Neo-impressionism

Neo-impressionism was coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat’s greatest masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, marked the beginning of this movement when it first made its appearance at an exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants in Paris. Around this time, the peak of France’s modern era emerged and many painters were in search of new methods. Followers of neo-impressionism, in particular, were drawn to modern urban scenes as well as landscapes and seashores. Science-based interpretation of lines and colors influenced neo-impressionists’ characterization of their own contemporary art. Pointillism technique is often mentioned, because it was the dominant technique in the beginning.

 

(Georges Seurat  1884–1886)

Overview

Principles of Aesthetic: Light and Color

During the emergence of neo-impressionism, Seurat and his followers strived to refine the impulsive and intuitive artistic mannerisms of impressionism. Neo-impressionists used disciplined networks of dots in their desire to instill a sense of organization and permanence. In further defining the movement, Seurat incorporated the recent explanation of optic and color perceptions.
The development of color theory in the late nineteenth century played a pivotal role in shaping the neo-impressionist style. Ogden Rood’s book, Modern Chromatics, with Applications to Art and Industry, acknowledged the different behaviors exhibited by colored light and colored pigment. While the mixture of the former created a white or gray color, that of the latter produced a dark, murky color. As painters, neo-impressionists had to deal with colored pigments. To avoid the dullness, they devised a system of pure-color juxtaposition. Mixing of colors was not necessary. The effective utilization of pointillism facilitated in eliciting a distinct luminous effect, and from a distance, the dots came together as a whole displaying maximum brilliance and conformity to actual light conditions.

Origins of the term

There are a number of alternatives to the term, “neo-impressionism,” and each has its own nuance:

• Chromoluminarism was a term preferred by Georges Seurat. It emphasized the studies of color and light which were central to his artistic style. This term is rarely used today.

• Divisionism, which is more commonly used, is often used interchangeably with the official term, “neo-impressionism.” It refers to the method of applying individual strokes of primary colors.

• Neo-impressionism (new impressionism) Unlike other styles in this era, neo-impressionism did not receive its name by harsh critics that ridiculed its style. Instead, the term embraces Seurat’s and his followers’ ideals in their style of art.

Note: Pointillism merely describes the technique of painting used during this period.

Criticism

At the start of the movement, neo-Impressionism was not welcomed by the art world and the general public. In 1886, when Seurat first exhibited his now most famous work, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, there was an overwhelming effect of negative feelings. The commotion evoked by this artwork could only be described with words like "bedlam" and "scandal".
Neo-Impressionists’ use of tiny dots to compose a whole picture was considered even more controversial than its preceding movement, impressionism. Impressionism had been notorious for its spontaneous representation of fleeting moments and roughness in brushwork. Neo-impressionism provoked similar responses for opposite reasons. The meticulously calculated regularity of brush strokes was deemed to be too mechanical. This style of painting was far from the commonly accepted notions of creative processes set for the nineteenth century.

List of neo-impressionists

• Charles Angrand                                                       

  

• Anna Boch
• Henri Edmond Cross
• Albert Dubois-Pillet
• Willy Finch
• Georges Lemmen

• Maximilien Luce
• Theo van Rysselberghe
• Georges Seurat
• Paul Signac
• Jan Toorop
• Henry van de Velde

The Group of                               Néo-Impressionist Painters

Neo-Impressionism was first presented to the public, in 1886, at the Société des Artistes Indépendants. The Indépendants remained their main exhibition space for decades with Signac acting as president of the association. But with the success of Neo-Impressionism, its fame spread quickly. In 1886, Seurat and Signac were invited to exhibit in the 8th and final Impressionist exhibition, later with Les XX and La Libre Esthétique in Brussels.
Finally, in 1892, a group of Néo-Impressionist Painters united to show their works in Paris, "in the Salons of the Hôtel Brébant, 32, boulevard Poissonnière." The following year they exhibited at "20, rue Laffitte". The exhibitions were accompanied by catalogues, the first with reference to the printer: Imp. Vve Monnom, Brussels; the second refers to "M. Moline", secretary.

2 December 1892 - 8 January 1893

• Participants: Alexandre Charpentier - Henri-Edmond Cross - Léo Gausson - Maximilien Luce - Hippolyte Petitjean - Lucien Pissarro - the late Georges Seurat - Paul Signac - Theo Van Rysselberghe

December 1893 - January 1894

• Participants: Charles Angrand - Henri-Edmond Cross - Maximilien Luce - Hippolyte Petitjean - Lucien Pissarro - Georges Pissarro - Félix Pissarro - Antoine de la Rochefoucauld - the late Georges Seurat - Paul Signac - Theo Van Rysselberghe

Conclusion

This movement’s peak years lasted about five years (1886-1891), but did not end with Georges Seurat’s death in 1891. Neo-impressionism continued to expand over the next decade with an even more distinctive characteristic. Incorporation of political and social ideas, especially anarchism, started showing prominence. 

                                         Anna Boch by Isidore Verheyden
Anna Boch

Anna Rosalie Boch (10 February 1848 – 25 February 1936) was a Belgian painter, born in Saint-Vaast, Hainaut. Anna Boch died in Ixelles in 1936 and is interred there in the Ixelles Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium.

Artistic style

Boch participated in the Neo-Impressionist movement. Her early works used a Pointillist technique, but she is best known for her Impressionist style which she adopted for most of her career. A pupil of Isidore Verheyden, she was influenced by Théo van Rysselberghe whom she met in the Groupe des XX.

Collection

Besides her own paintings, Boch held one of the most important collections of impressionist paintings of its time.[1] She promoted many young artists including Vincent van Gogh whom she admired for his talent and who was a friend of her brother Eugène Boch. The Vigne Rouge (The Red Vineyard), purchased by Anna Boch, was long believed to be the only painting Van Gogh sold during his lifetime. The Anna Boch collection was sold after her death. In her will, she donated the money to pay for the retirement of poor artist friends.

Legacy

140 of her own Paintings were left to her godchild Ida van Haelewijn, the daughter of her gardener. Many of these paintings show Ida van Haelewijn as a little girl in the garden. In 1968 these 140 paintings were purchased by her great nephew Luitwin von Boch, the CEO of Villeroy & Boch Ceramics. The paintings remained in the house of Ida van Haelewijn until her death in 1992. The Anna & Euegen Boch Museum / Expo opened March 30 2011.
Some paintings were also donated by Anna Boch's will to various Museums like the Musées Royaux de Beaux Arts de Belgique. Different exhibition of her life and work were held at the Royal Museum of Mariemont with Morlanwelz, between October at December 2000 or in the Vincent van Gogh Huis in 2010.
Her name is associated with famous Museums like the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris  or the Van Gogh Huis in the Netherlands.