Pierre Auguste Renoir Post Impressionism Analysis

Impressionism began in the late 1800s in France led by a group of artists who rebelled against the standard artistic teachings of that time period. Specifically, Impressionists rejected the artificiality of painting idealized scenes in studio settings; rather, they preferred painting realistic scenarios from outside in their natural setting, emphasizing the play of light on objects and the utilization of painting techniques that suggested movement and the transitory nature of the scene (Grove). One of the artists who was a strong proponent of these changes and was at the forefront of the emergence of the Impressionism movement was Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Grove). Shortly after Renoir was born in Limoges, France, on February 25, 1841, his family …show more content…
Specifically, purely on the basis of these two paintings, one could infer that both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism encompass: (1) intimate scenes of common folk engaged in everyday activities; (2) scenarios that occur outside of artists' studios; (3) poses that are casual as if caught unaware; and (4) strategic utilization of light and color for effect more than depicting strict realism. As for the differences, based on this particular Renoir painting, Impressionist artists tend to use light colors, such as pastels, and smooth, fine brushstrokes to convey light and atmosphere, which, in turn, produces a more two-dimensional, flat image. Such technique also supports the inference that Impressionist artists are intending to produce a more ethereal image and effect than Post-Impressionists in their portrayal of everyday life. In comparison, this particular painting by van Gogh leads one to deduce that Post-Impressionist artists tend to use slightly more vivid and intense colors and a combination of smooth and hard brushstrokes, which, in turn, give their artwork slightly more realism than Impressionist paintings. This is due to this technique's resulting effect of producing much more distinct lines and texture, thus, yielding an almost three-dimensional look. Based on this painting, one can infer that Post-Impressionists also use swirls and other designs within their paintings to produce the effect of texture, as well as movement, which is absent from Impressionistic art. The differences between the techniques utilized by these two artists in producing these two paintings also support an inference that Post-Impressionist artists are attempting to evoke from their audience a stronger, more visceral emotional reaction to their art and the subjects portrayed than that of the Impressionist artists. As an illustration of this point, upon viewing van