Feb 23rd Egypt Diaries: Sun, Fun and Neo-Impressionism
“It is not a question of following a beautiful path, but of following your path. As Nietzsche said, become what you are. What a pity! For one minute of certainty, how many hours of doubt!" - Henri-Edmond Cross
Last week in Athens I attended the Neo-Impressionist exhibition at the Basil and Elise Art Foundation in Pagrati. The collection focused on neo-impressionist paintings inspired by the mediterranean and the display was drenched with joyful colour.
The Neo-impressionists were a group of young artists who broke away from the bleak, grey industrialism of Paris and migrated to the then untouched, colourful villages of the Côte d’Azur. Their paintings in the collection were characterised by the warm colours of the mediterranean, the technique of using tiny dabs of primary colours to create the illusion of light and vivid depictions of nature. While less serious than their impressionist predecessors, the movement is a revolution in a bright, playful palette.
Key members of the group include the leader Georges Seurat and his fellow painters Paul Signac, Henri-Edmond Cross, Maximilien Luce, Théo van Rysselberghe, Henri Matisse and Henri Manguin. The collective set out to create a scientific basis behind their painting by putting lots of tiny dabs of colour next to each other to intensify the viewer’s perception of the colours.
What I mainly took away from the exhibition was the joie de vivre of the paintings. Gazing at the array of pieces, I was mainly struck by instant joy rather than a pervasive deeper subconscious. The people in the paintings were neither suffering or pondering, but rather living in the moment. Equally, nature was depicted as immediate and welcoming, rather than foreboding or looming.
Perhaps in a worldscape marked by genocide, lack of hope and uncertainty, we need artistic movements to be more like the neo-impressionists. Fun, colourful and full of sun. A sort of happiness for happiness sake.
In many ways, living in pursuit of happiness is a revolutionary act in itself. Choosing to break away from previous norms, like the greyness of industrialism in Seurat’s case or the shackles of late-stage capitalism in mine, and live how one wants rather than bow down to social norms.
The exhibition embodies how I feel when I’m living in Dahab. Away from society, close to nature, the sea, the sun and full of happiness.
Very uplifting.