Art Compare/Contrast Le Pin De Thesis

The perspective might seem extreme. In this sense, it is important to understand that Van Gogh was trying to break free from the limitations of the perspective frame which imposed realistic perspectives and proportions. Moreover, towards the end of his life, at the peak of his artistic maturity, he rebelled against the muted colors that Dutch painters were using at the time.

Stylistically, the task of understanding Van Gogh's paintings cannot be undertaken without a proper look at what Post-Impressionism meant. Post-Impressionism took Impressionism to another level. However, Post-Impressionists continued to use vivid colors and real-life subject matter, as well as thick layering of paint. In addition, nonetheless, Post-Impressionists rejected the confines of Impressionism which upheld natural colors and traditional forms. From this point-of-view, Van Gogh along with other Post-Impressionists such as Cezanne, Gaugain and Bonnard, blurred the limitations of conventional form, and distorted it in order to increase the expressive power of their paintings. Also, they used arbitrary color in the sense that the subject matter of the painting was not always depicted in traditional colors.

Neo-Impressionism was revolutionary as far as painting technique. Neo-Impressionists no longer mixed color pigments, but placed them on the canvas as small dots side by side. The mixture of colors that resulted from this technique was called "optical mixture," and referred to the fact that colors appeared mixted together only from a suitable distance; the main artistic advantage was the fact that colors seemed more vibrant which also enhanced the suggestive power of the subject matter. This new technique was developed by French painter Georges Seurat towards the end of the nineteenth century, with the help of chemist Eugene Chevreul, and American physicist Ogden Rood, and it was named "Divisionism."

The Bonaventure Pine in St. Tropez" is one of Signac's most famous paintings. It was executed in 1892, and represents a very good example of Divisionism. The painting depicts a pine tree in the South of France, where the painter would spend many of his summer holidays. Primary colors are created using small dots of secondary colors; in this case, the primary color in question is green. However, there is another observation to be made when discussing the palette used by Neo-Impressionists i.e. that their colors are more profound and vibrant espectially thanks to the scientific division of color. This way, light are color are enhanced, and more lively color effects are produced. In this sense, one could argue that although Post-Impressionism brought about an enlargement of perspective and style, Neo-Impressionism was more revolutionary as far as the use of color, and painting technique.

Sources:

Neo-Impressionism." Accessed November 8, 2008. http://www.impressionniste.net/neo-impressionism.htm

Paul Signac Biography." Paul Signac Online. Accessed November 8, 2008. http://www.paul-signac.com/

Post-Impressionism." Art Movements. Accessed November 8, 2008. http://www.artmovements.co.uk/postimpressionism.htm

Vincent Van Gogh Paintings." Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. Accessed November 8, 2008. http://www.vangoghgallery.com/