Post-Impressionism Explained: Cézanne, Seurat, Gauguin and Van Gogh

Post-Impressionism was a range of approaches to painting that grew out of Impressionism in the late 19th century, including the distinctive work of Cézanne, Seurat, Gauguin and Van Gogh. These artists did not share a single style. Understanding what each one emphasized—structure, color, symbolism or expression—makes their paintings easier to compare.

How is art history explained?

Art history examines artworks in relation to how they look, how they were made and the circumstances in which they were produced. Post-Impressionism is a useful example because its artists shared a historical moment but pursued different goals.

The term describes artists working mainly in the late 19th century who built on or moved beyond Impressionism. Critic Roger Fry popularized the label through a 1910 exhibition in London, years after many of the works were made.

• Paul Cézanne: In his paintings of Mont Sainte-Victoire, repeated patches of color build up the mountain and surrounding landscape. His interest in the structure of forms helped later artists think differently about depicting space.
• Georges Seurat: In A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884 (1884–86), he placed small marks of color side by side in a carefully organized composition. His method is associated with Pointillism and the broader approach called Divisionism.
• Paul Gauguin: In Vision after the Sermon (1888), a broad red ground and simplified shapes make the scene feel symbolic rather than strictly observed. When studying his later work in Tahiti, consider French colonialism and Gauguin’s relationships with young Tahitian women as part of its context.
• Vincent van Gogh: In The Starry Night (1889), swirling strokes and strong contrasts give the sky an intense, expressive character. His visible brushwork is as important to the painting’s effect as its subject.

For a closer look at one artist, read Vincent van Gogh: Life and Works.

What is the Renaissance to modern art timeline?

The Renaissance came centuries before Post-Impressionism. A simplified timeline helps place the movement without suggesting that each style ended neatly when the next began.

1. Renaissance, roughly 1400s–1500s: Artists developed techniques including linear perspective and studied human anatomy and classical antiquity.
2. Baroque, roughly 1600s: Artists often used dramatic movement, lighting and emotional intensity.
3. Impressionism, 1870s onward: Artists explored modern life and the effects of light and color, often with visible brushwork.
4. Post-Impressionism, late 1800s: Artists developed varied approaches to structure, color and expression.
5. Early 1900s modern art: Movements such as Fauvism and Cubism explored new uses of color and form.

For more on the movement immediately preceding it, see Impressionism Explained.

How is modern art compared to Renaissance art?

Renaissance and modern art are broad categories, so no comparison applies to every artwork. Still, comparing a Renaissance painting with a Post-Impressionist one can reveal different choices about space and color.

These are choices, not rules: Renaissance artists varied in their techniques, and Post-Impressionists did not all use color or space in the same way.

What is the relevance of Renaissance art to modern artists?

Renaissance art offers modern artists a set of ideas to use, question or change: perspective, the representation of the human body, composition and the relationship between observation and invention.

For example, comparing Cézanne’s landscapes with a painting organized around a single vanishing point can show how artists construct space differently. Rather than simply calling one image realistic and the other distorted, ask how each arrangement guides your eye and creates depth.

What is art history 2?

An art history survey often studies works across periods, asking students to connect visual features with historical context. Course coverage varies, so check the syllabus rather than assuming every survey includes the same artists.

The UPI Study Art History 2 course surveys Western art from the late medieval period through the present. The table summarizes its course details.

Which colleges list Art History 2 on an equivalency chart?

These colleges show Art History 2 (ART 102) on their equivalency charts with UPI Study. Open a college for its full chart.

See the rest of the equivalency on the Art History 2 course page, or open a college above for its full chart. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Frequently Asked Questions about Art History

Final Thoughts on Art History

Choose one work by each artist and compare its color, shapes and brushwork. Then write a sentence explaining how each artist’s choices affect what you notice or feel.