Final answer:
Impressionist artists aimed to capture fleeting atmospheres and moments through innovative uses of color and light. Post-Impressionists expanded upon this by using vivid colors and techniques to express emotions and inner experiences. These movements marked a significant shift from traditional color use, focusing on visual effects over detailed representation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Impressionist artists had a revolutionary impact on the art world with their distinct approach to painting. They sought to capture the impermanence of light and atmospheric conditions, thereby capturing a fleeting moment in their artwork. Utilizing a technique of placing small dabs of pure, vibrant color side by side, they created a mosaic that, when viewed from a distance, would blend optically in the viewer’s eye, achieving a luminous effect that differed from the traditional method of mixing colors on a palette. This approach not only rendered the light and color with a new intensity but also utilized fluidity in brushstrokes to depict movement and change.
Post-Impressionist artists took this color experimentation further, focusing on expressing inner feelings and subconscious emotions. Using bright, often unnatural colors and bold techniques, such as Seurat’s pointillism or Van Gogh’s expressive brushstrokes, they communicated a deeper emotional resonance in their work. The genuine language of color became a dreamlike narrative as seen in Gauguin’s work or an emotional encounter as Cézanne described it.
The Impressionists’ use of light and color to create meaning introduced a new vocabulary in painting. Rather than describing scenes with precision, these artists emphasized overall visual effects, those transient feelings evoked by the ever-changing light.