Tessa McCann

Paul Gauguin was a post impressionist artist, who was born on June 7
th
, 1848 in France.
Gauguin had been interested in art from an early age. He would paint in his free time, visit galleries,
and occasionally bought paintings. One painting he bought was Cezanne's Still Life with Fruit Dish,
which was his prize possession and his inspiration for Still Life with Teapot and Fruit.
Gauguin's Still Life with Teapot and Fruit is very similar to Still Life with Fruit Dish.
Gauguin's painting is oil on canvas, it is similar to Cezanne's painting with some differences. Gauguin's
painting has mangos instead of apples. One of the major differences is there is a figure in the
background of the painting. His painting has very bright colors, with distinctive brush strokes. Each
object is outlined boldly, the shadows are distinct and do not blend with the objects.
Edgar Degas was born in Paris, France in 1834. Degas began to have a passion for painting
when he was eighteen. In 1855 Edgar was admitted to Ecole des Beaux Arts, where he studied drawing.
A large amount of Degas' paintings are of women bathing, and ballet rehearsals. One such painting,
Dancers in the Rehearsal Room with a Double Bass depicts a large room filled with dancers. At one
end of the room, there are three large windows, where most of the dancers are stretching. In the front
most part of the painting is a single girl, bending down and adjusting her slipper. Next to her is a
double bass, laying on the ground. The painting is an oil painting on canvas, which is made of a lot of
rich dark colors. The brush strokes are very clear, especially on the wall, it gives is an old, rustic look.
The painting itself is very realistic, however certain aspects of the painting stand out. With the
combination of depth perception, colors, lighting, and shadows it makes the painting very realistic and
visually stimulating.
Looking at the two painting and the artists distinctive styles the impressionist painting uses
warm muted tones, while the post impressionist painting uses bright colors with a cool undertone. The
depth perception of the impressionist painting is very prominent, while the post impressionist painting
shows depth, but in a different way. One difference I noticed is the post impressionist painting as a
slightly cartoon look, while the impressionist is most realistic, most of the objects do not have a distinct
black outline, while the post impressionist painting does. Each style is unique and wildly different.
Saying one style of art is superior to the other is the equivalent of saying an apple is superior to an
orange. Their differences make them impossible to categorize together.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/29.100.127
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1997.391.2
http://www.edgar-degas.org/biography.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436138?=&imgNo=0&tabName=o
bject-information
(Post Impressionism Painting): http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/hb/hb_1997.391.2.jpg
(Impressionism Painting): http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/hb/hb_29.100.127.jpg