post-impressionism Various movements in painting that developed (c.1880–c.1905), especially in France, as a result of or reaction to impressionism. Roger Fry, the British painter and theorist, invented the term when he organized the exhibition Manet and the post-impressionists at the Grafton Gallery, London, in 1910. The show revolved around the work of Manet, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, who are still considered to be the dominant figures in this phase of modern art. Seurat was an important member of the post-impressionists, although his style is more accurately described as neo-impressionism. The work of these artists varies stylistically but they are linked by their rejection of impressionist naturalism.

post-Im·pres·sion·ism (also Post-Im·pres·sion·ism) • n. the work or style of a varied group of late 19th-century and early 20th-century artists including Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne. They reacted against the naturalism of the Impressionists to explore color, line, and form, and the emotional response of the artist, a concern that led to the development of expressionism.DERIVATIVES: post-Im·pres·sion·ist n. & adj.post-Im·pres·sion·is·tic adj.