Interesting facts about one of the most popular artistic movements

Left: Roger Fry. Right: A cartoon on the Post-Impressionists from the magazine Bystander
Source: theartnewspaper.com

Most of the artists whom we call "postimpressionist, lived and worked in France, but the term itself, interestingly enough, came up with the British. It is known that the word is first used by artist and art historian Roger Fry (RogerFry), but whether he was the sole author of a new term? Newspaper TheArtNewspapervyskazyvaet some insights, offering readers help in solving the mystery.

the general public, the term became known in 1910, thanks to the exhibition "Manet and the Post-Impressionism," which Fry gave a London's Grafton Galleries. For the first time in British art lovers an opportunity to see in one place a considerable number of works by Gauguin and Van Gogh.

exhibition, which opened on November 8, became a sensation. Visitors (including critics) in the majority, as usual, left angry, but for some event marked the beginning of modern art hobbies. On what kind of storm lifted exhibition eloquently illustrated by the following words of Virginia Woolf (Virginia Woolf): «In December 1910, or so to change human nature." Modernism, excites minds across Europe, finally stormed the British kingdom.

hard to believe, but Fry was called to do an exhibition at the last minute in order to plug a hole in the program, Grafton Galleries. Details about her name became known only in 1945 when one of the organizers, Desmond McCarthy (Desmond MacCarthy), told the following: "I, Roger and a young journalist, who wanted to help us with advertising, met in order to decide how to call the exhibition . It was then and there was this word, it is now anchored in the English language - "Post-Impressionism." Roger wanted to use the term, emphasizing the contrast of these artists from the Impressionists, among the options offered to them was a "expressionism." But journalists are not like those terms. In the end, Roger, losing patience, said: "Okay, let's just call them Post-Impressionists, they've already come after the Impressionists "».

So who was the journalist, by which we do not relate Cezanne and Gauguin to the expressionist or to someone else? They say he was twenty-something, and most of all, he was a male. Perhaps it was a critic, published a review of the exhibition, however, positive feedback, little is known, and their authors (among whom were Jackson, Holbrook (Holbrook Jackson), Frank Rutter (Frank Rutter) and Lewis Hind (Lewis Hind)), has already exceeded 30 and even over 40. For example, Rutter, mentioning the term in his article on October 14, 1910, was 34.

There is a version that "journalist" was not a journalist at all but an assistant principal galleries. In the archives of the Van Gogh Museum is a letter signed by a "F. Walston, subordinates Fry (signature not legible). About this employee's nothing more is known, perhaps it was he was supposed to "help with advertising»?

What is surprising, because that's what an unnamed young man anywhere in writing no mention of its key role in this matter, although the exhibition was the status of a historically significant event. "Journalist" could be killed during the First World War broke out less than four years.

In any case, those who engage in advertising the exhibition, expected success, surpassed the boldest expectations . In the press has been more than 50 book reviews, and the number of visitors was 25,000 - an incredible record for a commercial gallery!

hundred years have passed since then, and the Post-Impressionists viewers shaft knocked so far. It is expected that the most popular London exhibition will be "real Van Gogh: Artist and His Letters (The Royal Academy, January 23 - April 18) and" Gauguin. Mifotvorets »(Tate Modern, September 30 - January 16, 2011). Van Gogh came to see the 411,000 people organizers expect a retrospective of Gauguin, the number of visitors will exceed 350,000. In general, go "nostril to nostril».

Translation Yulia Maximova, AI

Sources: theartnewspaper.com , artinvestment.ru