post-impressionist
UK[ˌpəʊst ɪmˈpreʃənɪst]US[ˌpoʊst ɪmˈpreʃənɪst]
adj
Relating to or characteristic of a movement in painting that followed Impressionism, often emphasizing more formal structure, symbolic content, and emotional expression.
n
An artist who worked in the style of Post-Impressionism.
Morpheme Breakdown
post
impression
ist
post
after
impression
impression
ist
practitioner
Etymology
The term is a modern compound, constructed in English from established morphemes to describe a historical artistic development. The prefix 'post-', directly from Latin, logically positions this movement as chronologically and conceptually subsequent to Impressionism. The core component 'impression' is borrowed from the name of the preceding 19th-century art movement, Impressionism, which itself derived from the title of a Claude Monet painting, "Impression, Sunrise". The agent suffix '-ist' is a productive English ending for denoting adherents to a style or doctrine. Thus, the word's formation transparently tells the story of artists (the '-ists') who came 'after' ('post-') the school of 'Impressionism'.
Analysis
Structure: post (after) + impression (impression) + ist (practitioner)
post: Latin origin, from 'post' meaning "after, behind". A prefix indicating subsequence in time or order.
impression: Latin origin, from 'impressio' (a pressing into). In this compound, it refers specifically to the artistic movement "Impressionism".
ist: Greek origin via Latin '-ista', from Greek '-istes' (agent noun suffix). Denotes a person who practices or is concerned with something.
Examples
Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh are considered key post-impressionist painters.
The gallery is hosting an exhibition of post-impressionist art from the late 19th century.
Her work shows a clear influence from the post-impressionists in its use of bold color and geometric forms.