Explore the Influence of Impressionism on Post-Impressionism: Taking Van Gogh's Works as an Example

Impressionism is a pivotal movement in the history of Western art. It revolutionizes the traditional approach to Western painting. This artistic movement emphasized the spontaneous, direct, and visual representation of natural light and its effect on colors, shapes, and textures. Impressionism is a special kind of non-traditional art without a doubt. Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous impressionist artists. He has many special characteristics: swirl-like brushstrokes, painting themes that are full of compassion and suffering consciousness, and bold and exaggerated colors. Van Gogh's works often express different emotions through strong contrast and bright colors. His works are very distinctive and full of beauty. He is also one of the most representative impressionist artists. This article will use the survey method and document retrieval method to discover the specialties of impressionism works through Van Gogh's paintings. After the discovery, this article has found three main specialties of impressionism: colors, unrealistic descriptions, and nature elements. In conclusion, this article has discovered why impressionist artworks are so special and so ‘impressive’ through the research.