Between Wonder and Form – A Post-Romantic Gaze

Post-Romanticism marks a significant evolution in still life.

Traditionally, still life themes were emotional—centered around ideas like mortality or the beauty of nature. Post-Romantic art, however, shifted toward abstraction and conceptual exploration, influenced by Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. The devastation of World Wars I and II reshaped artistic priorities. Artists struggled to express chaos, grief, and the existential uncertainty brought on by their collapsing worlds. Post-Romantic still life evolved from symbolic realism into a platform for abstraction, experimentation, and commentary on modernity.

A Post-Impressionistic Romantic approach could describe art that blends Post-Impressionism’s expressive use of color and form with Romanticism’s focus on emotion, nature, and the sublime. For instance, Van Gogh’s Starry Night evokes both emotional intensity and a sense of wonder at the natural world, effectively bridging these movements.

Post-Impressionism embraced vibrant colors, abstract forms, and expressive brushstrokes—moving away from the realism that Romanticism often relied on.

It’s important to note that Post-Romanticism and Post-Impressionism did not occur simultaneously. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction to Impressionism’s focus on naturalistic light and color. Artists like Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Gauguin emphasized personal expression, symbolism, and abstraction. While Post-Impressionism was a distinct visual art movement, Post-Romanticism influenced emotional depth across various art forms.

Today, artists like Peter Doig continue to echo this fusion. His paintings draw on symbolism, Surrealism, and Romanticism while incorporating expressive color palettes and layered compositions. In his still, almost surreal environments, the viewer senses both narrative and mystery—an emotional undercurrent that connects nature, memory, and the sublime.

Doig’s work, like that of his predecessors, doesn’t strive for realism. Instead, it evokes mood, emotion, and atmosphere—making him a contemporary torchbearer of the Post-Impressionistic Romantic spirit.

Tracey Emin, though widely known for her conceptual work, often creates paintings and drawings that are raw, emotional, and deeply personal. Her recent figurative pieces—particularly those exploring themes of love, loss, and longing—echo the Romantic tradition while embracing expressive, gestural forms reminiscent of Post-Impressionist mark-making.

Her trembling, expressive line conveys vulnerability and emotional intensity. Much of her work is autobiographical, often consisting of self-portraits or depictions of the female nude. Evocative titles heighten her work’s emotional resonance, while handwritten text—used as a form of mark-making—adds layers of intimacy and narrative to her visual language.

A painter’s work can unintentionally move between genres because genres are often subjective classifications influenced by cultural context, viewer perception and individual interpretation. Ultimately genres serve as frameworks rather than rigid boundaries, making it natural for an artwork to resonate differently with each observer.

Image 1: Vincent Van Gogh. ‘The Starry Night’. 1889.

Image 2: Peter Doig. Red Boat (Imaginary Boys). 2004

Image 3: Tracey Emin. “It was all too much”. 2018