Post-impressionism is a unique category of art, namely because it was a very individual form of expression. Although artists in this category were inspired by the French Impressionists, they decided to take individual characteristics of that movement and exaggerated them in order to incorporate their own emotions and feelings about the subject into the painting.
Post-impressionists took their inspiration from real life but focused on the graphic qualities of that subject, rather than be concerned with the realistic depiction of the world around them. Because of the individual aspects of this artwork, it's very hard to describe post-impressionist paintings without describing the artists who used it. These artists including Vincent Van Gogh and Henry Rousseau, who used their skills to develop works that were similar, but very different, from traditional Impressionist works of the time.
Vincent Van Gogh created post-impressionist works such as 'Starry Night', 'Irises in the Garden', and 'Sunflowers on Gold', which are still popular to this day. These works used the vibrant colors typical of Impressionist art, but intensified them. His works are full of his own personal impressions, the emotions and process, that he underwent in order to create it, and art enthusiasts are still amazed by the passion present in most of his paintings. This subjective viewpoint wasn't shared in Impressionistic art, which was concerned with how light interacted with the eye in order to give an 'impression' of an object.
Rousseau also used the bright colors of Impressionism in his works, but added a distinct sense of motion and energy to his works. One of the prime examples of Rousseau's style was in his work, 'The Centenary of Independence'. This painting depicts brightly colored, flat artwork that focuses on energetic shapes and lines. The painting accurately portrays the delight of the dancers, the magnetism of movement, and the joy of the occasion in a way that a more realistic style wouldn't capture.
People around the world have been fascinated by post-impressionist artwork, and they are still widely used for decoration around the home today.
