Post-Impressionism refers to the French art movement that emerged between 1886 and 1905, which focused on the depiction of light and color in art as conveying more feeling.
One of the defining characteristics of post-Impressionist art is the presence of vivid colors. Madame Roulin Rocking the Cradle (1889) by famous post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890), is an excellent example.
Cloisonnism is a distinct art style that emerged from post-Impressionism and is considered a characteristic of post-Impressionist artwork. The art style is defined by the appearance of flat colors with dark lines.
Although not a primary characteristic, Van Gogh’s persistent use of the thick application of paint, coupled with bold contrasting colors, carried more feeling and emotion into his paintings.
Other characteristics were perseverance of flat colors, abstraction, geometric forms, symbolism, prominent outlines, and expressive colors, patterned brush strokes, distorted forms, and unnatural (modified) colors.
When we refer to modernity here, we refer to the genre of art that is unbound by the traditional forms of representation and an era of art that encourages experimentation.
While Impressionism focused on capturing a visual impression of a moment, the post-Impressionists decided to capture the emotion behind the moment, along with the visual impression.