows and women hang laundry. Although the mood is timeless \u2014 with different clothing, this painting could be a Classical pastoral scene \u2014 in the distance modern mechanical farm equipment reinforces the painting\u2019s subtitle, \u201cThe Golden Age is Not in the Past, it is in the Future.\u201d\r\n\r\nRelatively few Neo-Impressionist paintings are so overtly allegorical and political. Signac argued that it was the Neo-Impressionists\u2019 technique, not any directly socialist or anarchist subject matter, that was most in tune with the political revolutionaries. The Neo-Impressionists\u2019 rigorous appeal to hard science, rather than dead conventions, along with their uncompromising will to \u201cpaint what they see, as they feel it,\u201d will help \u201cgive a hard blow of the pick-axe to the old social structure\u201d and promote a corresponding social revolution. [footnote]ibid., p. 124.[\/footnote]\r\n<h2 id=\"georges-seurat-a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884\">Georges Seurat,\u00a0<em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2013 1884<\/em><\/h2>\r\nGeorges Seurat developed the Neo-Impressionist style of Pointillism, which reflected his interest in scientific optics and the surface of the painting.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wNB9Vm6MoDQ\r\n<h2 id=\"paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\">Paul Gauguin,\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon\u00a0(or\u00a0Jacob Wrestling with the Angel)<\/em><\/h2>\r\nGauguin\u2019s famous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\/\"><em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em><\/a> depicts the profound religious faith of the Breton people. A group of women in the foreground file out of church, having just heard a sermon on Jacob wrestling an angel (Genesis 32:24-32). So great is their faith that they literally \u201csee\u201d the Biblical scene in front of the church, right next to a prosaically grazing cow.\r\n\r\nThe drawing is crude, the anatomy of the women\u2019s faces is almost childish, the flat planes of their clothing utterly fail to convey a sense of the bodies underneath, and the red ground stands up like a wall rather than receding into space. Far from incompetent, however, Gauguin\u2019s simplified, even somewhat crude, technique was a conscious choice.\r\n\r\nGauguin advocated for both simplifying and intensifying what he saw. Gauguin advised artists to paint from memory rather than directly from nature, because memory automatically discards extraneous detail and distills perceptions down to their essence. This process of distilling multiple, complex elements into a simplified whole is what the group meant when they called themselves \u201cSynthetists\u201d at the Caf\u00e9 des Arts exhibition. Insisting on the process of synthesis was a deliberate contrast to the highly scientific and analytic process of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/introduction-to-neo-impressionism-part-i\/\">Neo-Impressionism<\/a>. Whereas the Neo-Impressionists worked to analyze or carefully break down all the separate components that make up complex color sensations and then rendered them in innumerable tiny dots, the Synthetists distilled them into broad areas of pure color.\r\n\r\nThe Synthetist style was sometimes called \u201cCloisonnism,\u201d after the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/profzucker\/40542349943\">cloisonn\u00e9 technique<\/a>\u00a0used to decorate objects by melting colored enamel between wire outlines. It also has similarities to Japanese prints, which were popular at the time, as well as Medieval colored woodcuts and stained glass. Synthetism was somewhat antithetically associated with both sensual\/decorative qualities and religious\/spiritual qualities, but whatever its genesis or purpose, it forms a sharp contrast to both the Academic naturalist style of artists like Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret and the Neo-Impressionist style of Signac.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y5lhKvKvWPg\r\n<h2 id=\"the-nabis-and-symbolism\">The Nabis and Symbolism<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1993\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Serusier_-_the_talisman-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Serusier_-_the_talisman-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a vibrant autumn landscape with a river reflecting yellow, green, and blue foliage alongside a small house. Bold color blocks and abstract shapes create a striking contrast between natural elements and water reflections.\" width=\"1993\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a> Paul S\u00e9rusier, <em>The Talisman<\/em>, 1888, oil on panel, 27 x 21 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Serusier_-_the_talisman.JPG\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn the fall of 1888 Paul S\u00e9rusier spent an afternoon with Paul Gauguin in Brittany painting a small landscape on a cigar box lid. He followed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/pont-aven-synthetism\/\">Gauguin\u2019s instructions<\/a>\u00a0to emphasize the colors he saw by using paint directly from the tube with little or no mixing. The result was a patchwork design of vivid colors only vaguely suggestive of its subject, trees on a riverbank.\r\n\r\nLater in Paris S\u00e9rusier showed the landscape to fellow art students at the Acad\u00e9mie Julian who saw it as an artistic revelation. They named the painting \u201cThe Talisman\u201d and formed a group called the Nabis, after the Hebrew word for prophet. In addition to S\u00e9rusier the group included Pierre Bonnard, \u00c9douard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Paul Ranson, and Ker-Xavier Roussel, as well as others. In the 1890s the Nabis were one of the most innovative Post-Impressionist groups working in Paris.\r\n<h3 id=\"spiritual-concerns\">Spiritual concerns<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"605\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Se%CC%81rusier-Portrait-of-Paul-Ranson.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Serusier-Portrait-of-Paul-Ranson.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a figure holding a staff with a decorative top and pointing to an open book with hieroglyphic-like text. Warm tones dominate, with detailed patterns on the collar and staff, suggesting a scholarly or religious context.\" width=\"605\" height=\"814\" \/><\/a> Paul S\u00e9rusier, <em>Portrait of Paul Ranson in Nabi costume<\/em>, 1890, oil on canvas, 61 x 46.5 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Portr%C3%A4t_Paul_Ranson.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLike Gauguin and many other artists of the period, the Nabis were engaged with the spiritual and mystical concerns associated with\u00a0fin-de-si\u00e8cle\u00a0Symbolism. S\u00e9rusier\u2019s\u00a0<em>Portrait of Paul Ranson in Nabi Costume<\/em>\u00a0documents their early\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/abstract-art-and-theosophy\/\">interest in esoterica and occult ceremonies<\/a>. The simplified style S\u00e9rusier used derived from Gauguin\u2019s Synthetism but was only one of the styles associated with Symbolism. It forms a marked contrast to the academic naturalism used by many fin-de-si\u00e8cle Symbolist painters such as Jean Delville, who depicted the Symbolist writer Jos\u00e9phin P\u00e9ladan in robes and accompanied by ceremonial objects and symbols, much as S\u00e9rusier portrayed Paul Ranson.\r\n<h3 id=\"a-widespread-attitude\">A widespread attitude<\/h3>\r\nSymbolism began as a literary movement with the 1886 publication of Jean Mor\u00e9as\u2019 Symbolist manifesto in the Paris newspaper\u00a0<em>Le Figaro<\/em>. It quickly became a kind of catch-all term for a widespread fin-de-si\u00e8cle aesthetic attitude that embraced the spiritual significance of art while rejecting science and objectivity. Symbolist artists favored idealism over realism, suggestion over specificity, and subjective expression over objective representation. They employed a variety of styles and approaches, including both traditional naturalism and modern techniques associated with Post-Impressionism. Many of the painters who exhibited at the popular Symbolist Salon of the Rose + Cross organized by P\u00e9ladan in the 1890s favored a highly-detailed naturalism. These included Delville and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/khnopff-i-lock-my-door-upon-myself\/\">Fernand Khnopff<\/a>, whose dream-like images became prominent examples of Symbolist art.\r\n<h3 id=\"conveying-meaning-through-color-and-design\">Conveying meaning through color and design<\/h3>\r\nNabi painters used the modern Synthetist style of Gauguin, which emphasized abstract form, to convey spiritual meaning as well as a means of suggestion and personal expression. Maurice Denis was the most prominent art theorist associated with the Nabis, and one of his early statements became a famous touchstone of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/formalism-i-formal-harmony\/\">formalist modernism<\/a>: \u201cA painting \u2014 before being a battle horse, a nude woman, or some anecdote \u2014 is essentially a flat surface covered with colors arranged in a certain order.\u201d[footnote]Maurice Denis, \u201cDefinition of neo-traditionism\u201d (1890), in Jean-Paul Bouillon, ed.,\u00a0<em>Le Ciel et l\u2019arcadie<\/em>\u00a0(Paris: Hermann, 1993), p. 5 (authors\u2019 translation).[\/footnote] Emphasis on color and surface design is a primary characteristic of Nabi painting, which conveys emotion and meaning through abstract formal relations.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"406\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image284.png\" alt=\"Painting depicting a group of dark, shadowy figures reaching toward a central figure carrying a large wooden cross, set against a muted landscape with yellow flowers. The composition contrasts light and dark areas, emphasizing struggle and burden, with silhouetted figures and a hazy background suggesting a somber, symbolic scene.\" width=\"406\" height=\"515\" \/> Maurice Denis, <em>Climbing to Calvary<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 41 x 32.5 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Maurice_Denis,_1889,_Le_Calvaire_(Climbing_to_Calvary),_oil_on_canvas,_41_x_32.5_cm,_Mus%C3%A9e_d%27Orsay.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn Denis\u2019\u00a0<em>Climbing to Calvary<\/em>\u00a0the simple dark shapes of black-robed nuns rise diagonally towards a large cross carried by a barely-defined red Christ. One nun reaches out to embrace Christ at the top of the hill, and a strip of bright sky tops off the scene. The basic forms convey the combination of mourning and hope that Christians associate with Christ\u2019s death and resurrection. The scene is timeless, containing elements of the present (the nuns) and the past (Mary embracing Christ on the way to the Crucifixion, the dark silhouette of a crowd of Roman soldiers over the hill). The figure of Christ suggests both the nuns\u2019 spiritual vision of Christ carrying the cross, similar to Gauguin\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\/\"><em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em><\/a>, and a Good Friday procession re-enacting the Crucifixion.\r\n<h3 id=\"different-approaches\">Different approaches<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1000\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Death_and_the_Gravedigger_-_C._Schwabe.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Death_and_the_Gravedigger_-_C._Schwabe.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a dark-winged angel kneeling beside a man emerging from a grave in a snowy cemetery. The scene features intricate details like bare trees, gravestones, and a somber color palette.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1409\" \/><\/a> Carlos Schwabe, <em>Death and the Gravedigger,<\/em> c. 1895, watercolor and gouache on paper, 75 x 55.5 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Death_and_the_Gravedigger_-_C._Schwabe.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nA comparison of Denis\u2019 painting with Carlos Schwabe\u2019s\u00a0<em>Death and the Gravedigger<\/em>\u00a0shows two very different approaches to Symbolist painting. In Denis\u2019 work, the forms are reduced and simplified to mostly flat color areas. Basic symbols, shapes and their relationships convey meaning: the Christian cross, black for mourning, red for the blood of sacrifice, the upward movement towards light and resurrection.\r\n\r\nSchwabe uses similar compositional devices to convey the theme of death and resurrection; both paintings show darkness and symbolic death at the bottom of the painting, light and resurrection rise above. Unlike Denis, however, Schwabe employs a traditional naturalistic technique that records many details based on careful observation. The figures and location are so specific that they suggest the illustration of a particular scene in a story. Denis by contrast depicts a more generalized, anonymous image of death and Christian resurrection.\r\n<h3 id=\"symbolism-without-symbols\">Symbolism without symbols<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Gauguin-Sermon.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Gauguin-Sermon-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a group of Breton women in traditional white coifs gathered around a table outdoors under a large tree, with a red background and one angelic figure and one man in the upper right. The scene contrasts dark clothing and white headwear with vivid red ground, highlighting cultural attire and a mystical element.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2046\" \/><\/a> Paul Gauguin, Vision after the Sermon, 1888, oil on canvas, 72.2 x 91 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgalleries.org\/art-and-artists\/artists\/paul-gauguin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Galleries of Scotland<\/a>, Edinburgh, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_Gauguin_137.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a> in the United States)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSymbolism is perhaps easiest to recognize in artworks that present known symbols, such as the Christian cross, or overtly symbolic meanings through recognizable themes such as youth, old age, love, death, etc. In addition to Denis\u2019\u00a0<em>Climbing to Calvary<\/em>, many well-known Post-Impressionist works use conventional symbolism in this way, including Gauguin\u2019s\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em>. Symbolism was also, however, associated with both a conception of art as subjective expression and the capacity of art to suggest profound meanings indirectly. As a result, many artworks that lack obvious symbols or clear symbolic significance are also associated with Symbolism.\r\n\r\nThe subjects of Nabi paintings varied from the overt, often religious, symbolism of Maurice Denis to scenes of contemporary urban and suburban life depicted by Pierre Bonnard and \u00c9douard Vuillard. Whatever their subject, though, the Nabis relied on the formal qualities of color, pattern, and surface design to enhance the dreamy moods and profound meanings of Symbolist art. Their emphasis on the capacity of formal elements to convey meaning and emotion was an early contribution to the developments that led to abstract art.\r\n<h2 id=\"vincent-van-gogh-the-potato-eaters\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Potato Eaters<\/em><\/h2>\r\nVincent Van Gogh was prominent among the Post-Impressionists for his modernist translation of the observed world through expressive use of form and color.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_HinBYpuaiA\r\n<h2 id=\"vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em><\/h2>\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ndwOgL3ZgCQ\r\n<h3 id=\"a-rare-night-landscape\">A rare night landscape<\/h3>\r\nThe curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains, and sky, the brilliantly contrasting blues and yellows, the large, flame-like cypress trees, and the thickly layered brushstrokes of Vincent van Gogh\u2019s<em>\u00a0The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0are ingrained in the minds of many as an expression of the artist\u2019s turbulent state-of-mind. Van Gogh\u2019s canvas is indeed an exceptional work of art, not only in terms of its quality but also within the artist\u2019s oeuvre, since in comparison to favored subjects like irises, sunflowers, or wheat fields, night landscapes are rare. Nevertheless, it is surprising that\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0has become so well known. Van Gogh mentioned it briefly in his letters as a simple \u201cstudy of night\u201d or \u201cnight effect.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2048\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/50998161524_248fdb53a5_k.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/50998161524_248fdb53a5_k.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph showing two people standing in an art gallery observing Vincent van Gogh's &quot;Starry Night&quot; painting. The painting features swirling blue and yellow night sky over a quiet village, framed and mounted on a white wall with wooden flooring and minimalistic barriers around.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" \/><\/a> Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art; <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kGwUEY\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nHis brother Theo, manager of a Parisian art gallery and a gifted connoisseur of contemporary art, was unimpressed, telling Vincent, \u201cI clearly sense what preoccupies you in the new canvases like the village in the moonlight\u2026 but I feel that the search for style takes away the real sentiment of things\u201d (813, 22 October 1889). Although Theo van Gogh felt that the painting ultimately pushed style too far at the expense of true emotive substance, the work has become iconic of individualized expression in modern landscape painting.\r\n<h3 id=\"technical-challenges\">Technical challenges<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1280\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1280px-Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpeg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/1280px-Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpeg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a nighttime riverside scene with a star-filled sky and reflections of yellow lights on water. Features two figures standing on a shore in foreground, with textured brushstrokes creating movement in sky and water.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"989\" \/><\/a> Vincent van Gogh, <em>Starry Night over the Rhone<\/em>, 1888, oil on canvas, 72 x 92 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.musee-orsay.fr\/en\/artworks\/la-nuit-etoilee-78696\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nVan Gogh had had the subject of a blue night sky dotted with yellow stars in mind for many months before he painted\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0in late June or early July of 1889. It presented a few technical challenges he wished to confront\u2014namely the use of contrasting color and the complications of painting en plein air (outdoors) at night\u2014and he referenced it repeatedly in letters to family and friends as a promising if problematic theme. \u201cA starry sky, for example, well \u2013 it\u2019s a thing that I\u2019d like to try to do,\u201d Van Gogh confessed to the painter Emile Bernard in the spring of 1888, \u201cbut how to arrive at that unless I decide to work at home and from the imagination?\u201d (596, 12 April 1888).\r\n\r\nAs an artist devoted to working whenever possible from prints and illustrations or outside in front of the landscape he was depicting, the idea of painting an invented scene from imagination troubled Van Gogh. When he did paint a first example of the full night sky in\u00a0<em>Starry Night over the Rh\u00f4ne<\/em>\u00a0(1888, oil on canvas, 72.5 x 92 cm, Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris), an image of the French city of Arles at night, the work was completed outdoors with the help of gas lamplight, but evidence suggests that his second\u00a0<em>Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0was created largely if not exclusively in the studio.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1166\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightFull.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightFull.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a night sky filled with swirling stars, a bright crescent moon, and dynamic cloud patterns above a quiet village with a prominent church steeple. The composition features bold, textured brushstrokes in vibrant blues, yellows, and greens, highlighting movement and emotional intensity.\" width=\"1166\" height=\"933\" \/><\/a> Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art; photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kHVz6b\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"location\">Location<\/h3>\r\nFollowing the dramatic end to his short-lived collaboration with the painter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gauguin-self-portrait\/\">Paul Gauguin<\/a>\u00a0in Arles in 1888 and the infamous breakdown during which he mutilated part of his own ear, Van Gogh was ultimately hospitalized at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, an asylum and clinic for the mentally ill near the village of Saint-R\u00e9my. During his convalescence there, Van Gogh was encouraged to paint, though he rarely ventured more than a few hundred yards from the asylum\u2019s walls.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1280\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Chevet_de_Saint-Paul_de_Mausole.jpeg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Chevet_de_Saint-Paul_de_Mausole.jpeg\" alt=\"Photograph of a historic stone building with a tiled roof situated behind a vibrant lavender field in full bloom. The scene features deep purple lavender rows in the foreground, a large tree to the left, and a clear blue sky with scattered clouds above.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"960\" \/><\/a> Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-R\u00e9my, France (<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Chevet_de_Saint-Paul_de_Mausole.JPG\">Emdee<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBesides his private room, from which he had a sweeping view of the mountain range of the Alpilles, he was also given a small studio for painting. Since this room did not look out upon the mountains but rather had a view of the asylum\u2019s garden, it is assumed that Van Gogh composed\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0using elements of a few previously completed works still stored in his studio, as well as aspects from imagination and memory. It has even been argued that the church\u2019s spire in the village is somehow more Dutch in character and must have been painted as an amalgamation of several different\u00a0church spires that van Gogh had depicted years earlier while living in the Netherlands.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"410\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightChurch.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightChurch.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of van Gogh's Starry Night depicting a church with a tall steeple under a swirling, textured night sky in shades of blue and green. The artwork uses thick, expressive brushstrokes to create dynamic movement and contrast between the solid structure of the church and the vibrant sky.\" width=\"410\" height=\"786\" \/><\/a> Church (detail), Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm. (The Museum of Modern Art, New York; photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kQ3Dms\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nVan Gogh also understood the painting to be an exercise in deliberate stylization, telling his brother, \u201cThese are exaggerations from the point of view of arrangement, their lines are contorted like those of ancient woodcuts\u201d (805, c. 20 September 1889). Similar to his friends Bernard and Gauguin, van Gogh was experimenting with a style inspired in part by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/printmaking-europe-1400%e2%88%921800\/\">medieval woodcuts<\/a>, with their thick outlines and simplified forms.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1231\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightStars.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightStars.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of van Gogh's Starry Night featuring swirling blue and yellow brushstrokes representing a night sky with stars and a crescent moon. The composition highlights dynamic movement through textured, circular patterns and vibrant color contrasts.\" width=\"1231\" height=\"622\" \/><\/a> Stars (detail), Vincent van Gogh,<em> The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art, New York; photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kHVzmM\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"the-colors-of-the-night-sky\">The colors of the night sky<\/h3>\r\nOn the other hand,\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0evidences Van Gogh\u2019s extended observation of the night sky. After leaving Paris for more rural areas in southern France, Van Gogh was able to spend hours contemplating the stars without interference from gas or electric city street lights, which were increasingly in use by the late nineteenth century. \u201cThis morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big\u201d 777, c. 31 May \u2013 6 June 1889). As he wrote to his sister Willemien van Gogh from Arles,\r\n\r\n\u201cIt often seems to me that the night is even more richly colored than the day, colored with the most intense violets, blues and greens. If you look carefully, you\u2019ll see that some stars are lemony, others have a pink, green, forget-me-not blue glow. And without laboring the point, it\u2019s clear to paint a starry sky it\u2019s not nearly enough to put white spots on blue-black.\u201d (678, 14 September 1888)\r\n\r\nVan Gogh followed his own advice, and his canvas demonstrates the wide variety of colors he perceived on clear nights.\r\n<h3 id=\"invention-remembrance-and-observation\">Invention, remembrance and observation<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1208\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightImpasto.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightImpasto.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up photograph of an oil painting showing thick, textured brushstrokes in swirling patterns of blue, yellow, and white. The composition highlights dynamic movement and vibrant color contrasts, suggesting a portion of a sky or water scene with energetic, layered paint application.\" width=\"1208\" height=\"772\" \/><\/a> Impasto and brush strokes (detail), Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art, New York;\u00a0photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kHVzov\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)<\/a>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nArguably, it is this rich mixture of invention, remembrance, and observation combined with Van Gogh\u2019s use of simplified forms, thick impasto, and boldly contrasting colors that has made the work so compelling to subsequent generations of viewers as well as to other artists. Inspiring and encouraging others is precisely what Van Gogh sought to achieve with his night scenes. When\u00a0<em>Starry Night over the Rh\u00f4ne<\/em>\u00a0was exhibited at the Salon des Ind\u00e9pendants, an important and influential venue for vanguard artists in Paris, in 1889, Vincent told Theo he hoped that it \u201cmight give others the idea of doing night effects better than I do.\u201d\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>, his own subsequent \u201cnight effect,\u201d became a foundational image for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/expressionism-intro\/\">Expressionism<\/a>\u00a0as well as perhaps the most famous painting in Van Gogh\u2019s oeuvre.\r\n<h2 id=\"edvard-munch-the-scream\">Edvard Munch,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em><\/h2>\r\nA Norwegian painter and printmaker, Edvard Munch\u2019s Symbolist exploration of emotions and interpersonal relationships anticipated Expressionism.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"810\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Edvard_Munch_-_The_Scream_-_Google_Art_Project.jpeg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image294.jpeg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a figure with an agonized expression standing on a bridge under a swirling, dramatic sky with vibrant orange, red, and blue hues. The composition includes two shadowy figures in the background and flowing, wavy lines emphasizing emotional intensity and existential dread.\" width=\"810\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a> Edvard Munch, <em>The Scream<\/em>, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSecond only to Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/leonardo-mona-lisa\/\"><em>Mona Lisa<\/em><\/a>, Edvard Munch\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0may be the most iconic human figure in the history of Western art. Its androgynous, skull-shaped head, elongated hands, wide eyes, flaring nostrils and ovoid mouth have been engrained in our collective cultural consciousness; the swirling blue landscape and especially the fiery orange and yellow sky have engendered numerous theories regarding the scene that is depicted. Like the\u00a0<em>Mona Lisa<\/em>,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0has been the target of dramatic thefts and recoveries, and in 2012 a version created with pastel on cardboard sold to a private collector for nearly $120,000,000 making it the second highest price achieved at that time by a painting at auction.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"870\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ScreamComparison-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image295.jpeg\" alt=\"A comparison chart displays four versions of Edvard Munch's &quot;The Scream,&quot; showcasing variations in color, style, and medium. Each panel highlights differences in background hues, figure details, and line work, illustrating the evolution and reinterpretation of the iconic artwork.\" width=\"870\" height=\"281\" \/><\/a> Four versions of The Scream from left to right: Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893, oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard, 73.5 x 91 cm <span style=\"text-align: initial\">(<\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasjonalmuseet.no\/en\/collection\/object\/NG.M.00939\">The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, Oslo); Edvard Munch,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"text-align: initial\">The Scream<\/em><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, 1895, pastel on board, 59 x 79 cm (private collection, Source: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:The_Scream_Pastel.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, License: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">); Edvard Munch,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"text-align: initial\">The Scream<\/em><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, 1895 (signed 1896), lithograph (MoMA, photo:\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/DhGqPx\">Steven Zucker<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">); Edvard Munch,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"text-align: initial\">The Scream<\/em><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm(<\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, Source: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, License: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">)<\/span>[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"semi-autobiographical\">Semi-autobiographical<\/h3>\r\nConceived as part of Munch\u2019s semi-autobiographical cycle \u201cThe Frieze of Life,\u201d\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u2019s composition exists in four forms: the first painting, done in oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard (1893, National Gallery of Art, Oslo), two pastel examples (1893, Munch Museum, Oslo and 1895, private collection), and a final tempera painting (1910, National Gallery of Art, Oslo). Munch also created a lithographic version in 1895. The various renditions show the artist\u2019s creativity and his interest in experimenting with the possibilities to be obtained across an array of media, while the work\u2019s subject matter fits with Munch\u2019s interest at the time in themes of relationships, life, death, and dread.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"870\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cropped_sky_scream-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image296.jpeg\" alt=\"Sky (detail), Edvard Munch, The Scream depicting a swirling, vibrant sunset sky with bold red, orange, and yellow horizontal streaks above a dark, curving landscape and water. Two silhouetted figures stand on the left foreground, emphasizing a sense of anxiety and emotional intensity.\" width=\"870\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a> Sky (detail), Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFor all its notoriety,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0is in fact a surprisingly simple work, in which the artist utilized a minimum of forms to achieve maximum expressiveness. It consists of three main areas: the bridge, which extends at a steep angle from the middle distance at the left to fill the foreground; a landscape of shoreline, lake or fjord, and hills; and the sky, which is activated with curving lines in tones of orange, yellow, red, and blue-green. Foreground and background blend into one another, and the lyrical lines of the hills ripple through the sky as well. The human figures are starkly separated from this landscape by the bridge. Its strict linearity provides a contrast with the shapes of the landscape and the sky. The two faceless upright figures in the background belong to the geometric precision of the bridge, while the lines of the foreground figure\u2019s body, hands, and head take up the same curving shapes that dominate the background landscape.\r\n<h3 id=\"a-scream-through-nature\">A scream through nature<\/h3>\r\nThe screaming figure is thus linked through these formal means to the natural realm, which was apparently Munch\u2019s intention. A passage in Munch\u2019s diary dated January 22, 1892, and written in Nice, contains the probable inspiration for this scene as the artist remembered it:\r\n\r\n\u201cI was walking along the road with two friends\u2014the sun went down\u2014I felt a gust of melancholy\u2014suddenly the sky turned a bloody red. I stopped, leaned against the railing, tired to death\u2014as the flaming skies hung like blood and sword over the blue-black fjord and the city\u2014My friends went on\u2014I stood there trembling with anxiety\u2014and I felt a vast infinite scream [tear] through nature.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe figure on the bridge\u2014who may even be symbolic of Munch himself\u2014feels the cry of nature, a sound that is sensed internally rather than heard with the ears. Yet, how can this sensation be conveyed in visual terms?\r\n\r\nMunch\u2019s approach to the experience of synesthesia, or the union of senses (for example the belief that one might taste a color or smell a musical note), results in the visual depiction of sound and emotion. As such,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0represents a key work for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/europe-19th-century\/symbolism-and-art-nouveau\/\">Symbolist movement<\/a>\u00a0as well as an important inspiration for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/expressionism-intro\/\">Expressionist movement<\/a>\u00a0of the early twentieth century. Symbolist artists of diverse international backgrounds confronted questions regarding the nature of subjectivity and its visual depiction. As Munch himself put it succinctly in a notebook entry on subjective vision written in 1889, \u201cIt is not the chair which is to be painted but what the human being has felt in relation to it.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"628\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/screaming_cropped-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image297.jpeg\" alt=\"Detail of Edvard Munch, The Scream depicting a figure with an agonized expression standing on a bridge against a swirling, colorful sky. The artwork uses bold, wavy lines and contrasting colors to convey intense emotion and psychological distress.\" width=\"628\" height=\"916\" \/><\/a> Screaming figure (detail), Edvard Munch, <em>The Scream<\/em>, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"a-remembered-sensation\">A remembered sensation<\/h3>\r\nSince\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u2019s first appearance, many critics and scholars have attempted to determine the exact scene depicted, as well as inspirations for the screaming figure. For example, it has been asserted that the unnaturally harsh colors of the sky may have been due to volcanic dust from the eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia, which produced spectacular sunsets around the world for months afterwards. This event occurred in 1883, ten years before Munch painted the first version of\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>. However, as Munch\u2019s journal entry\u2014written in the south of France but recalling an evening by Norway\u2019s fjords also demonstrates\u2014<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0is a work of remembered sensation rather than perceived reality. Art historians have also noted the figure\u2019s resemblance to a Peruvian mummy that had been exhibited at the World\u2019s Fair in Paris in 1889 (an artifact that also inspired the Symbolist painter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gauguin-where-do-we-come-from-what-are-we-where-are-we-going\/\">Paul Gauguin<\/a>) or to another mummy displayed in Florence. While such events and objects are visually plausible, the work\u2019s effect on the viewer does not depend on one\u2019s familiarity with a precise list of historical, naturalistic, or formal sources. Rather, Munch sought to express internal emotions through external forms and thereby provide a visual image for a universal human experience.\r\n<h2 id=\"symbolism-at-the-vienna-secession-gustav-klimts-the-kiss\">Symbolism at the Vienna Secession: Gustav Klimt\u2019s <em>The Kiss<\/em><\/h2>\r\nThe Vienna Secession was a group of artists who rejected academic conservatism, embracing a more modern experimental approach and new aesthetic forms. A founder of the Vienna Secession, Gustav Klimt is known for his incorporation of Art Nouveau and Symbolist style in his works.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BRUOACBkFRg\r\n<h2 id=\"art-nouveau\">Art Nouveau<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1700\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Tassel_House_stairway.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Tassel_House_stairway.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of an ornate spiral staircase inside a historic building, featuring intricate wrought iron railings and wooden steps. Warm lighting highlights decorative columns and patterned flooring, emphasizing architectural elegance and vintage design elements.\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1440\" \/><\/a> Victor Horta, Tassel House, Brussels, 1893 (photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Tassel_House_stairway.JPG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Henry Townsend<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\">CC0<\/a>))[\/caption]\r\n\r\nVictor Horta\u2019s Tassel House in Brussels is one of the earliest examples of the Art Nouveau style. Horta designed the building\u2019s architecture and every detail of the interior decoration and furnishings, making the house into a\u00a0<em>Gesamtkunstwerk<\/em>, or total art work in multiple media. The repeated use of organically curved, undulating lines \u2014 often called whiplash lines \u2014 unifies the design, repeating in the floor tiles, wall painting, ironwork, and even in the structure of the spiraling staircase and surging entryways.\r\n<h3 id=\"a-modern-style-using-modern-materials\">A modern style using modern materials<\/h3>\r\nArt Nouveau artists and designers created a completely new style of decoration, rejecting the widespread nineteenth-century practice of copying historical, and especially Classical and Medieval, forms. While each designer invented their own decorative motifs, organic, often plant-based, forms and the whiplash line became hallmarks of Art Nouveau design, appearing in multiple media and contexts.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1477\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_25_rue_Ame%CC%81ricaine_1060_Brussels-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_25_rue_Americaine_1060_Brussels-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of an ornate wrought iron support structure holding up a translucent, segmented glass ceiling. The ceiling features curved yellow and white glass panels with decorative iron hooks and rivets along the metal framework.\" width=\"1477\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a> Victor Horta, Horta House, detail of column (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_(25,_rue_Am%C3%A9ricaine,_1060,_Brussels).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_(25,_rue_Am%C3%A9ricaine,_1060,_Brussels).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">public domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nArt Nouveau architects and designers also embraced modern building materials, notably cast iron. Cast iron is both stronger and more flexible than traditional wood or stone and allows for much thinner supports, like the slender columns in Horta\u2019s own house. Iron support structures also made it possible to create curved facades with large windows, which became prominent elements in many Art Nouveau buildings, including Horta\u2019s Maison du Peuple.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Maison_du_Peuple-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Maison_du_Peuple-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photograph of a large, multi-story building with extensive glass windows and ornate architectural details, situated on a cobblestone street corner. The structure features a mix of brick and stone materials, with visible scaffolding or poles on the roof, indicating possible construction or renovation.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1806\" \/><\/a> Victor Horta, Maison du Peuple, Brussels, 1899 (demolished) (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Maison_du_Peuple_of_the_P.O.B._(Belgian_Workers_Party)_(destroyed,_Brussels),_exterior_3_(cropped).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\">CC0 1.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"an-international-style\">An international style<\/h3>\r\nArt Nouveau is only one of many names given to this international\u00a0fin-de-si\u00e8cle\u00a0style, which had many regional variations. The term (French for \u201cNew Art\u201d) derives from La Maison de L\u2019Art Nouveau, the Paris art gallery run by Siegfried Bing, who was a major promoter of the new style, as well as of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/japonisme\/\">Japonisme<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/nabis-decorative-art\/\">Nabis<\/a>. In addition to marketing individual objects, Bing commissioned artists and designers to create model rooms in his gallery to display Art Nouveau ensembles that included furniture, wallpaper, carpets, and paintings.\r\n\r\nIn addition to Paris, major centers of the modern fin-de-si\u00e8cle style included Brussels, Glasgow, Munich (where it was known as Jugendstil or Youth Style), and Vienna (where it was called Secession Style). Barcelona\u2019s Catalan Modernism, especially\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gaudi-sagrada-familia\/\">Anton\u00ed Gaud\u00ed<\/a>\u2018s architecture and decorative designs, is also closely related to Art Nouveau.\r\n<h3 id=\"luxury-design-for-the-masses\">Luxury design for the masses<\/h3>\r\nFrench Art Nouveau was linked to government-supported efforts to expand the decorative arts and associated craft industries. Private residences and luxury objects were the focus for many Art Nouveau designers, including Emile Gall\u00e9, who made both decorative glass and furniture. Despite the close association of Art Nouveau with luxury items, the style is also apparent in urban design, public buildings, and art for the masses. Horta\u2019s Maison du Peuple was the center for the socialist Belgian Workers\u2019 Party, and among the most famous examples of Art Nouveau style are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/hector-guimard-cite-entrance-metropolitain-paris\/\">Hector Guimard\u2019s entrances to the Paris Metro<\/a>, the city\u2019s new public transportation system.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Paris-metro-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Paris-metro-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of an Art Nouveau-style entrance to a Paris M\u00e9tropolitain subway station, featuring a green wrought-iron canopy with a glass roof and a yellow &quot;Metropolitain&quot; sign. Close-up detail shows ornate ironwork with floral and organic motifs, highlighting intricate craftsmanship and decorative elements typical of early 20th-century design.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1031\" \/><\/a> Left: Hector Guimard, Porte Dauphine, Metro entrance, 1900, Paris (photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Entrances_to_Porte_Dauphine_metro_station#\/media\/File:Entr%C3%A9e_M%C3%A9tro_Porte_Dauphine_Paris_6.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chabe01<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>); Right: Hector Guimard, Metro ironwork, detail (photo:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/dalbera\/2568008425\/in\/photolist-4UVHrk-dNho9u-31RCgf-33LgEV-4YMPqE-bd8738-7QRYoF-xqLjrR-7QVfZo-31RCfS-aypzQU-dNhnGN-8YfCGY-HBDD5b-j6vjaF-6bLQi6-qBXi55-72Rb4v-UE8RXn-37Kx6o-39ausy-f9iSd6-PGDZdW-6j1fuG-6jYEwV-2CqzzK-avcHQW-77JEzT-7gBZ71-dHf4b1-9Nn6q6-4UVHmP-6PAWg3-6PAWid-pi3nom-6bQXC5-4jctCx-4QnFmV-e76V3K-bUbdS-8X852w-792oMj-6bLPre-8X572M-6bQZLq-64iLGe-NMn8Ek-8X563p-JfNXm1-8X894J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0Jean-Pierre Dalb\u00e9ra<\/a>, (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nLike Horta\u2019s designs for the Tassel House, Guimard used cast iron and invented stylized motifs based on plant forms. Industrially fabricated in modular units, the cast iron was relatively cheap, but it was painted green to resemble oxidized copper, a much more expensive material that adds a sense of luxury to the elaborate entrances. The use of modules made it possible to individualize each station while maintaining stylistic unity throughout the city.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2066\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Posters.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Posters.jpg\" alt=\"Three vintage poster illustrations feature performing women in theatrical or dance settings. The first poster shows a dancer in a red skirt kicking over a large instrument, the second depicts a woman in a flowing white dress surrounded by floral and decorative Art Nouveau elements, and the third highlights a dancer in a yellow dress with red flowers against a dark background with bold red text.\" width=\"2066\" height=\"1077\" \/><\/a> Left: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, 1893, lithograph, 129.1 x 93.5 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/333993\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>, New York, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>); Center: Alphonse Mucha,\u00a0<em>La Dame aux Camelias<\/em>, 1896, lithograph, 207.3 x 72.2 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/00652382\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Library of Congress<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a> in the United States); Right: Jules Ch\u00e9ret,\u00a0<em>La Lo\u00efe Fuller<\/em>, 1893, lithograph, 123.2 x 87.6 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moma.org\/collection\/works\/5615\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MoMA<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Cheret,_Jules_-_La_Loie_Fuller_(pl_73).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nArt Nouveau designs were also widely visible in the advertising posters that decorated Paris.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-at-the-moulin-rouge\/\">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec<\/a>, Alphonse Mucha, and Jules Ch\u00e9ret depicted famous fin-de-si\u00e8cle performers such as Jane Avril, Sarah Bernhardt, and Lo\u00efe Fuller. Their posters stylized the female body and used sinuous whiplash lines, decorative plant forms, and flattened abstract shapes to create vivid decorative images.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1395\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Tropon.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Tropon.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage advertisement poster featuring stylized flamingos in shades of orange, yellow, and purple with bold black outlines. Text highlights &quot;TROPOON&quot; and &quot;L'aliment le plus concentr\u00e9,&quot; emphasizing a concentrated food product with an Art Nouveau design and intricate line patterns.\" width=\"1395\" height=\"2000\" \/><\/a> Henry van de Velde, Tropon poster, 1899, lithograph, 44 x 30 3\/8 inches, (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moma.org\/collection\/works\/6661\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MoMA<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Poster,_Tropon_est_l%27aliment_le_plus_concentr%C3%A9_(Tropon,_the_most_concentrated_food_supplement),_1898_(CH_18707967).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn a poster for the nutritional supplement Tropon, Henry van de Velde explored the decorative and suggestive potential of non-representational forms, using the whiplash line to create an abstract design of organic shapes that suggest both plant-like growth and dancing figures in the rising diagonal of repeated forms.\r\n<h3 id=\"a-holistic-approach\">A holistic approach<\/h3>\r\nVan de Velde worked in many different media, designing buildings, interiors, furniture, and decorative objects as well as posters. In the Continental Havana Company building in Berlin he used sinuous curves to integrate the shelving, doorways, alcoves, furniture, and walls into a unified organic whole.\r\n\r\nThe English designer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/william-morris-and-philip-webb-red-house\/\">William Morris<\/a>\u00a0and the English Arts and Crafts Movement that he initiated were a key influence on van de Velde and many other designers associated with Art Nouveau. Morris promoted a holistic approach to interior decoration as well as advocating for the social importance of design and high quality craftwork. In 1907 van de Velde founded the School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, Germany, which promoted similar values. It later became the famous modern art and design school, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/the-bauhaus-an-introduction\/\">Bauhaus<\/a>, which maintained the tradition of integrating art, craft, and design for the improvement of society.\r\n<h3 id=\"glasgow-style\">Glasgow style<\/h3>\r\nCurving whiplash lines are a common characteristic of French and Belgian Art Nouveau, but architects and artists working in Glasgow developed a more rectilinear style exemplified by the Willow Tea Room. Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald designed every component of the tea room, including the architecture, stained glass, decorative panels, furniture, cutlery, and staff uniforms. In keeping with Art Nouveau artists elsewhere they developed original stylized design motifs based on plant forms, but theirs were rigidly contained within elongated rectangles rather than expanding into supple curves.\r\n<h3 id=\"vienna-secession-style\">Vienna Secession style<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Karlsplatz_Stadtbahn_Station_von_Otto_Wagner_4-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Karlsplatz_Stadtbahn_Station_von_Otto_Wagner_4-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of Karlsplatz pavilion, a historic Art Nouveau building with a large arched window and ornate gold and green decorative elements. The structure features symmetrical design, floral patterns, and the name &quot;KARLSPLATZ&quot; displayed above green double doors.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1764\" \/><\/a> Otto Wagner, Karlsplatz Station, Vienna, 1899 (photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Karlsplatz_Stadtbahn_Station_von_Otto_Wagner_4.JPG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B\u00f6hringer Friedrich<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a> AT)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Viennese Secession style also combined strict geometric forms with stylized organic decoration. Like Guimard\u2019s entrances to the Paris Metro,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/otto-wagner-postal-savings-bank\/\">Otto Wagner<\/a>\u2019s stations for Vienna\u2019s public transportation system displayed the city\u2019s modernity and wealth in their iron construction and their luxurious gold sunflower-motif decoration.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1429\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image308.jpeg\" alt=\"Photograph of Secession Building in Vienna, an example of Art Nouveau architecture featuring a white facade with gold accents and a distinctive golden dome made of laurel leaves. The building serves as an exhibition hall for contemporary art, with visible inscriptions and ornamental details highlighting its cultural significance.\" width=\"1429\" height=\"953\" \/> Joseph Maria Olbrich, Secession Building, Vienna, 1898 (photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Secession01.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Steiner<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nJoseph Maria Olbrich\u2019s Secession Building proclaimed the goals of the rebellious group of artists who seceded from the Austrian art establishment in order to embrace avant-garde modern art. They displayed their work inside Olbrich\u2019s building as well as hosting international exhibitions of modern art. The stylized decoration of the building is based on plant forms, while the structure emphasizes the harmonious balance of basic geometric shapes.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1429\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Gustav_Klimt_-_Beethovenfries_Die_Ku%CC%88nste_Paradieschor_und_Umarmung_Tafel_8_rechte_Langwand_-_5987-8_-_O%CC%88sterreichische_Galerie_Belvedere-scaled.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image309.jpeg\" alt=\"Gustav Klimt, Choir of Angels from the Beethoven Frieze, featuring a three part scene with nude female figures on the far right with curved bodies and rounded brown hair with the central panel of seven angelic figures. On the fright, a nude couple embraces in front of a gold and patterned background. \" width=\"1429\" height=\"642\" \/><\/a> Gustav Klimt, Choir of Angels from the <em>Beethoven Frieze<\/em>, 1902, casein, stucco, gold, and semi-precious stones on plaster (Secession Building, Vienna, <a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/art-nouveau\/?__cf_chl_f_tk=0SYomY40iF7OXjuh4syJ5EpKZ5a8UwNqWYdfkjq68mY-1783094523-1.0.1.1-TTE8sM.wPwQwX1q4hORjoa9h9XZzN1zYFkomjMA8L4c\">Smarthistory<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe leader of the Vienna Secession, Gustav Klimt, decorated the interior walls of the main exhibition hall with a long decorative mural dedicated to Ludwig von Beethoven. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gustav-klimt-beethoven-frieze\/\"><em>Beethoven Frieze<\/em><\/a>\u00a0combines naturalistic representation of the human body, stylized figures, and complex abstract patterns in a variety of materials. Gold leaf and semi-precious stones enhance the decorative quality of the surface, making it a dramatic union of luxurious ornament and figurative painting.\r\n\r\nArt Nouveau was fashionable for only a brief period around the year 1900, but the movement was part of a long-term modern trend that rejected historicism and Academicism and embraced new materials and original forms. In the modern period artists and designers increasingly recognized that the health and well-being of society and all its members were supported and enhanced by well-designed objects, buildings, and spaces. The unified designs of Art Nouveau presaged the innovations of the Bauhaus as well as architects such as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/seeing-america-2\/fallingwater-sa\/\">Frank Lloyd Wright<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/le-corbusier-villa-savoye\/\">Le Corbusier<\/a>.\r\n<h2 id=\"architecture-in-the-post-impressionist-period-gustave-eiffel-the-eiffel-tower\">Architecture in the Post-Impressionist Period: Gustave Eiffel, <em>The Eiffel Tower<\/em><\/h2>\r\nAn engineer whose early work was centered on bridge manufacture, Gustave Eiffel would tackle increasingly ambitious and demanding projects. An icon of Paris, the Eiffel Tower exhibits the achievements of engineering and science in late 19th-century France.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vurh8_SO6_c\r\n<h2 id=\"sculpture-in-the-post-impressionist-period-auguste-rodin-the-gates-of-hell\">Sculpture in the Post-Impressionist Period: Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em><\/h2>\r\nWho decides when a work of art is finished? An initial reaction may have you saying that the answer is the artist, but what happens when the artist\u2019s painting or sculpture goes against preconceived notions of what constitutes a \u201ccompleted\u201d work of art? Auguste Rodin, a French artist who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was more interested in rough, blemished representations\u00a0of the human body\u00a0than idealized forms. He painstakingly immersed himself in his projects, sometimes spending years in order to develop\u00a0a work of art,\u00a0regardless of the public\u2019s response. His sculpture was often judged harshly\u00a0by the public and by\u00a0critics (sculpture was in some ways a more conservative tradition than was painting).\r\n\r\nWhen the building\u00a0that stood\u00a0on what is now the site of the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay in Paris was destroyed by fire during the Commune in 1871, plans were drawn up to replace it with a museum of decorative arts. Rodin won the competition to design a great set of doors for its entryway. Although the museum was never built, Rodin continued to work on the doors. They became an ongoing project; a grand stage for his sculptural ideas. It\u2019s fitting that the plaster of this great unfinished sculpture,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em>, is now on display at the d\u2019Orsay, the former railway terminal that was built on this site instead of the museum of decorative arts and that, by lovely coincidence, was converted into one of the world\u2019s great art museums.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bfv9T1lSO2U\r\n<h2 id=\"the-painting-of-paul-c\u00e9zanne-an-introduction\">The painting of Paul C\u00e9zanne, an introduction<\/h2>\r\nCategorizing the style of Paul C\u00e9zanne\u2019s (Say-zahn) artwork is problematic. As a young man he left his home in Provence in the south of France in order to join with the avant-garde in Paris. He was successful, too. He fell in with the circle of young painters that surrounded Manet, he had been a childhood friend of the novelist, Emile Zola, who championed Manet, and he even showed at the first\u00a0Impressionist exhibition, held at Nadar\u2019s studio in 1874.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"553\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image310.jpeg\" alt=\"A painting depicting two men in a dimly lit room, one seated on a chair and the other reclining on a bed. The scene features muted colors with a focus on the contrast between the dark clothing of the seated man and the light, loose garment of the man on the bed, suggesting a moment of conversation or contemplation.\" width=\"553\" height=\"450\" \/> Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>Paul Alexis reading to \u00c9mile Zola<\/em>, 1869-1870, oil on canvas (S\u00e3o Paulo Museum of Art, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_Alexis_Reading_a_Manuscript_to_Zola,_by_Paul_Cezanne,_1869-1870,_oil_on_canvas_-_Museu_de_Arte_de_S%C3%A3o_Paulo_-_DSC07151.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"out-of-place-in-paris\">Out of place in Paris<\/h3>\r\nHowever, C\u00e9zanne didn\u2019t quite fit in with the group. Whereas many other painters in\u00a0this circle were concerned primarily with the effects of light and reflected color, \u00a0C\u00e9zanne remained deeply committed to form. Feeling out of place in Paris, he left after a relatively short period and returned to his home in Aix-en-Provence. He would remain in his native Provence for most of the rest of his life. He worked in the semi-isolation afforded by the country, but was never really out of touch with the breakthroughs of the avant-garde.\r\n<h3 id=\"working-outdoors-but-with-a-different-purpose\">Working outdoors, but with a different purpose<\/h3>\r\nLike the Impressionists, he often worked outdoors directly before his subjects. But unlike the Impressionists, C\u00e9zanne used color, not as an end in itself, but rather like line, as a tool with which to construct form and space. Ironically, it is the Parisian avant-garde that would eventually seek him out. In the first years of the 20th century, just at the end of C\u00e9zanne\u2019s life, young artists would make a pilgrimage to Aix, to see the man who would change painting.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2000\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/The-Montagne-Sainte-Victoire-with-a-Large-Pine-Banner.jpeg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/The-Montagne-Sainte-Victoire-with-a-Large-Pine-Banner.jpeg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a rural landscape with a large tree in the foreground and a mountain in the background. The scene features soft, muted colors with visible brushstrokes highlighting fields, buildings, and a distant aqueduct under a partly cloudy sky.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1446\" \/><\/a> Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine<\/em>, c. 1887, oil on canvas, 66.8 x 92.3 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/courtauld.ac.uk\/highlights\/montagne-sainte-victoire-with-large-pine\/\">The Courtauld Gallery, London<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Mont_Sainte-Victoire_with_Large_Pine,_by_Paul_C%C3%A9zanne.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"influence\">Influence<\/h3>\r\nPaul C\u00e9zanne is often considered to be one of the most influential painter of the late 19th century. Pablo Picasso readily admitted his great debt to the elder master. Similarly, Henri Matisse once called C\u00e9zanne, \u201c\u2026the father of us all.\u201d For many years The Museum of Modern Art in New York organized its permanent collection so as to begin with an entire room devoted to C\u00e9zanne\u2019s painting. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also gives over an entire large room to him. Clearly, many artists and curators consider him enormously important.\r\n<h2 id=\"paul-c\u00e9zanne-mont-sainte-victoire\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>Mont Sainte-Victoire<\/em><\/h2>\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KJuYXFHvRaY\r\n<h2 id=\"paul-c\u00e9zanne-the-basket-of-apples\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>The Basket of Apples<\/em><\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CezanneBasket.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/CezanneBasket-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Painting of a still life scene featuring a basket filled with apples, a dark bottle, a plate with breadsticks, and a white cloth draped over a wooden table. The composition uses muted colors and soft brushstrokes to highlight textures and natural forms, emphasizing everyday objects arranged in a balanced layout.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2045\" \/><\/a> Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>The Basket of Apples<\/em>, c. 1893, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/artworks\/111436\/the-basket-of-apples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Art Institute of Chicago<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:BotMultichillT\">BotMultichillT<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_-_The_Basket_of_Apples_-_1926.252_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn Jacques-Louis David\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/neoclassicism-an-introduction\/\">Neoclassical era<\/a>, still life was considered the least important subject type. Only minor artists bothered with what was then seen as the most purely decorative and trivial of painting subjects. The hierarchy of subjects went roughly from the most important\u2014historical and religious themes (often very large in scale); to important\u2014portraiture (usually of moderate scale); less important\u2014landscape &amp; genre (themes of common life, usually of modest scale); to least important\u2014still life (generally small canvases).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1432\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image313.jpeg\" alt=\"Still life painting featuring a silver pitcher, ornate golden goblet, and a blue patterned bowl filled with lemons and a peeled lemon segment. Dark background contrasts with reflective metal surfaces and vibrant yellow fruit, emphasizing texture and light.\" width=\"1432\" height=\"1630\" \/> Willem Kalf, <em>Still Life with a Silver Ewer and a Porcelain Bowl<\/em>, 1660, oil on canvas, 73.8 x 65.2 cm (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/FebwKd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steven Zucker<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"a-hopeless-subject\">A hopeless subject<\/h3>\r\nThere had been one significant historical exception. In the 17th century in Northern Europe and particularly in the Netherlands,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/kalf-ewer\/\">still life<\/a>\u00a0blossomed. But this period was brief and had little impact in France other than in the work of Jean Sim\u00e9on Chardin. So why would C\u00e9zanne turn so often to this discredited subject?\r\n\r\nIt was the very fact that still life was so neglected that seems to have attracted C\u00e9zanne to it. So outmoded was the iconography (symbolic forms and references) in still life that this rather hopeless subject was freed of virtually all convention. Here was a subject that offered extraordinary freedom, a blank slate that gave C\u00e9zanne the opportunity to invent meaning unfettered by tradition. And C\u00e9zanne would almost single-handedly revive the subject of still life making\u00a0it an important subject for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/picasso-still-life-with-chair-caning\/\">Picasso<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/matisse-goldfish\/\">Matisse<\/a>, and others in the 20th century.\r\n\r\nThe image at the top of this page looks simple enough: a wine bottle, a basket tipped up to expose a bounty of fruit inside, a plate of what are perhaps stacked cookies or small rolls, and a tablecloth both gathered and draped. Nothing remarkable, at least not until one begins to notice the odd errors in drawing. Look, for instance, at the lines that represent the close and far edge of the table. I remember an old student of mine remarking to the class, \u201cI would never hire him as a carpenter!\u201d What she had noticed was the odd stepping of a line that we expect to be straight.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CezanneCookieDetail.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/CezanneCookieDetail-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of Paul C\u00e9zanne, The Basket of Apples painting of a still life featuring a white plate stacked with several \u00e9clairs, surrounded by apples and other round fruits on a dark surface. The artwork uses muted, blended colors with visible brushstrokes, emphasizing texture and form in a post-impressionist style.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1754\" \/><\/a> Cookies (detail), Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>The Basket of Apples<\/em>, c. 1893, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/artworks\/111436\/the-basket-of-apples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Art Institute of Chicago<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:BotMultichillT\">BotMultichillT<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_-_The_Basket_of_Apples_-_1926.252_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"purposeful-errors\">Purposeful errors<\/h3>\r\nBut that is not all that is wrong. The table seems to be too steeply tipped at the left, so much so that the fruit is in danger of rolling off it. The bottle looks tipsy and the cookies are very odd indeed. The cookies stacked below the top layer seem as if they are viewed from the side, but at the same moment, the two on top seem to pop upward as if we were looking down at them. This is an important key to understanding the questions that we\u2019ve raised about C\u00e9zanne\u2019s pictures so far.\r\n\r\nLike \u00c9douard Manet, from whom he borrowed so much, C\u00e9zanne was prompted to rethink the value of the various illusionistic techniques that he had inherited from the masters of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/primer-italian-renaissance-art\/\">Renaissance<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/a-beginners-guide-to-baroque-art\/\">Baroque<\/a>\u00a0eras. This was due in part to the growing impact of photography and its transformation of modern representation. While Edgar Degas and Claude Monet borrowed from the camera the fragmenting of time, C\u00e9zanne\u00a0saw this mechanized segmentation\u00a0of time as artificial and at odds with the perception of the human eye. By C\u00e9zanne\u2019s era, the camera did shatter time into fragments as do non-digital\u00a0cameras that can be set so that the shutter is open to light for only 1\/1000 of a second.\r\n<h3 id=\"sight-and-memory\">Sight and memory<\/h3>\r\nC\u00e9zanne pushed this distinction between the vision of the camera and of human vision. He reasoned that the same issues applied to the illusionism of the old masters, of Raphael, Leonardo, Caravaggio, etc. For instance, think about how linear perspective works. Since the Early Renaissance, constructing the illusion of space required that the artist remain frozen in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/early-applications-of-linear-perspective\/\">a single point in space<\/a>\u00a0in order to maintain consistent recession among all receding orthogonals. This frozen vantage point belongs to both the artist and then the viewer. But is it a full description of the experience of human sight? C\u00e9zanne\u2019s still life suggests that it is not.\r\n\r\nIf a Renaissance painter set out to render C\u00e9zanne\u2019s still life objects (not that they would, mind you), that artist would have placed himself in a specific point before the table and taken great pains to render the collection of tabletop objects only from that original perspective. Every orthogonal line would remain consistent (and straight). But this is clearly not what C\u00e9zanne had in mind. His perspective seems jumbled. When we first look carefully, it may appear as if he was simply unable to draw, but if you spend more time, it may occur to you that C\u00e9zanne is, in fact, drawing carefully, although according to a new set of rules.\r\n\r\nSeemingly simple, C\u00e9zanne\u2019s concern with representing the true experience of sight had enormous implications for 20th-century visual culture. C\u00e9zanne realized that unlike the fairly simple and static Renaissance vision of space, people actually see in a fashion that is more complex, we see through both time and space. In other words, we move as we see. In contemporary terms, one might say that human vision is less like the frozen vision of a still camera and more akin to the continuous vision of a video camera\u2014except that C\u00e9zanne worked with oil on canvas which dries and becomes static.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CezanneTableDetail.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/CezanneTableDetail-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Edge of table seen in multiple perspectives (detail), Paul C\u00e9zanne, The Basket of Apples painting of a still life featuring a white cloth draped over a surface with several oranges placed on and around it. The artwork uses warm tones with textured brushstrokes, highlighting contrast between the smooth fruit and the crumpled fabric.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"901\" \/><\/a> Edge of table seen in multiple perspectives (detail), Paul C\u00e9zanne, The Basket of Apples, c. 1893, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/artworks\/111436\/the-basket-of-apples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Art Institute of Chicago<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:BotMultichillT\">BotMultichillT<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_-_The_Basket_of_Apples_-_1926.252_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)[\/caption]\r\n<h3 id=\"purposeful-destruction\">Purposeful destruction<\/h3>\r\nSo very tentatively, C\u00e9zanne began the purposeful destruction of the unified image. Look again at the cookies, or whatever they are, stacked upon the plate in the upper right. Is it possible that the gentle disagreements that we noted result from the representation of two slightly different viewpoints? These are not large ruptures, but rather, they suggest careful and tentative discovery. It is as if C\u00e9zanne had simply depicted the bottom cookies as he looked across at them and then as he looked more slightly down at the top cookies after shifting his weight to his forward leg. Furthermore, I\u2019m not sure that he was all that proud of these breaks that allow for more than a single perspective. Look, for instance, at the points where the table must break to express these multiple perspectives and you will notice that they are each hidden from view. Nevertheless, in doing this, C\u00e9zanne changed the direction of painting.\r\n<h2 id=\"conclusion-10\">Conclusion<\/h2>\r\nThe late 19<sup>th<\/sup> century was a dynamic period. The use of modern materials in architecture (<em>Eiffel Tower<\/em>) and design (Art Nouveau) was introduced. Artists, like Seurat, experimented with the scientific capabilities of color while other artists, such as Gauguin and van Gogh, explored the spiritual and emotional possibilities of color. C\u00e9zanne questioned the traditional technique of linear perspective as truthful, experimented with multiple perspectives in rendering pictorial space, and began to collapse the picture plane. Post-Impressionism was a revolutionary era. The concepts and techniques introduced by Post-Impressionism became the foundation for all Modern Art.\r\n<h3 id=\"citation-and-licensing-10\">Citation and Licensing<\/h3>\r\nThe following sections were written by Chelsea Wright and licensed <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA 4.0<\/a>:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Chapter Overview and Introduction<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Focus artwork and term list compiled by Chelsea Wright<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Conclusion<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe following articles from <em>Smarthistory<\/em> licensed <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA 4.0<\/a> were remixed and adapted for the chapter:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/introduction-to-neo-impressionism-part-i\/\">Neo-Impressionism part I, an introduction<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, April 15, 2020.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/introduction-to-neo-impressionism-part-ii\/\">Neo-Impressionism part II, an introduction<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, April 15, 2020.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/georges-seurat-a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884\/\">Georges Seurat,\u00a0<em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2013 1884<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, December 4, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/neo-impressionist-color-theory\/\">Neo-Impressionist Color Theory<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, April 15, 2020.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\/\">Paul Gauguin,\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em>(or\u00a0<em>Jacob Wrestling with the Angel<\/em>)<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, December 11, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/pont-aven-synthetism\/\">The Pont-Aven School and Synthetism<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, June 29, 2020.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/nabis-symbolism\/\">The Nabis and Symbolism<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, June 14, 2020.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/vincent-van-gogh\/\">Vincent van Gogh<\/a>,\u201d in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/van-gogh-potato-eaters\/\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Potato Eaters<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, January 8, 2020.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Noelle Paulson, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/van-gogh-the-starry-night\/\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/edvard-munch\/\">Edvard Munch<\/a>,\u201d in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Noelle Paulson, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/munch-the-scream\/\">Edvard Munch,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"\/smarthistory.org\/period-culture-style\/vienna-secession\/\">Vienna Secession<\/a>,\u201d in <em>Smarthistory.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/gustav-klimt\/\">Guxave Klimt<\/a>,\u201d in <em>Smarthistory.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gustav-klimt-the-kiss\/\">Gustav Klimt,<em>The Kiss<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, December 5, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/art-nouveau\">Art Nouveau<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, June 14, 2020.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Elisabeth Rowney, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/rodin-walking\/\">Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Walking Man<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, September 10, 2016.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/auguste-rodin-the-gates-of-hell\/\">Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, November 23, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/gustave-eiffel\/\">Gustave Eiffel<\/a>,\u201d in <em>Smarthistory.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gustave-eiffel-tower\/\">Gustave Eiffel, The Eiffel Tower<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, January 9, 2026.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/an-introduction-to-the-painting-of-paul-cezanne\/\">The painting of Paul C\u00e9zanne, an introduction<\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Ben Harvey, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/cezanne-mont-sainte-victoire\/\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>Mont Sainte-Victoire<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, \"<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/cezanne-the-basket-of-apples\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>The Basket of Apples<\/em><\/a>,\" in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","rendered":"<h2 id=\"chapter-overview-and-introduction-10\">Chapter Overview and Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>Rather than a unified style, Post-Impressionism is considered an era. In the late 19th century, Post-Impressionist artists working primarily in France sought to reform the techniques and ideas of Impressionism. Japanese prints and photography continued to be major stylistic influences for artists in the late 19th century introducing new form languages and ways of representing. In the dynamic context of the late 19<sup>th<\/sup> century, other styles began to emerge, including Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and the Vienna Secession movement.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"focus-artworks-10\">Focus Artworks<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Georges Seurat,\u00a0<em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2013 1884<\/em>, 1884\u201386, oil on canvas<\/li>\n<li>Paul Gauguin,\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em>\u00a0(or\u00a0<em>Jacob Wrestling with the Angel<\/em>), 1888, oil on canvas<\/li>\n<li>Vincent Van Gogh,\u00a0<em>Starry Night,\u00a0<\/em>1889, oil on canvas<\/li>\n<li>Edvard Munch,\u00a0<em>The Scream,\u00a0<\/em>1893, tempera and pastels on cardboard<\/li>\n<li>Gustave Eiffel, <em>Eiffel Tower<\/em>, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition, Paris, 1887\u201389, puddled iron<\/li>\n<li>Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em>\u200b, 1880-1917, plaster<\/li>\n<li>Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>The Basket of Apples<\/em>, c. 1893, oil on canvas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"term-list-10\">Term List<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Post-Impressionism<\/li>\n<li>Neo-Impressionism<\/li>\n<li>Pure colors<\/li>\n<li>Analogous colors<\/li>\n<li>Complementary colors<\/li>\n<li>Optical mixing<\/li>\n<li>Pointillism<\/li>\n<li>Divisionism<\/li>\n<li>Synthetism<\/li>\n<li>Nabis<\/li>\n<li>Symbolism (the movement)<\/li>\n<li>Vienna Secession<\/li>\n<li>Art Nouveau<\/li>\n<li>Fin-de-siecle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"neo-impressionism-style\">Neo-Impressionism: Style<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a park scene with numerous people relaxing and socializing near a river, characterized by pointillism technique using small dots of color. Key elements include figures with parasols, a black dog, and sailboats on water, with vibrant greens and blues highlighting a sunny day atmosphere.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"687\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Just a dozen years after the debut of Impressionism, the art critic F\u00e9lix F\u00e9n\u00e9on christened Georges Seurat as the leader of a new group of \u201cNeo-Impressionists.\u201d He did not mean to suggest the revival of a defunct style \u2014 Impressionism was still going strong in the mid-1880s \u2014 but rather a significant modification of Impressionist techniques that demanded a new label.<\/p>\n<p>F\u00e9n\u00e9on identified greater scientific rigor as the key difference between Neo-Impressionism and its predecessor. Where the Impressionists were \u201carbitrary\u201d in their techniques, the Neo-Impressionists had developed a \u201cconscious and scientific\u201d method through a careful study of contemporary color theorists such as Michel Chevreul and Ogden Rood. <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"F\u00e9lix F\u00e9n\u00e9on, \u201cLes Impressionnistes en 1886,\u201d as translated in Linda Nochlin, ed.,\u00a0Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, 1874-1904: Sources and Documents\u00a0(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), p. 108.\" id=\"return-footnote-3207-1\" href=\"#footnote-3207-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"a-scientific-method\">A scientific method<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 1740px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Auguste_Renoir_-_Dance_at_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Auguste_Renoir_-_Dance_at_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a lively outdoor social gathering with people dancing, sitting, and conversing under hanging lanterns and trees. The scene features detailed clothing from the late 19th century, with a mix of dark and light colors, capturing a festive and elegant atmosphere.\" width=\"1740\" height=\"1293\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pierre-Auguste Renoir, <em>Bal du moulin de la Galette<\/em>, 1876, oil on canvas, 131 x 175 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pierre-Auguste_Renoir,_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This greater scientific rigor is immediately visible if we compare Seurat\u2019s Neo-Impressionist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/georges-seurat-a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884\/\"><em>Grande Jatte<\/em><\/a>\u00a0with Renoir\u2019s Impressionist\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/auguste-renoir-moulin-de-la-galette\/\"><em>Moulin de la Galette<\/em><\/a>. The subject matter is similar: an outdoor scene of people at leisure, lounging in a park by a river or dancing and drinking on a caf\u00e9 terrace. The overall goal is similar as well. Both artists are trying to capture the effect of dappled light on a sunny afternoon. However, Renoir\u2019s scene appears to have been composed and painted spontaneously, with the figures captured in mid-gesture. Renoir\u2019s loose, painterly technique reinforces this effect, giving the impression that the scene was painted quickly, before the light changed.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1976px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Renoir-and-Seurat_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Renoir-and-Seurat_1.jpg\" alt=\"Two side-by-side paintings depict social scenes with blurred faces. The left painting shows a lively crowd in dark and light clothing with dynamic brushstrokes, while the right painting features two seated figures under a large umbrella with pointillist dots and muted colors.\" width=\"1976\" height=\"959\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, <em>Bal du moulin de la Galette<\/em>, 1876, oil on canvas, 131 x 175 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pierre-Auguste_Renoir,_Le_Moulin_de_la_Galette.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>); Right: Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, detail, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By contrast, the figures in La Grande Jatte are preternaturally still, and the brushwork has also been systematized into a painstaking mosaic of tiny dots and dashes, unlike Renoir\u2019s haphazard strokes and smears. Neo-Impressionist painters employed rules and a method, unlike the Impressionists, who tended to rely on \u201cinstinct and the inspiration of the moment.\u201d <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Paul Signac,\u00a0From Eug\u00e8ne Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism\u00a0(1899), as translated in Nochlin, ed., p. 122.\" id=\"return-footnote-3207-2\" href=\"#footnote-3207-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"pointillism-color-and-optical-mixture\">Pointillism, color, and optical mixture<\/h3>\n<p>One of these rules was to use only the \u201cpure\u201d colors of the spectrum: violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. These colors could be mixed only with white or with a color adjacent on the color wheel (called \u201canalogous colors\u201d), for example to make lighter, yellower greens or darker, redder violets. Above all, the Neo-Impressionists would not mix colors opposite on the color wheel (\u201ccomplementary colors\u201d), because doing so results in muddy browns and dull grays.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Color-wheel-copy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Color-wheel-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Color wheel diagram displaying a continuous spectrum of twelve colors arranged in a circular gradient from green to yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, and back to green. The wheel serves as a visual tool for understanding color relationships and harmonies, featuring evenly spaced color segments without labels or numerical data.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The color wheel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More subtle color variations were produced by \u201coptical mixture\u201d rather than mixing paint on the palette. For example, examine the grass in the sun. Seurat intersperses the overall field of yellow greens with flecks of warm cream, olive greens, and yellow ochre (actually discolored chrome yellow). Viewed from a distance these flecks blend together to help lighten and warm the green, as we would expect when grass is struck by the yellow-orange light of the afternoon sun. Rather than mixing colors on the palette, the Neo-Impressionists would juxtapose them on the canvas in small dots. Seen from a suitable distance, these dots mix in the eye and achieve the intended effects without losing the chromatic intensity of the original pigments. It was this technique of painting in tiny dots (\u201cpoints\u201d in French) that gave Neo-Impressionism the popular nickname \u201cPointillism\u201d although the artists generally avoided that term since it suggested a stylistic gimmick.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 746px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Seurat-detail.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Seurat-detail.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of a detail of pointillism painting showing a close-up of a leg on a grassy surface with a pink and purple background. The artwork uses small, distinct dots of color to create texture and depth, highlighting the post-impressionist technique.\" width=\"746\" height=\"499\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, detail, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago,\u00a0Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For the grass in the shadows, Seurat uses darker greens intermixed with flecks of pure blue and even some orange and maroon. These are very unexpected colors for grass, but when we stand back the colors blend optically, resulting in a cooler, darker, and duller green in the shadows. This green is, however, more vibrant than if Seurat had mixed those colors on the palette and applied them in a uniform swath.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, look at the number of colors that make up the little girl\u2019s legs! They include not only the expected pinks and oranges of Caucasian flesh, but also creams, blues, maroons, and even greens. Stand back again, though, and \u201coptical mixture\u201d blends them into a convincing and luminous flesh color, modeled in warm light and shaded by her white dress.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"the-law-of-contrast\">The law of contrast<\/h3>\n<p>Paul Signac, the Neo-Impressionist, wrote about the artist\u2019s need to take into account \u201cthe laws of contrast, of gradation, and of irradiation.\u201d These \u201claws\u201d refer to principles of color interaction discovered by nineteenth-century theorists such as Michel Chevreul, Ogden Rood, and Charles Henry, which seemed to promise that the entirety of art could be subsumed to rigorous scientific principles.<\/p>\n<p>Chevreul\u2019s most famous contribution to color theory is the \u201claw of simultaneous contrast,\u201d which takes account of how our perception of color changes relative to adjacent colors. Look at how different the same color swatch of blue appears against a field of bright green versus a field of dull orange, for example.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1429px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image272.jpeg\" alt=\"A side-by-side comparison of two colored squares, each containing a smaller blue square centered inside. The left square has a bright green background, while the right square has a brown background, highlighting contrast differences between the two color combinations.\" width=\"1429\" height=\"713\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Demonstration of the effect of simultaneous contrast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The general form of the law of simultaneous contrast is that two juxtaposed colors will appear maximally different from one another. Thus the blue appears both darker and duller when it is seen in a field of light, high-chroma yellow-green on the left, and it appears lighter and higher in chromatic intensity when seen against a field of dark, dull orange on the right.<\/p>\n<p>Viewed against a white field, a swatch of color will actually gain a \u201chalo\u201d of its complementary color as a result of this effect. For example, if you gaze at the green swatch without focusing for several seconds, you will begin to see magenta edges emerge around it.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1429px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Georges_Seurat_-_Models_Poseuses_-_BF811_-_Barnes_Foundation-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image273.jpeg\" alt=\"Pointillist painting of three nude female models two are seated and one is standing. The models are surrounded by clothes and props on the floor and a copy of Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte hangs in the background.\" width=\"1429\" height=\"1151\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>Models (Poseuses)<\/em>, 1886-88, oil on canvas, 200 x 250 cm (Barnes Foundation, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Georges_Seurat_-_Les_Poseuses.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seurat records this effect in his painting\u00a0<em>The Models<\/em>. Notice how the seated model on the right has a dark, violet-blue halo around the light orange flesh of her back, and a light halo against the dark blue-violet shadowed side of her stomach and upper arm. This natural \u201cirradiation\u201d effect is exaggerated by Seurat in order to help intensify colors and values by juxtaposition with their opposites through simultaneous contrast.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"color-perception-color-harmony-color-expression\">Color perception, color harmony, color expression<\/h3>\n<p>Neo-Impressionists used color theory to help duplicate perceptual effects. Rather than the term \u201cpointillism,\u201d Signac\u2019s preferred term \u201cdivision\u201d refers to the way the artist isolates all the component influences that contribute to a given perceived color. Neo-Impressionists employed divisionism to keep their paintings as luminous as possible while recording how perceived color is affected by factors such as the temperature of the light, reflected color, and simultaneous contrast with adjacent colors.<\/p>\n<p>The aims of the Neo-Impressionists went beyond perceptual accuracy to also include the purely aesthetic effects of color: how they can be used to create pleasing color harmonies based on certain principles. Signac\u2019s \u201claws of contrast and gradation\u201d evokes two of these principles: \u201cgradation\u201d is the aesthetic harmony produced by gentle transitions between largely analogous colors, and \u201ccontrast\u201d is produced by the sharper juxtaposition of opposites. Later works by Signac seem more concerned with such harmonies than with perceptual accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>The Neo-Impressionists also recognized that color has expressive effects. Signac claimed that \u201cjoy\u201d is evoked by paintings with dominant warm and light tones, while \u201csorrow\u201d is evoked by dominant cool and dark colors. <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Paul Signac,\u00a0From Eugene Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism, as translated in Linda Nochlin, editor,\u00a0Impressionism and Post-Impressionism,\u00a01874\u20131904: Sources and Documents\u00a0(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), 121.\" id=\"return-footnote-3207-3\" href=\"#footnote-3207-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a> Ideally, a Neo-Impressionist painting will take into account all three qualities: perceptual accuracy, formal harmony, and emotional expression. The artists believed that all of these were susceptible to rigorous scientific laws that were just being recognized and systematized in their period.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"compositional-rigor\">Compositional rigor<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 1959px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Seurat-study.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Seurat-study.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a riverside park scene with numerous people relaxing, walking, and socializing under trees on a sunny day. Pointillist style uses small, distinct dots of color to create detailed figures, boats on water, and shaded areas, highlighting leisure and natural beauty.\" width=\"1959\" height=\"1332\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, Study for <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, 1884, oil on canvas, 70.5 x 104.1 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/437658\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Neo-Impressionists also applied scientific rigor to composition and design. Seurat\u2019s friend and fellow painter Paul Signac asserted,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Neo-Impressionist \u2026 will not begin a canvas before he has determined the layout \u2026 Guided by tradition and science, he will \u2026 adopt the lines (directions and angles), the chiaroscuro (tones), [and] the colors (tints) to the expression he wishes to make dominant.\u201d Paul Signac,\u00a0<em>Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism<\/em>, in Nochlin, ed., p. 121.<\/p>\n<p>Numerous studies for\u00a0<em>La Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0testify to how carefully Seurat decided on each figure\u2019s pose and arranged them to create a rhythmic recession into the background. This practice is very different from the Impressionists, who emphasized momentary views (impressions) by creating intentionally haphazard-seeming compositions, such as Renoir\u2019s\u00a0<em>Moulin de la Galette<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DP375450_cropped-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/DP375450_cropped-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a nighttime street scene with a central figure standing on a platform, surrounded by onlookers and performers. The artwork features muted colors, a row of illuminated lamps above, and a background with architectural elements and silhouetted trees.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1712\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>Parade de cirque<\/em>, 1887-88, oil on canvas, 99.7 x 149.9 cm ((<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/437654\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Parade de cirque<\/em>\u00a0is even more rigorously geometrical. It is dominated by horizontal and vertical lines, and the just slightly off-rhythmic spacing of the figures and architectural structure creates a syncopated grid. Scholars have debated whether the composition is based on the Golden Section, a geometric ratio that was identified by ancient Greek mathematicians as being inherently harmonious.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"systematized-expression\">Systematized expression<\/h3>\n<p>The Neo-Impressionists also attempted to systematize the emotional qualities conveyed by their paintings. Seurat defined three main expressive tools at the painter\u2019s disposal: color (the hues of the spectrum, from warm to cool), tone (the value of those colors, from light to dark), and line (horizontal, vertical, ascending, or descending). Each has a specific emotional effect:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGaiety of tone is given by the dominance of light; of color, by the dominance of warmth; of line, by lines above the horizontal. Calmness of tone is given by an equivalence of light and dark; of color by an equivalence of warm and cold; and of line, by horizontals. Sadness of tone is given by the dominance of dark; of color, by the dominance of cold colors; and of line, by downward directions.\u201d Georges Seurat, Letter to Maurice Beaubourg, August 28, 1890, in Nochlin, ed., p. 114 (translation modified for clarity).<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2109px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Georges_Seurat_1889-90_Le_Chahut_Kro%CC%88ller-Mu%CC%88ller_Museum-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Georges_Seurat_1889-90_Le_Chahut_Kroller-Muller_Museum-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicts a lively dance scene with two female ballerinas in pink tutus and two male dancers performing high kicks on stage, accompanied by musicians playing string instruments in foreground. Pointillism technique creates textured, vibrant atmosphere with warm tones and dynamic composition emphasizing movement and coordination between dancers and orchestra.\" width=\"2109\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>Le Chahut<\/em>, 1889-90, oil on canvas, 170 x 141 cm (Kr\u00f6ller-M\u00fcller Museum, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Georges_Seurat,_1889-90,_Le_Chahut,_oil_on_canvas,_170_x_141_cm,_Kr%C3%B6ller-M%C3%BCller_Museum.jpeg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Chahut<\/em>\u00a0(Can-Can) seems designed to exemplify these rules, employing mostly warm, light colors and ascending lines to convey a mood of gaiety appropriate to the dance.<\/p>\n<p>The Neo-Impressionist style had a relatively brief heyday; very few artists carried on the project into the 20th century. However, a great many artists experimented with it and took portions of its method into their own practice, from van Gogh to Henri Matisse. More broadly, the Neo-Impressionist desire to conform art-making to universal laws of perception, color, and expression echoes throughout Modernism, in movements as diverse as Symbolism,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/purism\/\">Purism<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/de-stijl-part-i-total-purity\/\">De Stijl<\/a>, and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/the-bauhaus-an-introduction\/\">Bauhaus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So far we have concentrated on the style of Neo-Impressionism. Next, we will examine the subject matter favored by the artists, and discuss its relation to the social and political context of the late-nineteenth century.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"neo-impressionism-subject-matter\">Neo-Impressionism: Subject Matter<\/h2>\n<p>First we examined the style of the movement, concentrating on the artists\u2019 attempt to systematize a method for painting according to scientific laws of perception, color, composition, and expression. Here, we will turn to the kind of subject matter typically chosen by the Neo-Impressionists and discuss its relation to late-nineteenth century social and political history.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"scenes-of-leisure\">Scenes of leisure<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 1249px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Georges_Seurat_1891_Le_Cirque_The_Circus_oil_on_canvas_185_x_152_cm_Muse%CC%81e_dOrsay.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Georges_Seurat_1891_Le_Cirque_The_Circus_oil_on_canvas_185_x_152_cm_Musee_dOrsay.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a circus scene with performers and audience members in a pointillist style using soft, dotted brushstrokes. Central elements include a white horse with a yellow-clad acrobat balancing on its back, surrounded by other performers in vibrant costumes and a detailed crowd in tiered seating.\" width=\"1249\" height=\"1560\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>The Circus<\/em>, 1890-91, oil on canvas, 186 x 152 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Georges_Seurat,_1891,_Le_Cirque_(The_Circus),_oil_on_canvas,_185_x_152_cm,_Mus%C3%A9e_d%27Orsay.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a> in the United States)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For the most part, the Neo-Impressionists continued to depict the kinds of subjects preferred by the Impressionists: landscapes and leisure scenes. In addition to his famous painting of people lounging in the park on the island of La Grande Jatte, many of Georges Seurat\u2019s paintings portrayed entertainments such as the circuses and music halls that contributed to Paris\u2019s reputation for mass spectacles in the late nineteenth century.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Golfe_Juan_by_Paul_Signac_1863-1935_-_IMG_7171-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Golfe_Juan_by_Paul_Signac_1863-1935_-_IMG_7171-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Painting of a coastal landscape featuring a winding path bordered by orange cliffs and green trees, leading to a calm sea with sailboats. Pointillism technique uses vibrant dots of blue, green, orange, and pink to create texture and depth, highlighting natural scenery and serene atmosphere.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2059\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Signac, <em>Golfe Juan<\/em>, 1896, oil on canvas, 65.4 x 81.3 cm (Worcester Art Museum, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Golfe_Juan_by_Paul_Signac_(1863-1935)_-_IMG_7171.JPG\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Paul Signac\u2019s landscape paintings similarly reveal a concentration on leisure scenes. A sailor himself, Signac painted dozens of harbor scenes dominated by the sails and masts of small pleasure craft. The Mediterranean coast of France, where Signac spent his summers, had a reputation both for the quality of its light \u2014 a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/neo-impressionist-color-theory\/\">key interest<\/a>\u00a0of the Neo-Impressionists generally \u2014 and for a laid-back, sun-filled lifestyle. In Signac\u2019s canvases, the bright colors favored by the Neo-Impressionists perfectly complement this reputation.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"social-inequality\">Social inequality<\/h3>\n<p>Although these subjects suggest carefree pleasure, there are undertones of social criticism in some Neo-Impressionist paintings. Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Circus<\/em>\u00a0shows the strict class distinctions in Paris both by location, with the wealthier patrons seated in the lower tiers, and by dress and posture, which gets markedly more casual the further the spectators are from ringside.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/grande-jatte_stevensm.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a park scene with numerous people relaxing and socializing near a river, characterized by pointillism technique using small dots of color. Key elements include figures with parasols, a black dog, and sailboats on water, with vibrant greens and blues highlighting a sunny day atmosphere.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"687\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte<\/em>, 1884-86, oil on canvas, 207.5 x 308.1 cm (Art Institute of Chicago, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:A_Sunday_on_La_Grande_Jatte,_Georges_Seurat,_1884.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One contemporary critic also remarked that the rigidity of the poses in Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>La\u00a0Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0reminded him of \u201cthe stiffness of Parisian leisure, prim and exhausted, where even recreation is a matter of striking poses.\u201d <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Henri F\u00e8vre, \u201cL\u2019Exposition des Impressionnistes,\u201d in\u00a0\u00c9tude sur le Salon de 1886 et sur l\u2019exposition des impressionnistes\u00a0(Paris, 1886), p. 43 (our translation).\" id=\"return-footnote-3207-4\" href=\"#footnote-3207-4\" aria-label=\"Footnote 4\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[4]<\/sup><\/a> As we examine the characters in\u00a0<em>La Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0in detail, there are some surprising inclusions and juxtapositions. In the left foreground, a working-class man in shirtsleeves overlaps a much more formally-dressed middle-class gentleman in a top hat holding a cane. A trumpet player in the middle-ground plays directly into the ears of two soldiers standing at attention in the background. A woman with an ostentatiously eccentric pet monkey on the right and another fishing on the left have been interpreted as prostitutes, one of whom is casting out lures for clients. Between them, a toy lap-dog with a pink ribbon leaps toward a rangy hound whose coat is as black as that of the bourgeois gentleman with the cane.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these provocative juxtapositions and overlaps, very few of the figures actually seem to be interacting with each other; each is lost in their own world. Unlike the mood of convivial good-fellowship between the classes and sexes in Auguste Renoir\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/auguste-renoir-moulin-de-la-galette\/\"><em>Moulin de la Galette<\/em><\/a>, Seurat\u2019s\u00a0<em>Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0sets up a dynamic of alienation and tension.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/seurat-sm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/seurat-sm.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting people relaxing and swimming by a riverside on a sunny day, showcasing leisure activities and calm water with boats in the background. The scene features individuals in various poses, including a man lying down with a dog, swimmers in the water, and others sitting on grassy banks, rendered in soft, pointillist brushstrokes with muted colors.\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1180\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georges Seurat, <em>Bathers at Asni\u00e8res<\/em>, 1884, oil on canvas, 201 x 300 cm (National Gallery of Art, London) (photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2jMkRay\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>La Grande Jatte<\/em>\u00a0forms an implicit pair with an earlier painting of the same size by Seurat,\u00a0<em>Bathers at Asni\u00e8res<\/em>. Asni\u00e8res was an industrial suburb of Paris, just across the river Seine from La Grande Jatte. Unlike that island\u2019s largely middle-class patrons in their top hats and bustle skirts, here we see more working-class and lower-middle-class figures in shirtsleeves and straw hats or bowlers. In the background the smokestacks of the factories at Clichy serve as a reminder of labor, even during the men\u2019s leisure time.<\/p>\n<p>As in the painting of La Grande Jatte, all of the figures are isolated in their own world, but a sense of implicit tension is raised by their insistent gaze across the river at their wealthier compatriots. A middle-class couple being rowed by a hired oarsman in a boat with a prominent French flag further adds to the class tensions raised by the work.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"political-revolutionaries\">Political revolutionaries?<\/h3>\n<p>Perhaps it was this odd sense of unresolved class tensions that caused Signac to suggest that even Seurat\u2019s paintings of \u201cthe pleasures of decadence\u201d are about exposing \u201cthe degradation of our era\u201d and bearing witness to \u201cthe great social struggle that is now taking place between workers and capital.\u201d <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Paul Signac, \u201cImpressionists and Revolutionaries,\u201d\u00a0La R\u00e9volte, June 13-19, 1891, as translated in Nochlin, ed., p. 124.\" id=\"return-footnote-3207-5\" href=\"#footnote-3207-5\" aria-label=\"Footnote 5\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[5]<\/sup><\/a> Seurat\u2019s own politics were unclear, but Signac was a social anarchist, as were several other Neo-Impressionists, including Camille Pissarro and his son Lucien, as well as Maximilian Luce, Theodore van Rysselberghe, Henri Cross, and the critic Felix F\u00e9n\u00e9on. Social anarchists reject a strong centralized government in which the state owns the means of production and guides the economy; they believe that social ownership and cooperation will emerge naturally in a stateless society.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1401px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/In_the_Time_of_Harmony_the_Golden_Age_is_Not_Passed..._by_Paul_Signac.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/In_the_Time_of_Harmony_the_Golden_Age_is_Not_Passed._by_Paul_Signac.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a vibrant coastal scene with people engaging in various activities such as gardening, playing, and socializing, rendered in pointillism style with small, distinct dots of color. Key elements include a large tree on the left, a sailing ship in the background, and figures spread across a sunlit landscape featuring lush greenery and a rooster in the foreground.\" width=\"1401\" height=\"1056\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Signac, <em>In the Time of Harmony<\/em>, 1893-95, oil on canvas, 297 x 396 cm (H\u00f4tel de Ville, Montreuil, France, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_Signac,_1893-95,_Au_temps_d%E2%80%99harmonie,_oil_on_canvas,_310_x_410_cm.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Signac\u2019s\u00a0<em>In the Time of Harmony<\/em>\u00a0was originally titled\u00a0<em>In the Time of Anarchy<\/em>, but political controversy forced a change. Between 1892 and 1894 there were eleven bombings in France by anarchists, and a very public trial of suspected anarchists that included F\u00e9n\u00e9on and Luce.<\/p>\n<p>Signac\u2019s painting was intended to show that, despite its current revolutionary tactics, the aim of anarchism was a peaceful utopia. In the foreground, workers lay down their tools for a picnic of figs and champagne while others play at boules. A couple in the center contemplates a posy, while behind them a man sows and women hang laundry. Although the mood is timeless \u2014 with different clothing, this painting could be a Classical pastoral scene \u2014 in the distance modern mechanical farm equipment reinforces the painting\u2019s subtitle, \u201cThe Golden Age is Not in the Past, it is in the Future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Relatively few Neo-Impressionist paintings are so overtly allegorical and political. Signac argued that it was the Neo-Impressionists\u2019 technique, not any directly socialist or anarchist subject matter, that was most in tune with the political revolutionaries. The Neo-Impressionists\u2019 rigorous appeal to hard science, rather than dead conventions, along with their uncompromising will to \u201cpaint what they see, as they feel it,\u201d will help \u201cgive a hard blow of the pick-axe to the old social structure\u201d and promote a corresponding social revolution. <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"ibid., p. 124.\" id=\"return-footnote-3207-6\" href=\"#footnote-3207-6\" aria-label=\"Footnote 6\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"georges-seurat-a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884\">Georges Seurat,\u00a0<em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2013 1884<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>Georges Seurat developed the Neo-Impressionist style of Pointillism, which reflected his interest in scientific optics and the surface of the painting.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wNB9Vm6MoDQ?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\">Paul Gauguin,\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon\u00a0(or\u00a0Jacob Wrestling with the Angel)<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>Gauguin\u2019s famous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\/\"><em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em><\/a> depicts the profound religious faith of the Breton people. A group of women in the foreground file out of church, having just heard a sermon on Jacob wrestling an angel (Genesis 32:24-32). So great is their faith that they literally \u201csee\u201d the Biblical scene in front of the church, right next to a prosaically grazing cow.<\/p>\n<p>The drawing is crude, the anatomy of the women\u2019s faces is almost childish, the flat planes of their clothing utterly fail to convey a sense of the bodies underneath, and the red ground stands up like a wall rather than receding into space. Far from incompetent, however, Gauguin\u2019s simplified, even somewhat crude, technique was a conscious choice.<\/p>\n<p>Gauguin advocated for both simplifying and intensifying what he saw. Gauguin advised artists to paint from memory rather than directly from nature, because memory automatically discards extraneous detail and distills perceptions down to their essence. This process of distilling multiple, complex elements into a simplified whole is what the group meant when they called themselves \u201cSynthetists\u201d at the Caf\u00e9 des Arts exhibition. Insisting on the process of synthesis was a deliberate contrast to the highly scientific and analytic process of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/introduction-to-neo-impressionism-part-i\/\">Neo-Impressionism<\/a>. Whereas the Neo-Impressionists worked to analyze or carefully break down all the separate components that make up complex color sensations and then rendered them in innumerable tiny dots, the Synthetists distilled them into broad areas of pure color.<\/p>\n<p>The Synthetist style was sometimes called \u201cCloisonnism,\u201d after the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/profzucker\/40542349943\">cloisonn\u00e9 technique<\/a>\u00a0used to decorate objects by melting colored enamel between wire outlines. It also has similarities to Japanese prints, which were popular at the time, as well as Medieval colored woodcuts and stained glass. Synthetism was somewhat antithetically associated with both sensual\/decorative qualities and religious\/spiritual qualities, but whatever its genesis or purpose, it forms a sharp contrast to both the Academic naturalist style of artists like Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret and the Neo-Impressionist style of Signac.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-2\" title=\"Paul Gauguin, Vision after the Sermon, or Jacob Wrestling with the Angel\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y5lhKvKvWPg?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-nabis-and-symbolism\">The Nabis and Symbolism<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1993px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Serusier_-_the_talisman-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Serusier_-_the_talisman-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a vibrant autumn landscape with a river reflecting yellow, green, and blue foliage alongside a small house. Bold color blocks and abstract shapes create a striking contrast between natural elements and water reflections.\" width=\"1993\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul S\u00e9rusier, <em>The Talisman<\/em>, 1888, oil on panel, 27 x 21 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Serusier_-_the_talisman.JPG\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the fall of 1888 Paul S\u00e9rusier spent an afternoon with Paul Gauguin in Brittany painting a small landscape on a cigar box lid. He followed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/pont-aven-synthetism\/\">Gauguin\u2019s instructions<\/a>\u00a0to emphasize the colors he saw by using paint directly from the tube with little or no mixing. The result was a patchwork design of vivid colors only vaguely suggestive of its subject, trees on a riverbank.<\/p>\n<p>Later in Paris S\u00e9rusier showed the landscape to fellow art students at the Acad\u00e9mie Julian who saw it as an artistic revelation. They named the painting \u201cThe Talisman\u201d and formed a group called the Nabis, after the Hebrew word for prophet. In addition to S\u00e9rusier the group included Pierre Bonnard, \u00c9douard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Paul Ranson, and Ker-Xavier Roussel, as well as others. In the 1890s the Nabis were one of the most innovative Post-Impressionist groups working in Paris.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"spiritual-concerns\">Spiritual concerns<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 605px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Se%CC%81rusier-Portrait-of-Paul-Ranson.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Serusier-Portrait-of-Paul-Ranson.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a figure holding a staff with a decorative top and pointing to an open book with hieroglyphic-like text. Warm tones dominate, with detailed patterns on the collar and staff, suggesting a scholarly or religious context.\" width=\"605\" height=\"814\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul S\u00e9rusier, <em>Portrait of Paul Ranson in Nabi costume<\/em>, 1890, oil on canvas, 61 x 46.5 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Portr%C3%A4t_Paul_Ranson.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like Gauguin and many other artists of the period, the Nabis were engaged with the spiritual and mystical concerns associated with\u00a0fin-de-si\u00e8cle\u00a0Symbolism. S\u00e9rusier\u2019s\u00a0<em>Portrait of Paul Ranson in Nabi Costume<\/em>\u00a0documents their early\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/abstract-art-and-theosophy\/\">interest in esoterica and occult ceremonies<\/a>. The simplified style S\u00e9rusier used derived from Gauguin\u2019s Synthetism but was only one of the styles associated with Symbolism. It forms a marked contrast to the academic naturalism used by many fin-de-si\u00e8cle Symbolist painters such as Jean Delville, who depicted the Symbolist writer Jos\u00e9phin P\u00e9ladan in robes and accompanied by ceremonial objects and symbols, much as S\u00e9rusier portrayed Paul Ranson.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"a-widespread-attitude\">A widespread attitude<\/h3>\n<p>Symbolism began as a literary movement with the 1886 publication of Jean Mor\u00e9as\u2019 Symbolist manifesto in the Paris newspaper\u00a0<em>Le Figaro<\/em>. It quickly became a kind of catch-all term for a widespread fin-de-si\u00e8cle aesthetic attitude that embraced the spiritual significance of art while rejecting science and objectivity. Symbolist artists favored idealism over realism, suggestion over specificity, and subjective expression over objective representation. They employed a variety of styles and approaches, including both traditional naturalism and modern techniques associated with Post-Impressionism. Many of the painters who exhibited at the popular Symbolist Salon of the Rose + Cross organized by P\u00e9ladan in the 1890s favored a highly-detailed naturalism. These included Delville and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/khnopff-i-lock-my-door-upon-myself\/\">Fernand Khnopff<\/a>, whose dream-like images became prominent examples of Symbolist art.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"conveying-meaning-through-color-and-design\">Conveying meaning through color and design<\/h3>\n<p>Nabi painters used the modern Synthetist style of Gauguin, which emphasized abstract form, to convey spiritual meaning as well as a means of suggestion and personal expression. Maurice Denis was the most prominent art theorist associated with the Nabis, and one of his early statements became a famous touchstone of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/formalism-i-formal-harmony\/\">formalist modernism<\/a>: \u201cA painting \u2014 before being a battle horse, a nude woman, or some anecdote \u2014 is essentially a flat surface covered with colors arranged in a certain order.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Maurice Denis, \u201cDefinition of neo-traditionism\u201d (1890), in Jean-Paul Bouillon, ed.,\u00a0Le Ciel et l\u2019arcadie\u00a0(Paris: Hermann, 1993), p. 5 (authors\u2019 translation).\" id=\"return-footnote-3207-7\" href=\"#footnote-3207-7\" aria-label=\"Footnote 7\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[7]<\/sup><\/a> Emphasis on color and surface design is a primary characteristic of Nabi painting, which conveys emotion and meaning through abstract formal relations.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 406px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image284.png\" alt=\"Painting depicting a group of dark, shadowy figures reaching toward a central figure carrying a large wooden cross, set against a muted landscape with yellow flowers. The composition contrasts light and dark areas, emphasizing struggle and burden, with silhouetted figures and a hazy background suggesting a somber, symbolic scene.\" width=\"406\" height=\"515\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maurice Denis, <em>Climbing to Calvary<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 41 x 32.5 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Maurice_Denis,_1889,_Le_Calvaire_(Climbing_to_Calvary),_oil_on_canvas,_41_x_32.5_cm,_Mus%C3%A9e_d%27Orsay.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Denis\u2019\u00a0<em>Climbing to Calvary<\/em>\u00a0the simple dark shapes of black-robed nuns rise diagonally towards a large cross carried by a barely-defined red Christ. One nun reaches out to embrace Christ at the top of the hill, and a strip of bright sky tops off the scene. The basic forms convey the combination of mourning and hope that Christians associate with Christ\u2019s death and resurrection. The scene is timeless, containing elements of the present (the nuns) and the past (Mary embracing Christ on the way to the Crucifixion, the dark silhouette of a crowd of Roman soldiers over the hill). The figure of Christ suggests both the nuns\u2019 spiritual vision of Christ carrying the cross, similar to Gauguin\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\/\"><em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em><\/a>, and a Good Friday procession re-enacting the Crucifixion.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"different-approaches\">Different approaches<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Death_and_the_Gravedigger_-_C._Schwabe.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Death_and_the_Gravedigger_-_C._Schwabe.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a dark-winged angel kneeling beside a man emerging from a grave in a snowy cemetery. The scene features intricate details like bare trees, gravestones, and a somber color palette.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1409\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carlos Schwabe, <em>Death and the Gravedigger,<\/em> c. 1895, watercolor and gouache on paper, 75 x 55.5 cm (Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Death_and_the_Gravedigger_-_C._Schwabe.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A comparison of Denis\u2019 painting with Carlos Schwabe\u2019s\u00a0<em>Death and the Gravedigger<\/em>\u00a0shows two very different approaches to Symbolist painting. In Denis\u2019 work, the forms are reduced and simplified to mostly flat color areas. Basic symbols, shapes and their relationships convey meaning: the Christian cross, black for mourning, red for the blood of sacrifice, the upward movement towards light and resurrection.<\/p>\n<p>Schwabe uses similar compositional devices to convey the theme of death and resurrection; both paintings show darkness and symbolic death at the bottom of the painting, light and resurrection rise above. Unlike Denis, however, Schwabe employs a traditional naturalistic technique that records many details based on careful observation. The figures and location are so specific that they suggest the illustration of a particular scene in a story. Denis by contrast depicts a more generalized, anonymous image of death and Christian resurrection.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"symbolism-without-symbols\">Symbolism without symbols<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Gauguin-Sermon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Gauguin-Sermon-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a group of Breton women in traditional white coifs gathered around a table outdoors under a large tree, with a red background and one angelic figure and one man in the upper right. The scene contrasts dark clothing and white headwear with vivid red ground, highlighting cultural attire and a mystical element.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2046\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Gauguin, Vision after the Sermon, 1888, oil on canvas, 72.2 x 91 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgalleries.org\/art-and-artists\/artists\/paul-gauguin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Galleries of Scotland<\/a>, Edinburgh, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_Gauguin_137.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a> in the United States)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Symbolism is perhaps easiest to recognize in artworks that present known symbols, such as the Christian cross, or overtly symbolic meanings through recognizable themes such as youth, old age, love, death, etc. In addition to Denis\u2019\u00a0<em>Climbing to Calvary<\/em>, many well-known Post-Impressionist works use conventional symbolism in this way, including Gauguin\u2019s\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em>. Symbolism was also, however, associated with both a conception of art as subjective expression and the capacity of art to suggest profound meanings indirectly. As a result, many artworks that lack obvious symbols or clear symbolic significance are also associated with Symbolism.<\/p>\n<p>The subjects of Nabi paintings varied from the overt, often religious, symbolism of Maurice Denis to scenes of contemporary urban and suburban life depicted by Pierre Bonnard and \u00c9douard Vuillard. Whatever their subject, though, the Nabis relied on the formal qualities of color, pattern, and surface design to enhance the dreamy moods and profound meanings of Symbolist art. Their emphasis on the capacity of formal elements to convey meaning and emotion was an early contribution to the developments that led to abstract art.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"vincent-van-gogh-the-potato-eaters\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Potato Eaters<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>Vincent Van Gogh was prominent among the Post-Impressionists for his modernist translation of the observed world through expressive use of form and color.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-3\" title=\"Think you know van Gogh? The Potato Eaters\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_HinBYpuaiA?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-4\" title=\"Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ndwOgL3ZgCQ?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"a-rare-night-landscape\">A rare night landscape<\/h3>\n<p>The curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains, and sky, the brilliantly contrasting blues and yellows, the large, flame-like cypress trees, and the thickly layered brushstrokes of Vincent van Gogh\u2019s<em>\u00a0The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0are ingrained in the minds of many as an expression of the artist\u2019s turbulent state-of-mind. Van Gogh\u2019s canvas is indeed an exceptional work of art, not only in terms of its quality but also within the artist\u2019s oeuvre, since in comparison to favored subjects like irises, sunflowers, or wheat fields, night landscapes are rare. Nevertheless, it is surprising that\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0has become so well known. Van Gogh mentioned it briefly in his letters as a simple \u201cstudy of night\u201d or \u201cnight effect.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/50998161524_248fdb53a5_k.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/50998161524_248fdb53a5_k.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph showing two people standing in an art gallery observing Vincent van Gogh's &quot;Starry Night&quot; painting. The painting features swirling blue and yellow night sky over a quiet village, framed and mounted on a white wall with wooden flooring and minimalistic barriers around.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art; <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kGwUEY\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His brother Theo, manager of a Parisian art gallery and a gifted connoisseur of contemporary art, was unimpressed, telling Vincent, \u201cI clearly sense what preoccupies you in the new canvases like the village in the moonlight\u2026 but I feel that the search for style takes away the real sentiment of things\u201d (813, 22 October 1889). Although Theo van Gogh felt that the painting ultimately pushed style too far at the expense of true emotive substance, the work has become iconic of individualized expression in modern landscape painting.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"technical-challenges\">Technical challenges<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1280px-Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/1280px-Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpeg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a nighttime riverside scene with a star-filled sky and reflections of yellow lights on water. Features two figures standing on a shore in foreground, with textured brushstrokes creating movement in sky and water.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"989\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vincent van Gogh, <em>Starry Night over the Rhone<\/em>, 1888, oil on canvas, 72 x 92 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.musee-orsay.fr\/en\/artworks\/la-nuit-etoilee-78696\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Van Gogh had had the subject of a blue night sky dotted with yellow stars in mind for many months before he painted\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0in late June or early July of 1889. It presented a few technical challenges he wished to confront\u2014namely the use of contrasting color and the complications of painting en plein air (outdoors) at night\u2014and he referenced it repeatedly in letters to family and friends as a promising if problematic theme. \u201cA starry sky, for example, well \u2013 it\u2019s a thing that I\u2019d like to try to do,\u201d Van Gogh confessed to the painter Emile Bernard in the spring of 1888, \u201cbut how to arrive at that unless I decide to work at home and from the imagination?\u201d (596, 12 April 1888).<\/p>\n<p>As an artist devoted to working whenever possible from prints and illustrations or outside in front of the landscape he was depicting, the idea of painting an invented scene from imagination troubled Van Gogh. When he did paint a first example of the full night sky in\u00a0<em>Starry Night over the Rh\u00f4ne<\/em>\u00a0(1888, oil on canvas, 72.5 x 92 cm, Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris), an image of the French city of Arles at night, the work was completed outdoors with the help of gas lamplight, but evidence suggests that his second\u00a0<em>Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0was created largely if not exclusively in the studio.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1166px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightFull.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightFull.jpg\" alt=\"A painting depicting a night sky filled with swirling stars, a bright crescent moon, and dynamic cloud patterns above a quiet village with a prominent church steeple. The composition features bold, textured brushstrokes in vibrant blues, yellows, and greens, highlighting movement and emotional intensity.\" width=\"1166\" height=\"933\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art; photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kHVz6b\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"location\">Location<\/h3>\n<p>Following the dramatic end to his short-lived collaboration with the painter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gauguin-self-portrait\/\">Paul Gauguin<\/a>\u00a0in Arles in 1888 and the infamous breakdown during which he mutilated part of his own ear, Van Gogh was ultimately hospitalized at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, an asylum and clinic for the mentally ill near the village of Saint-R\u00e9my. During his convalescence there, Van Gogh was encouraged to paint, though he rarely ventured more than a few hundred yards from the asylum\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Chevet_de_Saint-Paul_de_Mausole.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Chevet_de_Saint-Paul_de_Mausole.jpeg\" alt=\"Photograph of a historic stone building with a tiled roof situated behind a vibrant lavender field in full bloom. The scene features deep purple lavender rows in the foreground, a large tree to the left, and a clear blue sky with scattered clouds above.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"960\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-R\u00e9my, France (<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Chevet_de_Saint-Paul_de_Mausole.JPG\">Emdee<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Besides his private room, from which he had a sweeping view of the mountain range of the Alpilles, he was also given a small studio for painting. Since this room did not look out upon the mountains but rather had a view of the asylum\u2019s garden, it is assumed that Van Gogh composed\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0using elements of a few previously completed works still stored in his studio, as well as aspects from imagination and memory. It has even been argued that the church\u2019s spire in the village is somehow more Dutch in character and must have been painted as an amalgamation of several different\u00a0church spires that van Gogh had depicted years earlier while living in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightChurch.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightChurch.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of van Gogh's Starry Night depicting a church with a tall steeple under a swirling, textured night sky in shades of blue and green. The artwork uses thick, expressive brushstrokes to create dynamic movement and contrast between the solid structure of the church and the vibrant sky.\" width=\"410\" height=\"786\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Church (detail), Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm. (The Museum of Modern Art, New York; photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kQ3Dms\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Van Gogh also understood the painting to be an exercise in deliberate stylization, telling his brother, \u201cThese are exaggerations from the point of view of arrangement, their lines are contorted like those of ancient woodcuts\u201d (805, c. 20 September 1889). Similar to his friends Bernard and Gauguin, van Gogh was experimenting with a style inspired in part by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/printmaking-europe-1400%e2%88%921800\/\">medieval woodcuts<\/a>, with their thick outlines and simplified forms.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1231px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightStars.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightStars.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of van Gogh's Starry Night featuring swirling blue and yellow brushstrokes representing a night sky with stars and a crescent moon. The composition highlights dynamic movement through textured, circular patterns and vibrant color contrasts.\" width=\"1231\" height=\"622\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stars (detail), Vincent van Gogh,<em> The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art, New York; photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kHVzmM\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"the-colors-of-the-night-sky\">The colors of the night sky<\/h3>\n<p>On the other hand,\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>\u00a0evidences Van Gogh\u2019s extended observation of the night sky. After leaving Paris for more rural areas in southern France, Van Gogh was able to spend hours contemplating the stars without interference from gas or electric city street lights, which were increasingly in use by the late nineteenth century. \u201cThis morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big\u201d 777, c. 31 May \u2013 6 June 1889). As he wrote to his sister Willemien van Gogh from Arles,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt often seems to me that the night is even more richly colored than the day, colored with the most intense violets, blues and greens. If you look carefully, you\u2019ll see that some stars are lemony, others have a pink, green, forget-me-not blue glow. And without laboring the point, it\u2019s clear to paint a starry sky it\u2019s not nearly enough to put white spots on blue-black.\u201d (678, 14 September 1888)<\/p>\n<p>Van Gogh followed his own advice, and his canvas demonstrates the wide variety of colors he perceived on clear nights.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"invention-remembrance-and-observation\">Invention, remembrance and observation<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 1208px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/StarryNightImpasto.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/StarryNightImpasto.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up photograph of an oil painting showing thick, textured brushstrokes in swirling patterns of blue, yellow, and white. The composition highlights dynamic movement and vibrant color contrasts, suggesting a portion of a sky or water scene with energetic, layered paint application.\" width=\"1208\" height=\"772\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Impasto and brush strokes (detail), Vincent van Gogh, <em>The Starry Night<\/em>, 1889, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art, New York;\u00a0photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2kHVzov\">Steven Zucker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Arguably, it is this rich mixture of invention, remembrance, and observation combined with Van Gogh\u2019s use of simplified forms, thick impasto, and boldly contrasting colors that has made the work so compelling to subsequent generations of viewers as well as to other artists. Inspiring and encouraging others is precisely what Van Gogh sought to achieve with his night scenes. When\u00a0<em>Starry Night over the Rh\u00f4ne<\/em>\u00a0was exhibited at the Salon des Ind\u00e9pendants, an important and influential venue for vanguard artists in Paris, in 1889, Vincent told Theo he hoped that it \u201cmight give others the idea of doing night effects better than I do.\u201d\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em>, his own subsequent \u201cnight effect,\u201d became a foundational image for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/expressionism-intro\/\">Expressionism<\/a>\u00a0as well as perhaps the most famous painting in Van Gogh\u2019s oeuvre.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"edvard-munch-the-scream\">Edvard Munch,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>A Norwegian painter and printmaker, Edvard Munch\u2019s Symbolist exploration of emotions and interpersonal relationships anticipated Expressionism.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Edvard_Munch_-_The_Scream_-_Google_Art_Project.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image294.jpeg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a figure with an agonized expression standing on a bridge under a swirling, dramatic sky with vibrant orange, red, and blue hues. The composition includes two shadowy figures in the background and flowing, wavy lines emphasizing emotional intensity and existential dread.\" width=\"810\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Edvard Munch, <em>The Scream<\/em>, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Second only to Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/leonardo-mona-lisa\/\"><em>Mona Lisa<\/em><\/a>, Edvard Munch\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0may be the most iconic human figure in the history of Western art. Its androgynous, skull-shaped head, elongated hands, wide eyes, flaring nostrils and ovoid mouth have been engrained in our collective cultural consciousness; the swirling blue landscape and especially the fiery orange and yellow sky have engendered numerous theories regarding the scene that is depicted. Like the\u00a0<em>Mona Lisa<\/em>,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0has been the target of dramatic thefts and recoveries, and in 2012 a version created with pastel on cardboard sold to a private collector for nearly $120,000,000 making it the second highest price achieved at that time by a painting at auction.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 870px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ScreamComparison-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image295.jpeg\" alt=\"A comparison chart displays four versions of Edvard Munch's &quot;The Scream,&quot; showcasing variations in color, style, and medium. Each panel highlights differences in background hues, figure details, and line work, illustrating the evolution and reinterpretation of the iconic artwork.\" width=\"870\" height=\"281\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Four versions of The Scream from left to right: Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893, oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard, 73.5 x 91 cm <span style=\"text-align: initial\">(<\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasjonalmuseet.no\/en\/collection\/object\/NG.M.00939\">The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, Oslo); Edvard Munch,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"text-align: initial\">The Scream<\/em><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, 1895, pastel on board, 59 x 79 cm (private collection, Source: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:The_Scream_Pastel.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, License: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">); Edvard Munch,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"text-align: initial\">The Scream<\/em><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, 1895 (signed 1896), lithograph (MoMA, photo:\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/DhGqPx\">Steven Zucker<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">); Edvard Munch,\u00a0<\/span><em style=\"text-align: initial\">The Scream<\/em><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm(<\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, Source: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">, License: <\/span><a style=\"text-align: initial\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a><span style=\"text-align: initial\">)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"semi-autobiographical\">Semi-autobiographical<\/h3>\n<p>Conceived as part of Munch\u2019s semi-autobiographical cycle \u201cThe Frieze of Life,\u201d\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u2019s composition exists in four forms: the first painting, done in oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard (1893, National Gallery of Art, Oslo), two pastel examples (1893, Munch Museum, Oslo and 1895, private collection), and a final tempera painting (1910, National Gallery of Art, Oslo). Munch also created a lithographic version in 1895. The various renditions show the artist\u2019s creativity and his interest in experimenting with the possibilities to be obtained across an array of media, while the work\u2019s subject matter fits with Munch\u2019s interest at the time in themes of relationships, life, death, and dread.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 870px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cropped_sky_scream-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image296.jpeg\" alt=\"Sky (detail), Edvard Munch, The Scream depicting a swirling, vibrant sunset sky with bold red, orange, and yellow horizontal streaks above a dark, curving landscape and water. Two silhouetted figures stand on the left foreground, emphasizing a sense of anxiety and emotional intensity.\" width=\"870\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sky (detail), Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For all its notoriety,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0is in fact a surprisingly simple work, in which the artist utilized a minimum of forms to achieve maximum expressiveness. It consists of three main areas: the bridge, which extends at a steep angle from the middle distance at the left to fill the foreground; a landscape of shoreline, lake or fjord, and hills; and the sky, which is activated with curving lines in tones of orange, yellow, red, and blue-green. Foreground and background blend into one another, and the lyrical lines of the hills ripple through the sky as well. The human figures are starkly separated from this landscape by the bridge. Its strict linearity provides a contrast with the shapes of the landscape and the sky. The two faceless upright figures in the background belong to the geometric precision of the bridge, while the lines of the foreground figure\u2019s body, hands, and head take up the same curving shapes that dominate the background landscape.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"a-scream-through-nature\">A scream through nature<\/h3>\n<p>The screaming figure is thus linked through these formal means to the natural realm, which was apparently Munch\u2019s intention. A passage in Munch\u2019s diary dated January 22, 1892, and written in Nice, contains the probable inspiration for this scene as the artist remembered it:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was walking along the road with two friends\u2014the sun went down\u2014I felt a gust of melancholy\u2014suddenly the sky turned a bloody red. I stopped, leaned against the railing, tired to death\u2014as the flaming skies hung like blood and sword over the blue-black fjord and the city\u2014My friends went on\u2014I stood there trembling with anxiety\u2014and I felt a vast infinite scream [tear] through nature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The figure on the bridge\u2014who may even be symbolic of Munch himself\u2014feels the cry of nature, a sound that is sensed internally rather than heard with the ears. Yet, how can this sensation be conveyed in visual terms?<\/p>\n<p>Munch\u2019s approach to the experience of synesthesia, or the union of senses (for example the belief that one might taste a color or smell a musical note), results in the visual depiction of sound and emotion. As such,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0represents a key work for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/europe-19th-century\/symbolism-and-art-nouveau\/\">Symbolist movement<\/a>\u00a0as well as an important inspiration for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/expressionism-intro\/\">Expressionist movement<\/a>\u00a0of the early twentieth century. Symbolist artists of diverse international backgrounds confronted questions regarding the nature of subjectivity and its visual depiction. As Munch himself put it succinctly in a notebook entry on subjective vision written in 1889, \u201cIt is not the chair which is to be painted but what the human being has felt in relation to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 628px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/screaming_cropped-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image297.jpeg\" alt=\"Detail of Edvard Munch, The Scream depicting a figure with an agonized expression standing on a bridge against a swirling, colorful sky. The artwork uses bold, wavy lines and contrasting colors to convey intense emotion and psychological distress.\" width=\"628\" height=\"916\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screaming figure (detail), Edvard Munch, <em>The Scream<\/em>, 1910, tempera on board, 66 x 83 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.munchmuseet.no\/en\/object\/MM.M.00514\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Munch Museum, Oslo<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Edvard_Munch,_1893,_The_Scream,_oil,_tempera_and_pastel_on_cardboard,_91_x_73_cm,_National_Gallery_of_Norway.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-remembered-sensation\">A remembered sensation<\/h3>\n<p>Since\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>\u2019s first appearance, many critics and scholars have attempted to determine the exact scene depicted, as well as inspirations for the screaming figure. For example, it has been asserted that the unnaturally harsh colors of the sky may have been due to volcanic dust from the eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia, which produced spectacular sunsets around the world for months afterwards. This event occurred in 1883, ten years before Munch painted the first version of\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em>. However, as Munch\u2019s journal entry\u2014written in the south of France but recalling an evening by Norway\u2019s fjords also demonstrates\u2014<em>The Scream<\/em>\u00a0is a work of remembered sensation rather than perceived reality. Art historians have also noted the figure\u2019s resemblance to a Peruvian mummy that had been exhibited at the World\u2019s Fair in Paris in 1889 (an artifact that also inspired the Symbolist painter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gauguin-where-do-we-come-from-what-are-we-where-are-we-going\/\">Paul Gauguin<\/a>) or to another mummy displayed in Florence. While such events and objects are visually plausible, the work\u2019s effect on the viewer does not depend on one\u2019s familiarity with a precise list of historical, naturalistic, or formal sources. Rather, Munch sought to express internal emotions through external forms and thereby provide a visual image for a universal human experience.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"symbolism-at-the-vienna-secession-gustav-klimts-the-kiss\">Symbolism at the Vienna Secession: Gustav Klimt\u2019s <em>The Kiss<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>The Vienna Secession was a group of artists who rejected academic conservatism, embracing a more modern experimental approach and new aesthetic forms. A founder of the Vienna Secession, Gustav Klimt is known for his incorporation of Art Nouveau and Symbolist style in his works.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-5\" title=\"Gustav Klimt, The Kiss\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BRUOACBkFRg?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"art-nouveau\">Art Nouveau<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Tassel_House_stairway.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Tassel_House_stairway.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of an ornate spiral staircase inside a historic building, featuring intricate wrought iron railings and wooden steps. Warm lighting highlights decorative columns and patterned flooring, emphasizing architectural elegance and vintage design elements.\" width=\"1700\" height=\"1440\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Victor Horta, Tassel House, Brussels, 1893 (photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Tassel_House_stairway.JPG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Henry Townsend<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\">CC0<\/a>))<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Victor Horta\u2019s Tassel House in Brussels is one of the earliest examples of the Art Nouveau style. Horta designed the building\u2019s architecture and every detail of the interior decoration and furnishings, making the house into a\u00a0<em>Gesamtkunstwerk<\/em>, or total art work in multiple media. The repeated use of organically curved, undulating lines \u2014 often called whiplash lines \u2014 unifies the design, repeating in the floor tiles, wall painting, ironwork, and even in the structure of the spiraling staircase and surging entryways.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"a-modern-style-using-modern-materials\">A modern style using modern materials<\/h3>\n<p>Art Nouveau artists and designers created a completely new style of decoration, rejecting the widespread nineteenth-century practice of copying historical, and especially Classical and Medieval, forms. While each designer invented their own decorative motifs, organic, often plant-based, forms and the whiplash line became hallmarks of Art Nouveau design, appearing in multiple media and contexts.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1477px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_25_rue_Ame%CC%81ricaine_1060_Brussels-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_25_rue_Americaine_1060_Brussels-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of an ornate wrought iron support structure holding up a translucent, segmented glass ceiling. The ceiling features curved yellow and white glass panels with decorative iron hooks and rivets along the metal framework.\" width=\"1477\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Victor Horta, Horta House, detail of column (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_(25,_rue_Am%C3%A9ricaine,_1060,_Brussels).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Staircase_of_the_Victor_Horta_own_house_(25,_rue_Am%C3%A9ricaine,_1060,_Brussels).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">public domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Art Nouveau architects and designers also embraced modern building materials, notably cast iron. Cast iron is both stronger and more flexible than traditional wood or stone and allows for much thinner supports, like the slender columns in Horta\u2019s own house. Iron support structures also made it possible to create curved facades with large windows, which became prominent elements in many Art Nouveau buildings, including Horta\u2019s Maison du Peuple.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Maison_du_Peuple-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Maison_du_Peuple-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photograph of a large, multi-story building with extensive glass windows and ornate architectural details, situated on a cobblestone street corner. The structure features a mix of brick and stone materials, with visible scaffolding or poles on the roof, indicating possible construction or renovation.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1806\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Victor Horta, Maison du Peuple, Brussels, 1899 (demolished) (Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Maison_du_Peuple_of_the_P.O.B._(Belgian_Workers_Party)_(destroyed,_Brussels),_exterior_3_(cropped).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/deed.en\">CC0 1.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"an-international-style\">An international style<\/h3>\n<p>Art Nouveau is only one of many names given to this international\u00a0fin-de-si\u00e8cle\u00a0style, which had many regional variations. The term (French for \u201cNew Art\u201d) derives from La Maison de L\u2019Art Nouveau, the Paris art gallery run by Siegfried Bing, who was a major promoter of the new style, as well as of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/japonisme\/\">Japonisme<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/nabis-decorative-art\/\">Nabis<\/a>. In addition to marketing individual objects, Bing commissioned artists and designers to create model rooms in his gallery to display Art Nouveau ensembles that included furniture, wallpaper, carpets, and paintings.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Paris, major centers of the modern fin-de-si\u00e8cle style included Brussels, Glasgow, Munich (where it was known as Jugendstil or Youth Style), and Vienna (where it was called Secession Style). Barcelona\u2019s Catalan Modernism, especially\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gaudi-sagrada-familia\/\">Anton\u00ed Gaud\u00ed<\/a>\u2018s architecture and decorative designs, is also closely related to Art Nouveau.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"luxury-design-for-the-masses\">Luxury design for the masses<\/h3>\n<p>French Art Nouveau was linked to government-supported efforts to expand the decorative arts and associated craft industries. Private residences and luxury objects were the focus for many Art Nouveau designers, including Emile Gall\u00e9, who made both decorative glass and furniture. Despite the close association of Art Nouveau with luxury items, the style is also apparent in urban design, public buildings, and art for the masses. Horta\u2019s Maison du Peuple was the center for the socialist Belgian Workers\u2019 Party, and among the most famous examples of Art Nouveau style are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/hector-guimard-cite-entrance-metropolitain-paris\/\">Hector Guimard\u2019s entrances to the Paris Metro<\/a>, the city\u2019s new public transportation system.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Paris-metro-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Paris-metro-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of an Art Nouveau-style entrance to a Paris M\u00e9tropolitain subway station, featuring a green wrought-iron canopy with a glass roof and a yellow &quot;Metropolitain&quot; sign. Close-up detail shows ornate ironwork with floral and organic motifs, highlighting intricate craftsmanship and decorative elements typical of early 20th-century design.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1031\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Hector Guimard, Porte Dauphine, Metro entrance, 1900, Paris (photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Entrances_to_Porte_Dauphine_metro_station#\/media\/File:Entr%C3%A9e_M%C3%A9tro_Porte_Dauphine_Paris_6.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chabe01<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>); Right: Hector Guimard, Metro ironwork, detail (photo:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/dalbera\/2568008425\/in\/photolist-4UVHrk-dNho9u-31RCgf-33LgEV-4YMPqE-bd8738-7QRYoF-xqLjrR-7QVfZo-31RCfS-aypzQU-dNhnGN-8YfCGY-HBDD5b-j6vjaF-6bLQi6-qBXi55-72Rb4v-UE8RXn-37Kx6o-39ausy-f9iSd6-PGDZdW-6j1fuG-6jYEwV-2CqzzK-avcHQW-77JEzT-7gBZ71-dHf4b1-9Nn6q6-4UVHmP-6PAWg3-6PAWid-pi3nom-6bQXC5-4jctCx-4QnFmV-e76V3K-bUbdS-8X852w-792oMj-6bLPre-8X572M-6bQZLq-64iLGe-NMn8Ek-8X563p-JfNXm1-8X894J\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0Jean-Pierre Dalb\u00e9ra<\/a>, (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like Horta\u2019s designs for the Tassel House, Guimard used cast iron and invented stylized motifs based on plant forms. Industrially fabricated in modular units, the cast iron was relatively cheap, but it was painted green to resemble oxidized copper, a much more expensive material that adds a sense of luxury to the elaborate entrances. The use of modules made it possible to individualize each station while maintaining stylistic unity throughout the city.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2066px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Posters.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Posters.jpg\" alt=\"Three vintage poster illustrations feature performing women in theatrical or dance settings. The first poster shows a dancer in a red skirt kicking over a large instrument, the second depicts a woman in a flowing white dress surrounded by floral and decorative Art Nouveau elements, and the third highlights a dancer in a yellow dress with red flowers against a dark background with bold red text.\" width=\"2066\" height=\"1077\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, 1893, lithograph, 129.1 x 93.5 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/333993\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>, New York, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>); Center: Alphonse Mucha,\u00a0<em>La Dame aux Camelias<\/em>, 1896, lithograph, 207.3 x 72.2 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/00652382\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Library of Congress<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a> in the United States); Right: Jules Ch\u00e9ret,\u00a0<em>La Lo\u00efe Fuller<\/em>, 1893, lithograph, 123.2 x 87.6 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moma.org\/collection\/works\/5615\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MoMA<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Cheret,_Jules_-_La_Loie_Fuller_(pl_73).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Art Nouveau designs were also widely visible in the advertising posters that decorated Paris.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-at-the-moulin-rouge\/\">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec<\/a>, Alphonse Mucha, and Jules Ch\u00e9ret depicted famous fin-de-si\u00e8cle performers such as Jane Avril, Sarah Bernhardt, and Lo\u00efe Fuller. Their posters stylized the female body and used sinuous whiplash lines, decorative plant forms, and flattened abstract shapes to create vivid decorative images.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1395px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Tropon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Tropon.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage advertisement poster featuring stylized flamingos in shades of orange, yellow, and purple with bold black outlines. Text highlights &quot;TROPOON&quot; and &quot;L'aliment le plus concentr\u00e9,&quot; emphasizing a concentrated food product with an Art Nouveau design and intricate line patterns.\" width=\"1395\" height=\"2000\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Henry van de Velde, Tropon poster, 1899, lithograph, 44 x 30 3\/8 inches, (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.moma.org\/collection\/works\/6661\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MoMA<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Poster,_Tropon_est_l%27aliment_le_plus_concentr%C3%A9_(Tropon,_the_most_concentrated_food_supplement),_1898_(CH_18707967).jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a poster for the nutritional supplement Tropon, Henry van de Velde explored the decorative and suggestive potential of non-representational forms, using the whiplash line to create an abstract design of organic shapes that suggest both plant-like growth and dancing figures in the rising diagonal of repeated forms.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"a-holistic-approach\">A holistic approach<\/h3>\n<p>Van de Velde worked in many different media, designing buildings, interiors, furniture, and decorative objects as well as posters. In the Continental Havana Company building in Berlin he used sinuous curves to integrate the shelving, doorways, alcoves, furniture, and walls into a unified organic whole.<\/p>\n<p>The English designer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/william-morris-and-philip-webb-red-house\/\">William Morris<\/a>\u00a0and the English Arts and Crafts Movement that he initiated were a key influence on van de Velde and many other designers associated with Art Nouveau. Morris promoted a holistic approach to interior decoration as well as advocating for the social importance of design and high quality craftwork. In 1907 van de Velde founded the School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar, Germany, which promoted similar values. It later became the famous modern art and design school, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/the-bauhaus-an-introduction\/\">Bauhaus<\/a>, which maintained the tradition of integrating art, craft, and design for the improvement of society.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"glasgow-style\">Glasgow style<\/h3>\n<p>Curving whiplash lines are a common characteristic of French and Belgian Art Nouveau, but architects and artists working in Glasgow developed a more rectilinear style exemplified by the Willow Tea Room. Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald designed every component of the tea room, including the architecture, stained glass, decorative panels, furniture, cutlery, and staff uniforms. In keeping with Art Nouveau artists elsewhere they developed original stylized design motifs based on plant forms, but theirs were rigidly contained within elongated rectangles rather than expanding into supple curves.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"vienna-secession-style\">Vienna Secession style<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Karlsplatz_Stadtbahn_Station_von_Otto_Wagner_4-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/Karlsplatz_Stadtbahn_Station_von_Otto_Wagner_4-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of Karlsplatz pavilion, a historic Art Nouveau building with a large arched window and ornate gold and green decorative elements. The structure features symmetrical design, floral patterns, and the name &quot;KARLSPLATZ&quot; displayed above green double doors.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1764\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Otto Wagner, Karlsplatz Station, Vienna, 1899 (photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Karlsplatz_Stadtbahn_Station_von_Otto_Wagner_4.JPG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B\u00f6hringer Friedrich<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a> AT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Viennese Secession style also combined strict geometric forms with stylized organic decoration. Like Guimard\u2019s entrances to the Paris Metro,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/otto-wagner-postal-savings-bank\/\">Otto Wagner<\/a>\u2019s stations for Vienna\u2019s public transportation system displayed the city\u2019s modernity and wealth in their iron construction and their luxurious gold sunflower-motif decoration.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1429px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image308.jpeg\" alt=\"Photograph of Secession Building in Vienna, an example of Art Nouveau architecture featuring a white facade with gold accents and a distinctive golden dome made of laurel leaves. The building serves as an exhibition hall for contemporary art, with visible inscriptions and ornamental details highlighting its cultural significance.\" width=\"1429\" height=\"953\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joseph Maria Olbrich, Secession Building, Vienna, 1898 (photo:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Secession01.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Steiner<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Joseph Maria Olbrich\u2019s Secession Building proclaimed the goals of the rebellious group of artists who seceded from the Austrian art establishment in order to embrace avant-garde modern art. They displayed their work inside Olbrich\u2019s building as well as hosting international exhibitions of modern art. The stylized decoration of the building is based on plant forms, while the structure emphasizes the harmonious balance of basic geometric shapes.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1429px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Gustav_Klimt_-_Beethovenfries_Die_Ku%CC%88nste_Paradieschor_und_Umarmung_Tafel_8_rechte_Langwand_-_5987-8_-_O%CC%88sterreichische_Galerie_Belvedere-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image309.jpeg\" alt=\"Gustav Klimt, Choir of Angels from the Beethoven Frieze, featuring a three part scene with nude female figures on the far right with curved bodies and rounded brown hair with the central panel of seven angelic figures. On the fright, a nude couple embraces in front of a gold and patterned background.\" width=\"1429\" height=\"642\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gustav Klimt, Choir of Angels from the <em>Beethoven Frieze<\/em>, 1902, casein, stucco, gold, and semi-precious stones on plaster (Secession Building, Vienna, <a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/art-nouveau\/?__cf_chl_f_tk=0SYomY40iF7OXjuh4syJ5EpKZ5a8UwNqWYdfkjq68mY-1783094523-1.0.1.1-TTE8sM.wPwQwX1q4hORjoa9h9XZzN1zYFkomjMA8L4c\">Smarthistory<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The leader of the Vienna Secession, Gustav Klimt, decorated the interior walls of the main exhibition hall with a long decorative mural dedicated to Ludwig von Beethoven. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gustav-klimt-beethoven-frieze\/\"><em>Beethoven Frieze<\/em><\/a>\u00a0combines naturalistic representation of the human body, stylized figures, and complex abstract patterns in a variety of materials. Gold leaf and semi-precious stones enhance the decorative quality of the surface, making it a dramatic union of luxurious ornament and figurative painting.<\/p>\n<p>Art Nouveau was fashionable for only a brief period around the year 1900, but the movement was part of a long-term modern trend that rejected historicism and Academicism and embraced new materials and original forms. In the modern period artists and designers increasingly recognized that the health and well-being of society and all its members were supported and enhanced by well-designed objects, buildings, and spaces. The unified designs of Art Nouveau presaged the innovations of the Bauhaus as well as architects such as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/seeing-america-2\/fallingwater-sa\/\">Frank Lloyd Wright<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/le-corbusier-villa-savoye\/\">Le Corbusier<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"architecture-in-the-post-impressionist-period-gustave-eiffel-the-eiffel-tower\">Architecture in the Post-Impressionist Period: Gustave Eiffel, <em>The Eiffel Tower<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>An engineer whose early work was centered on bridge manufacture, Gustave Eiffel would tackle increasingly ambitious and demanding projects. An icon of Paris, the Eiffel Tower exhibits the achievements of engineering and science in late 19th-century France.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-6\" title=\"Gustave Eiffel, The Eiffel Tower\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vurh8_SO6_c?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"sculpture-in-the-post-impressionist-period-auguste-rodin-the-gates-of-hell\">Sculpture in the Post-Impressionist Period: Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>Who decides when a work of art is finished? An initial reaction may have you saying that the answer is the artist, but what happens when the artist\u2019s painting or sculpture goes against preconceived notions of what constitutes a \u201ccompleted\u201d work of art? Auguste Rodin, a French artist who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was more interested in rough, blemished representations\u00a0of the human body\u00a0than idealized forms. He painstakingly immersed himself in his projects, sometimes spending years in order to develop\u00a0a work of art,\u00a0regardless of the public\u2019s response. His sculpture was often judged harshly\u00a0by the public and by\u00a0critics (sculpture was in some ways a more conservative tradition than was painting).<\/p>\n<p>When the building\u00a0that stood\u00a0on what is now the site of the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay in Paris was destroyed by fire during the Commune in 1871, plans were drawn up to replace it with a museum of decorative arts. Rodin won the competition to design a great set of doors for its entryway. Although the museum was never built, Rodin continued to work on the doors. They became an ongoing project; a grand stage for his sculptural ideas. It\u2019s fitting that the plaster of this great unfinished sculpture,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em>, is now on display at the d\u2019Orsay, the former railway terminal that was built on this site instead of the museum of decorative arts and that, by lovely coincidence, was converted into one of the world\u2019s great art museums.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-7\" title=\"Rodin, The Gates of Hell\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bfv9T1lSO2U?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-painting-of-paul-c\u00e9zanne-an-introduction\">The painting of Paul C\u00e9zanne, an introduction<\/h2>\n<p>Categorizing the style of Paul C\u00e9zanne\u2019s (Say-zahn) artwork is problematic. As a young man he left his home in Provence in the south of France in order to join with the avant-garde in Paris. He was successful, too. He fell in with the circle of young painters that surrounded Manet, he had been a childhood friend of the novelist, Emile Zola, who championed Manet, and he even showed at the first\u00a0Impressionist exhibition, held at Nadar\u2019s studio in 1874.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 553px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image310.jpeg\" alt=\"A painting depicting two men in a dimly lit room, one seated on a chair and the other reclining on a bed. The scene features muted colors with a focus on the contrast between the dark clothing of the seated man and the light, loose garment of the man on the bed, suggesting a moment of conversation or contemplation.\" width=\"553\" height=\"450\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>Paul Alexis reading to \u00c9mile Zola<\/em>, 1869-1870, oil on canvas (S\u00e3o Paulo Museum of Art, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_Alexis_Reading_a_Manuscript_to_Zola,_by_Paul_Cezanne,_1869-1870,_oil_on_canvas_-_Museu_de_Arte_de_S%C3%A3o_Paulo_-_DSC07151.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"out-of-place-in-paris\">Out of place in Paris<\/h3>\n<p>However, C\u00e9zanne didn\u2019t quite fit in with the group. Whereas many other painters in\u00a0this circle were concerned primarily with the effects of light and reflected color, \u00a0C\u00e9zanne remained deeply committed to form. Feeling out of place in Paris, he left after a relatively short period and returned to his home in Aix-en-Provence. He would remain in his native Provence for most of the rest of his life. He worked in the semi-isolation afforded by the country, but was never really out of touch with the breakthroughs of the avant-garde.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"working-outdoors-but-with-a-different-purpose\">Working outdoors, but with a different purpose<\/h3>\n<p>Like the Impressionists, he often worked outdoors directly before his subjects. But unlike the Impressionists, C\u00e9zanne used color, not as an end in itself, but rather like line, as a tool with which to construct form and space. Ironically, it is the Parisian avant-garde that would eventually seek him out. In the first years of the 20th century, just at the end of C\u00e9zanne\u2019s life, young artists would make a pilgrimage to Aix, to see the man who would change painting.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/The-Montagne-Sainte-Victoire-with-a-Large-Pine-Banner.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/The-Montagne-Sainte-Victoire-with-a-Large-Pine-Banner.jpeg\" alt=\"Painting depicting a rural landscape with a large tree in the foreground and a mountain in the background. The scene features soft, muted colors with visible brushstrokes highlighting fields, buildings, and a distant aqueduct under a partly cloudy sky.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1446\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine<\/em>, c. 1887, oil on canvas, 66.8 x 92.3 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/courtauld.ac.uk\/highlights\/montagne-sainte-victoire-with-large-pine\/\">The Courtauld Gallery, London<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Mont_Sainte-Victoire_with_Large_Pine,_by_Paul_C%C3%A9zanne.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"influence\">Influence<\/h3>\n<p>Paul C\u00e9zanne is often considered to be one of the most influential painter of the late 19th century. Pablo Picasso readily admitted his great debt to the elder master. Similarly, Henri Matisse once called C\u00e9zanne, \u201c\u2026the father of us all.\u201d For many years The Museum of Modern Art in New York organized its permanent collection so as to begin with an entire room devoted to C\u00e9zanne\u2019s painting. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also gives over an entire large room to him. Clearly, many artists and curators consider him enormously important.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"paul-c\u00e9zanne-mont-sainte-victoire\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>Mont Sainte-Victoire<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-8\" title=\"C\u00e9zanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KJuYXFHvRaY?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"paul-c\u00e9zanne-the-basket-of-apples\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>The Basket of Apples<\/em><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CezanneBasket.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/CezanneBasket-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Painting of a still life scene featuring a basket filled with apples, a dark bottle, a plate with breadsticks, and a white cloth draped over a wooden table. The composition uses muted colors and soft brushstrokes to highlight textures and natural forms, emphasizing everyday objects arranged in a balanced layout.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2045\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>The Basket of Apples<\/em>, c. 1893, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/artworks\/111436\/the-basket-of-apples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Art Institute of Chicago<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:BotMultichillT\">BotMultichillT<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_-_The_Basket_of_Apples_-_1926.252_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Jacques-Louis David\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/neoclassicism-an-introduction\/\">Neoclassical era<\/a>, still life was considered the least important subject type. Only minor artists bothered with what was then seen as the most purely decorative and trivial of painting subjects. The hierarchy of subjects went roughly from the most important\u2014historical and religious themes (often very large in scale); to important\u2014portraiture (usually of moderate scale); less important\u2014landscape &amp; genre (themes of common life, usually of modest scale); to least important\u2014still life (generally small canvases).<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1432px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/image313.jpeg\" alt=\"Still life painting featuring a silver pitcher, ornate golden goblet, and a blue patterned bowl filled with lemons and a peeled lemon segment. Dark background contrasts with reflective metal surfaces and vibrant yellow fruit, emphasizing texture and light.\" width=\"1432\" height=\"1630\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Willem Kalf, <em>Still Life with a Silver Ewer and a Porcelain Bowl<\/em>, 1660, oil on canvas, 73.8 x 65.2 cm (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/FebwKd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steven Zucker<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"a-hopeless-subject\">A hopeless subject<\/h3>\n<p>There had been one significant historical exception. In the 17th century in Northern Europe and particularly in the Netherlands,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/kalf-ewer\/\">still life<\/a>\u00a0blossomed. But this period was brief and had little impact in France other than in the work of Jean Sim\u00e9on Chardin. So why would C\u00e9zanne turn so often to this discredited subject?<\/p>\n<p>It was the very fact that still life was so neglected that seems to have attracted C\u00e9zanne to it. So outmoded was the iconography (symbolic forms and references) in still life that this rather hopeless subject was freed of virtually all convention. Here was a subject that offered extraordinary freedom, a blank slate that gave C\u00e9zanne the opportunity to invent meaning unfettered by tradition. And C\u00e9zanne would almost single-handedly revive the subject of still life making\u00a0it an important subject for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/picasso-still-life-with-chair-caning\/\">Picasso<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/matisse-goldfish\/\">Matisse<\/a>, and others in the 20th century.<\/p>\n<p>The image at the top of this page looks simple enough: a wine bottle, a basket tipped up to expose a bounty of fruit inside, a plate of what are perhaps stacked cookies or small rolls, and a tablecloth both gathered and draped. Nothing remarkable, at least not until one begins to notice the odd errors in drawing. Look, for instance, at the lines that represent the close and far edge of the table. I remember an old student of mine remarking to the class, \u201cI would never hire him as a carpenter!\u201d What she had noticed was the odd stepping of a line that we expect to be straight.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CezanneCookieDetail.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/CezanneCookieDetail-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of Paul C\u00e9zanne, The Basket of Apples painting of a still life featuring a white plate stacked with several \u00e9clairs, surrounded by apples and other round fruits on a dark surface. The artwork uses muted, blended colors with visible brushstrokes, emphasizing texture and form in a post-impressionist style.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1754\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cookies (detail), Paul C\u00e9zanne, <em>The Basket of Apples<\/em>, c. 1893, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/artworks\/111436\/the-basket-of-apples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Art Institute of Chicago<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:BotMultichillT\">BotMultichillT<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_-_The_Basket_of_Apples_-_1926.252_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"purposeful-errors\">Purposeful errors<\/h3>\n<p>But that is not all that is wrong. The table seems to be too steeply tipped at the left, so much so that the fruit is in danger of rolling off it. The bottle looks tipsy and the cookies are very odd indeed. The cookies stacked below the top layer seem as if they are viewed from the side, but at the same moment, the two on top seem to pop upward as if we were looking down at them. This is an important key to understanding the questions that we\u2019ve raised about C\u00e9zanne\u2019s pictures so far.<\/p>\n<p>Like \u00c9douard Manet, from whom he borrowed so much, C\u00e9zanne was prompted to rethink the value of the various illusionistic techniques that he had inherited from the masters of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/primer-italian-renaissance-art\/\">Renaissance<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/a-beginners-guide-to-baroque-art\/\">Baroque<\/a>\u00a0eras. This was due in part to the growing impact of photography and its transformation of modern representation. While Edgar Degas and Claude Monet borrowed from the camera the fragmenting of time, C\u00e9zanne\u00a0saw this mechanized segmentation\u00a0of time as artificial and at odds with the perception of the human eye. By C\u00e9zanne\u2019s era, the camera did shatter time into fragments as do non-digital\u00a0cameras that can be set so that the shutter is open to light for only 1\/1000 of a second.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"sight-and-memory\">Sight and memory<\/h3>\n<p>C\u00e9zanne pushed this distinction between the vision of the camera and of human vision. He reasoned that the same issues applied to the illusionism of the old masters, of Raphael, Leonardo, Caravaggio, etc. For instance, think about how linear perspective works. Since the Early Renaissance, constructing the illusion of space required that the artist remain frozen in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/early-applications-of-linear-perspective\/\">a single point in space<\/a>\u00a0in order to maintain consistent recession among all receding orthogonals. This frozen vantage point belongs to both the artist and then the viewer. But is it a full description of the experience of human sight? C\u00e9zanne\u2019s still life suggests that it is not.<\/p>\n<p>If a Renaissance painter set out to render C\u00e9zanne\u2019s still life objects (not that they would, mind you), that artist would have placed himself in a specific point before the table and taken great pains to render the collection of tabletop objects only from that original perspective. Every orthogonal line would remain consistent (and straight). But this is clearly not what C\u00e9zanne had in mind. His perspective seems jumbled. When we first look carefully, it may appear as if he was simply unable to draw, but if you spend more time, it may occur to you that C\u00e9zanne is, in fact, drawing carefully, although according to a new set of rules.<\/p>\n<p>Seemingly simple, C\u00e9zanne\u2019s concern with representing the true experience of sight had enormous implications for 20th-century visual culture. C\u00e9zanne realized that unlike the fairly simple and static Renaissance vision of space, people actually see in a fashion that is more complex, we see through both time and space. In other words, we move as we see. In contemporary terms, one might say that human vision is less like the frozen vision of a still camera and more akin to the continuous vision of a video camera\u2014except that C\u00e9zanne worked with oil on canvas which dries and becomes static.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CezanneTableDetail.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/06\/CezanneTableDetail-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Edge of table seen in multiple perspectives (detail), Paul C\u00e9zanne, The Basket of Apples painting of a still life featuring a white cloth draped over a surface with several oranges placed on and around it. The artwork uses warm tones with textured brushstrokes, highlighting contrast between the smooth fruit and the crumpled fabric.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"901\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Edge of table seen in multiple perspectives (detail), Paul C\u00e9zanne, The Basket of Apples, c. 1893, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/artworks\/111436\/the-basket-of-apples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Art Institute of Chicago<\/a>, Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/User:BotMultichillT\">BotMultichillT<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Paul_C%C3%A9zanne_-_The_Basket_of_Apples_-_1926.252_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg\">Wikimedia<\/a>, License: <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"purposeful-destruction\">Purposeful destruction<\/h3>\n<p>So very tentatively, C\u00e9zanne began the purposeful destruction of the unified image. Look again at the cookies, or whatever they are, stacked upon the plate in the upper right. Is it possible that the gentle disagreements that we noted result from the representation of two slightly different viewpoints? These are not large ruptures, but rather, they suggest careful and tentative discovery. It is as if C\u00e9zanne had simply depicted the bottom cookies as he looked across at them and then as he looked more slightly down at the top cookies after shifting his weight to his forward leg. Furthermore, I\u2019m not sure that he was all that proud of these breaks that allow for more than a single perspective. Look, for instance, at the points where the table must break to express these multiple perspectives and you will notice that they are each hidden from view. Nevertheless, in doing this, C\u00e9zanne changed the direction of painting.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"conclusion-10\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The late 19<sup>th<\/sup> century was a dynamic period. The use of modern materials in architecture (<em>Eiffel Tower<\/em>) and design (Art Nouveau) was introduced. Artists, like Seurat, experimented with the scientific capabilities of color while other artists, such as Gauguin and van Gogh, explored the spiritual and emotional possibilities of color. C\u00e9zanne questioned the traditional technique of linear perspective as truthful, experimented with multiple perspectives in rendering pictorial space, and began to collapse the picture plane. Post-Impressionism was a revolutionary era. The concepts and techniques introduced by Post-Impressionism became the foundation for all Modern Art.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"citation-and-licensing-10\">Citation and Licensing<\/h3>\n<p>The following sections were written by Chelsea Wright and licensed <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA 4.0<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Chapter Overview and Introduction<\/li>\n<li>Focus artwork and term list compiled by Chelsea Wright<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The following articles from <em>Smarthistory<\/em> licensed <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA 4.0<\/a> were remixed and adapted for the chapter:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/introduction-to-neo-impressionism-part-i\/\">Neo-Impressionism part I, an introduction<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, April 15, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/introduction-to-neo-impressionism-part-ii\/\">Neo-Impressionism part II, an introduction<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, April 15, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/georges-seurat-a-sunday-on-la-grande-jatte-1884\/\">Georges Seurat,\u00a0<em>A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2013 1884<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, December 4, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/neo-impressionist-color-theory\/\">Neo-Impressionist Color Theory<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, April 15, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/paul-gauguin-vision-after-the-sermon-or-jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel\/\">Paul Gauguin,\u00a0<em>Vision after the Sermon<\/em>(or\u00a0<em>Jacob Wrestling with the Angel<\/em>)<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, December 11, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/pont-aven-synthetism\/\">The Pont-Aven School and Synthetism<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, June 29, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/nabis-symbolism\/\">The Nabis and Symbolism<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, June 14, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/vincent-van-gogh\/\">Vincent van Gogh<\/a>,\u201d in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/van-gogh-potato-eaters\/\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Potato Eaters<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, January 8, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Noelle Paulson, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/van-gogh-the-starry-night\/\">Vincent van Gogh,\u00a0<em>The Starry Night<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/edvard-munch\/\">Edvard Munch<\/a>,\u201d in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Noelle Paulson, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/munch-the-scream\/\">Edvard Munch,\u00a0<em>The Scream<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"\/smarthistory.org\/period-culture-style\/vienna-secession\/\">Vienna Secession<\/a>,\u201d in <em>Smarthistory.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/gustav-klimt\/\">Guxave Klimt<\/a>,\u201d in <em>Smarthistory.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gustav-klimt-the-kiss\/\">Gustav Klimt,<em>The Kiss<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, December 5, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Charles Cramer and Dr. Kim Grant, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/art-nouveau\">Art Nouveau<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, June 14, 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Elisabeth Rowney, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/rodin-walking\/\">Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Walking Man<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, September 10, 2016.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/auguste-rodin-the-gates-of-hell\/\">Auguste Rodin,\u00a0<em>The Gates of Hell<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, November 23, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Smarthistory, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/artist\/gustave-eiffel\/\">Gustave Eiffel<\/a>,\u201d in <em>Smarthistory.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/gustave-eiffel-tower\/\">Gustave Eiffel, The Eiffel Tower<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, January 9, 2026.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/an-introduction-to-the-painting-of-paul-cezanne\/\">The painting of Paul C\u00e9zanne, an introduction<\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Ben Harvey, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/cezanne-mont-sainte-victoire\/\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>Mont Sainte-Victoire<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/smarthistory.org\/cezanne-the-basket-of-apples\">Paul C\u00e9zanne,\u00a0<em>The Basket of Apples<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; in\u00a0<em>Smarthistory<\/em>, August 9, 2015.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-3207-1\">F\u00e9lix F\u00e9n\u00e9on, \u201cLes Impressionnistes en 1886,\u201d as translated in Linda Nochlin, ed.,\u00a0<em>Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, 1874-1904: Sources and Documents<\/em>\u00a0(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), p. 108. <a href=\"#return-footnote-3207-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-3207-2\">Paul Signac,\u00a0<em>From Eug\u00e8ne Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism<\/em>\u00a0(1899), as translated in Nochlin, ed., p. 122. <a href=\"#return-footnote-3207-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-3207-3\">Paul Signac,\u00a0<em>From Eugene Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism<\/em>, as translated in Linda Nochlin, editor,\u00a0<em>Impressionism and Post-Impressionism<\/em>,\u00a0<em>1874\u20131904: Sources and Documents<\/em>\u00a0(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), 121. <a href=\"#return-footnote-3207-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-3207-4\">Henri F\u00e8vre, \u201cL\u2019Exposition des Impressionnistes,\u201d in\u00a0<em>\u00c9tude sur le Salon de 1886 et sur l\u2019exposition des impressionnistes<\/em>\u00a0(Paris, 1886), p. 43 (our translation). <a href=\"#return-footnote-3207-4\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 4\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-3207-5\">Paul Signac, \u201cImpressionists and Revolutionaries,\u201d\u00a0<em>La R\u00e9volte<\/em>, June 13-19, 1891, as translated in Nochlin, ed., p. 124. <a href=\"#return-footnote-3207-5\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 5\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-3207-6\">ibid., p. 124. <a href=\"#return-footnote-3207-6\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 6\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-3207-7\">Maurice Denis, \u201cDefinition of neo-traditionism\u201d (1890), in Jean-Paul Bouillon, ed.,\u00a0<em>Le Ciel et l\u2019arcadie<\/em>\u00a0(Paris: Hermann, 1993), p. 5 (authors\u2019 translation). <a href=\"#return-footnote-3207-7\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 7\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":42,"menu_order":12,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-3207","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/3207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/3207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3494,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/3207\/revisions\/3494"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/3207\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=3207"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=3207"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palomar.edu\/arthc1200\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=3207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}