Part I · Art movements · Chapter 9 of 31

Post-Impressionism

c. 1886–1905. Post-Impressionists took Impressionism's bright colour and pushed it in new directions: scientific dots, emotional brushwork, solid geometric structure and flat symbolic colour.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat — **A Sunday on La Grande Jatte**, Georges Seurat (1884–1886). Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh — **The Starry Night**, Vincent van Gogh (1889). Oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh — **Sunflowers**, Vincent van Gogh (1888). Oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Context

'Post-Impressionism' is not one style but a group of very different painters working after the last Impressionist exhibition of 1886.

Seurat applied colour science (pointillism); Cézanne rebuilt nature from planes and patches of colour; Van Gogh used colour and thick brushwork for emotion; Gauguin used flat colour and simplified forms for symbolic meaning.

Their work led directly to the 20th century: Cubism grew from Cézanne, Fauvism and Expressionism from Van Gogh and Gauguin.

Key artists

Artist	Life	Known for
Georges Seurat	1859–1891	Pointillism: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.
Paul Cézanne	1839–1906	Structure from colour: Mont Sainte-Victoire, The Card Players.
Vincent van Gogh	1853–1890	Emotional colour and impasto: The Starry Night, Sunflowers.
Paul Gauguin	1848–1903	Flat, symbolic colour: Where Do We Come From?
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec	1864–1901	Paris nightlife and posters.
Henri Rousseau	1844–1910	Self-taught, dreamlike clarity: The Sleeping Gypsy.

Key works

Tap any image to zoom; works marked ◎ have notes on key details.

Irises by Vincent van Gogh — **Irises**, Vincent van Gogh (1889). Oil on canvas. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Café Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh — **Café Terrace at Night**, Vincent van Gogh (1888). Oil on canvas. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

The Bedroom by Vincent van Gogh — **The Bedroom**, Vincent van Gogh (1888). Oil on canvas. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear by Vincent van Gogh — **Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear**, Vincent van Gogh (1889). Oil on canvas. The Courtauld, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

The Card Players by Paul Cézanne — **The Card Players**, Paul Cézanne (1890–1895). Oil on canvas. Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Mont Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne — **Mont Sainte-Victoire**, Paul Cézanne (c. 1887). Oil on canvas. The Courtauld, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

The Basket of Apples by Paul Cézanne — **The Basket of Apples**, Paul Cézanne (c. 1893). Oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? by Paul Gauguin — **Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?**, Paul Gauguin (1897–1898). Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau — **The Sleeping Gypsy**, Henri Rousseau (1897). Oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Shoes by Vincent van Gogh — **Shoes**, Vincent van Gogh (1888). Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)

Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses by Paul Cézanne — **Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses**, Paul Cézanne (ca. 1890). Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)

Techniques

Pointillism/divisionism: dots of pure colour that mix optically.
Constructive strokes: parallel patches of colour that build form and space (Cézanne).
Directional impasto: thick strokes that follow the form or movement (Van Gogh).
Complementary contrast: blue/orange, red/green, yellow/violet.
Cloisonnism: flat areas of colour inside dark outlines (Gauguin, Japanese prints).
Multiple viewpoints in one picture (Cézanne's still lifes).

How to paint in this style

Choose a simple motif — a chair, a bowl of fruit, a tree, a starry sky.
Decide your approach: dots (Seurat), patches (Cézanne) or rhythmic strokes (Van Gogh).
Pick a complementary pair as the main colour idea — e.g. blue sky and orange fields.
Outline major shapes in a dark blue or ultramarine line if you want a bold, graphic look.
Apply paint thickly; make each stroke follow the direction of the form.
Simplify. Exaggerate colour to express how the scene feels, not only how it looks.

Typical palette

Zinc and lead white, chrome yellow, cadmium yellow, vermilion, geranium lake, emerald green, viridian, cobalt blue, ultramarine and Prussian blue.