Post-Impressionism

During the post-impressionism movement, an emphasis was taken away from the typical naturalism that
flooded the impressionist movement. Colors were caked on the pieces with the idea that the colors would
inspire certain feelings in the viewer. Blue colors were to be considered a cool color and red colors are
warm. Colors during this movement not only brought out the moods of the viewers but also brought ideas.
Red was considered to be a color of passion (Kissick 352)
One person that was especially known for his use of rich colors creating a flat painting was Paul Gauguin.
He created an addition to post-impressionism in 1891 of oil on canvas named Ia Orana Maria, which is a
portrayal of the Madonna and child. This painting is 44 ¾ x 34 ½ inches in size and originated from the
Pacific islands. In this painting, the Madonna is wearing a red dress, which is to suggest a level of warmth.
The others in the painting, to include an angel, include some hue of blue. Also, one thing about this piece
that is in need of attention is the placement of the characters on the canvas. Since space was not created,
those who are at the bottom of the canvas are made to appear closer to the viewer. Notice that Madonna
and child are both off set from the others portrayed in the painting (Kissick 352-3).
Vincent van Gogh is one of my favorite artists of all time. I love the use of lines to bring out movement or
texture. In my opinion, his work is done on an entirely different level than anyone of his day. One painting
stands out to me when I think of post-impressionism, The Night Café. This piece was created in 1888 of oil
on canvas in France. Spanning a mere 70 x 90 centimeters, this piece demands as much respect as any
mural. The same aspects from post-impressionism exist in this painting to include the use of color to create
a specific feeling. The red on the walls grouped with the lines of the lights bring out a very warm feeling of
the room. Again, the placement of the objects on the canvas gives a sense of space since there is no natural
space shown (web source).

Cubism

Cubism was a term that was not derived from any artists' opinions yet from a critic who said that the
paintings looked as if there were created of multiple cubes. This method was not used, as it may seem.
"At first glance, Cubism appears to be a purposeful distortion of visual experience, as it the artists
consciously tried to shatter and splinter their subjects into an incredibly cramped space (Kissick 402)."
This however, is not the reason of such a movement. This movement was more about portraying images in
a completely new point of view. Cubism is a rather mystical form since the reasons for the shapes are a
little vague. Painters such as Braque and Picasso used shapes and distorted images that were clearly not
conventional (Kissick 402).
Georges Braque created a piece entitled Houses at L'Estaque in 1908 in Bern. This painting is 28 3/4 x 23
5/8 inches in size and is composed of oil on canvas. This painting is a deliberate untraditional use of
space. The shadows, the lines, everything about this painting are unconventional. It seems as if this
painting depicts space in a totally different method, size of objects. The rooftops in the front of the painting
are larger than those in the back. The same works for the foliage (Kissick 404-5).
Pablo Picasso was yet another famous painting from this particular movement. Picasso strived to predict
reality in the essence of a two dimensional plane. Picasso created a piece that shows the aspects of cubism
entitled Girl with a Mandolin in 1910. This piece is in New York and is 39 ½ x 29 inches of oil on canvas.
This painting does several things that are significant in the Cubism movement. Picasso tries to display the
idea of reality on a flat surface. To do this, he has used two-dimensional shapes to form the images on the
canvas while using shadows and overlaying shapes to create a realistic area around the breasts, neck, and
arm (among others) sections. The shapes that form the background flow right up to the image of the girl to
produce the effect that the image is one with the background, sort of like a relief sculpture (Kissick 406-7).

Dadaism

Dada was formed by a group of artistic individuals in Switzerland. Dada was born out of anger therefore a
sense of anarchy can be sensed in the works of that movement. Poetry based on sound, random lines put
into one art piece, and simultaneous poetry were a few of the forms of art created in this period. Dadaism
was not only an idea of art, but also the movement had the purpose of diminishing the prior set values that
were associated with art (Kissick 416).
One of the more prominent figures in Dadaism is Jean Arp. Jean was focused on his art more than making
a spectacle of himself. Arp created a piece entitled Collage Arranged According to the Laws of Chance
from 1916-17 in France. This piece is a 19 1/8 x 13 5/8 inch collage from the Dadaism movement. Arp
believed that the conscious could be unlocked by performing art in an entirely different way. This piece
was created by randomly dropping pieces of paper on a background and simply gluing them down where
they landed. This form of art is said to be more in tune with nature than against (Kissick 418). This type of
art opened up doors to tapping the unconscious and thus led to the surrealist movement.

Surrealism

"Surrealism was Dada without the cynicism (Kissick 419)." Surrealists clang to Freud and Jung and were
delighted by the means of sexuality as a hearty competitor for the norms of art. The art of the surrealistic
movement was from an evolved Dada movement. The ideas remained the same, but the "rebel without a
cause" effect diminished.
Rene Magritte was a famous painter of the surrealist movement. One painting that really protrudes out to
me is The Rape in 1934. Originating in Belgium, this oil on canvas painting is 28 3/4 x 21 1/4 inches in
size. The reason that I enjoy this painting is that it truly represents everything that Freud, Jung, and every
surrealist has longed to express. Some might view this painting in a different way but I see it as a picture of
a woman through the eyes of a rapist. The unconscious of the rapist views all women as a sexual object.
The body features that represent the eyes and the mouth of the woman portrayed signify what a rapist might
see we he gazed upon a woman (online source).
Meret Oppenheim put together yet another piece of which I am not too fond of. Object is composed of a
fur covered spoon, saucer, and cup. The cup is 4 3/8 inches in diameter, the saucer is 9 3/8 inches in
diameter, and the spoon is eight inches long. The overall height of the piece is 2 7/8 inches tall. This piece
is in New York and is from the surrealistic movement. I'm not too fond of this piece because it is too
simplistic and it doesn't focus on the sexuality that is focused on by most pieces in the time, to include The
Rape. The main focus on this piece is based on a dream. The spoon, saucer, and cup were once a smooth
surface and are now covered in a fur.

Work Cited

1. Kissick, John. Art. Context and Criticism. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Boston.
1996. 352-423.

2. The Arts and New Movement. Vincent Van Gogh.

http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/228.html

3. The Arts and New Movement. Rene Magritte.

http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/739.html