Escape to myself

I visited this exhibition on impulse having seen it advertised on recent trips to London. It was worth it. The exhibition examined the way in which Impressionism acted as a catalyst for various movements in Modern Art; Abstraction, Cubism, Post Impressionism, Fauvism, German Expressionism and many more. The exhibition contained works by so many artists it was a joy to see them collected together so that one could compare influences from one artist to another and the interplay of ideas as Europe opened its gaze to the art of Africa, Japan and other cultures and ways of seeing.

Impressionists

Impressionism was a movement set against the backdrop of the traditional forms and subjects in art and as such exercised a profound influence on art in the decades that followed. The experimental works of Cezanne ,Van Gogh and Gauguin particularly impacted on the subsequent search for underlying form, spatial qualities and the symbolic and emotional qualities inherent in painting. Gauguin was the father of several schools as the Fauves and Nabis with their interest in line and the symbolic value of colour while Cezanne’s influence extended to the Cubism of Braque and Picasso and the abstract work of Mondrian. While many artists followed the more domestic themes and depicted the Demi monde of many impressionists such as Degas which found its way into the art of Toulouse Lautrec Vuillard and Bonnard. Matisse also drew from the decorative patterns of that period and of life on the streets and the theatre.

Van Gogh, Gauguin, Symbolism, Fauvism, The Nabis

Cezanne, Cubism and abstraction

This was a wonderful exhibition; intelligently curated and clearly articulated. To see such an important and impressive selection of artists hung together was a real treat. Where else could you see important works by Kandinsky, Mondrian, Gauguin, Degas, Signac, Seurat, Serusier, Picasso, Matisse and Klimt. this was a world beater. The use of such a wide range if artists to explore the influential role of the Parisian art scene in The Netherlands, Germany, Spain and further afield was a rare opportunity,