Gender and Art

To put certain ideas in perspective, the emergence of such disciplinary courses like “Women’s Studies” and “Gender and Sexuality Studies” slowly entered our curriculum only a few decades preceding the 21st century. Historians have always socialized a view of history where men existed and women occupied the sideline. Finally, slowly but surely, historians are reexamining the texts and acknowledging influential women and their contributions. Nonetheless, recognition is not the only component as to why women are hardly recognized for their feats. The social structure we abide by—willingly and unwillingly—is patriarchal. Therefore, the gender of a female painter already causes difficulties.


Art history flows through a series of constant actions and reactions. Following the era of Realism, Impressionism was a headstrong and perceptible riposte wrapped in hasty brushstrokes and optical effects. Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal, “The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” While Realism focused on actual representation of ordinary social themes, Impressionism sought visual representation of what laid before them. In short: Realist painters attempted to present what they saw and Impressionist artists depicted how they saw. Although Realist painters respected the academic traditions of antiquity, they rejected the hero-complex glorification of people and events. On the other hand, Impressionists rejected much of the Classical tenets in favor of “painting for painting’s sake.”

Although Mary Cassatt was not a native Parisian Impressionist—nor of the male gender—she is upheld as one of the milestones of the Impressionist movement. Woman in Black at the Opera, a vertical-fixed oil painting by Cassatt, is most commonly discussed within feminist dialogue. In some ways, Woman in Black was one of Cassatt’s well-crafted protest songs. The spectator engages with the painting as a passive bystander. The main subject is the woman; she dons a black bonnet and black dress. Unlike the other women in the painting, even her white garments are hidden within her black attire. In doing so, she is able to mask herself in the darkness and anonymity. A few booths away, a man seems to be entranced and intrigued by her presence—for he is leaning out of his box with strained posture. Woman in Black at the Opera was painted in 1880—a time when women did not have independence or social authority over their own lives. Therefore, we can speculate that this man is either bemused or astonished by her bold company. As the woman in black watches the opera through a lens, the male and his male gaze passes unacknowledged.

In comparison, Thomas Eakins, a fellow American Realist painter, painted homage after homage to men of different ages and class—yet the common denominator was the unquestionable power of these men. In 1885, Eakins presented The Swimming Hole. The horizontal oil painting depicts a group of young men enjoying the cool waters of the lake on a warm day. The pyramidal composition consists of dark shadows of the trees and lake water; all punctuated by the pale bodies of the young men. Eakins introduces a few concepts: man’s conquest of nature, hegemonic masculinity, and homoeroticism. The man located at the edge of the rocks stands tall with his hands planted by his hips. Although he is unaware of the spectator, he exudes dominance as he looks onto the water and trees. To his right, a man dives into the water and Eakins chose to capture the moment he breaks the water: nature cannot keep man out of its bounty. The absence of women in this painting speaks volumes—women do not have the freedom nor the virtue of achieving or innovating America's future. The Swimming Hole clearly translates the Platonic philosophy that higher thinking and immortal triumphs solely belong to men.

HEY MARY MARY!!!

            In the beginning of the 19^th century art, painting reached a pivotal point in its history that would drastically change what the criteria for what painting actually meant. What could be dignified, appreciated, and accepted by many had changed; the death of Realism and the birth of Impressionism had begun. Alongside this change came societal, political, and cultures values that were rocked to a point of unease. Women back then were very much regarded as a beneath men, incapable of any abilities that could rival men. With this outlook, it was evident why men vastly outnumbered women in the art world and why women played a very specific role in art as well. Of course all this was about to change.

            To begin with, a brief recap on the history of impression and what art movement it opposed. As it seems all-small art beginnings have; they fight their way until they become accepted by whatever institution is currently reigning. Impressionism started out as a protest against Realism in France, as a revolution against all the fine art academia that up held strict standards and only allowed certain types of painting into the galleries that were well known. This set the groundwork for what we now call Impressionism and such artists like Manet, Monet, Cassatt, and Eakins to become popular today. In America we faced different struggles as women sought that they should also play a role in art as artist, and as subjects other then object of beauty in nude to be gawked at. Mary Cassatt was instrumental in this endeavor. But all together impressionism wanted to divert from the rigid formalities that Realism imposed. No more subjects that focused on depicting the poor, the average American lifestyle, or the difficulties of man. Especially, when there were other people in society that were being neglected too, the women.

            See, back then women in paintings, this isn’t the case for all but for the vast majority, were seen in the nude. The nude was an active depiction, which artists intentionally made for the purposes of attracting the male gaze. This is where Mary Cassatt debuted her spotlight. Creating works that depicted women in different roles other than being nude. One of her most controversial works, “Woman in Black at the Opera” was an oil on canvas masterpiece of social commentary that stood 31” x 25” in frame. The painting depicted a woman dressed in all black, which was unusual since during that time period the women wore exuberant gowns and jewelry to be seen by everyone.While men wore black suits to hide in the shadows and stare at women without being seen. In this painting we see how the main character, the woman in black, takes the role of a male and goes to the opera dressed inconspicuously, paying no attention to other men and looks at the performance from above. It can be thought of that she might have been alone as well and that for her own security she dressed in all black, rejecting the accompaniment of a male partner. We also see the in background the male spectator that still can’t control himself and looks through his binocular eagerly at the woman in the foreground. The social commentary here is that Mary Cassatt is aware of the male gaze and the role it played in art. How it dictated almost every work that was made since the audience was always assumed to be male. She broke this by subjecting the woman as not only primary but empowered her as well by clothing her. 

            In comparison, Thomas Eakins was the male counter part of Mary Cassatt's social commentary on gender roles. He played a pivotal role in that he did for men what Mary Cassatt did for women. As his painting "The Swimming Hole" depicts, men bathing in a small lake it makes its commentary in showing a certain level of homoeroticism. The male figure is usually depicted in a very stoic, glorious nature and even in early greek art the male nude was filled with heroic masculinity. The male figure was now depicted in the nude and shown with a light gracefulness. Disempowering the male figure but also it showed that Eakins didn't care about the male gaze, he rejected it, painting for himself and only capturing a fleeting moment. The subject matter here wasn't that of showing difficulties of life as realists would have done but the simple pleasures of life, a bath in a lake. In this piece, it is important to understand the capturing of light. How it reflects off the water and shines on the backs' of the men in the painting. The blurriness of light touching the water in the foreground shows the quickness in relevance to brushstroke.

            Furthermore, technical aspects of both paintings can be seen as impressionist but isn't solely based on quick brush strokes and blurry lines. The subject matter was what was important in the earlier parts of impressionism. In Cassatt's piece we can see how the brush strokes are thick on walls and there is very little detail but again the subject matter takes precedence. The woman in the fore ground look flat and there isn't much in the way of using classical elements in art making. This was pretty much staple of impressionism, whatever was classically upheld as artistic criteria in Fine Arts at the time, impressionists would ignore. In Eakins work, we can see again there is a blurring of lines but there are more formal elements by his incorporation of chiaroscuro and aerial perspective.  

In conclusion, the nineteenth century can be thought of as the renaissance period for women, more specifically a study on gender roles in society. Til' this day it can be attributes to the efforts of impressionists that art has forever been seen with open unbiased eyes. In our generation, we live knowing that most art has already been done and re-done. But in our search for what might be next in art we know that as spectators, artists, students we dont rule anything out as to what can be labeled art. We can always find something, some meaning to even a blank canvas. 

Works Cited

Eisenman, Stephen, and Thomas E. Crow. Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History. 4th ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007. Print.

The Advent of the Modern Age: Tensions and Oppositions in Cassatt's and Eakins's oeuvres

Two artists who exemplified many of the tensions and technical innovations of the the late 19th century were Mary Cassatt and Thomas Eakins. Both painters were born in the United States, both traveled abroad and spent a significant amount of time in Europe (Cassatt living most of her life in France), and the rendering of the human figure through innovative portraits is a main focus in their oeuvres. Despite all these similarities, the pictorial language and technique of these two artists could not be more different. Whereas Eakins belonged to the Realist movement, Cassatt belonged to the Impressionist movement that emerged in the 1860's.

The Impressionist movement did not result from an immediate shift in ideas and techniques used by artists of the time. The seeds that propelled the movement can be found in the individualist Romanticism of Delacroix as well as the avant-garde ideas proposed by Courvet's oeuvre. The individual freedom that artists like Delacroix were always after acquired a new importance for Impressionist painters who, after the enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the advent of Photography, found themselves in an adequate social and political environment to realize themselves as free artists. Choosing not to be bound by the rules and procedures of the French Academy, Impressionist painters would set in motion with their innovations the Modern Age of painting. 

Mary Cassatt Young Women Picking
Fruit, 1892

Holding individualism as the highest principle to follow, Impressionist painters were avant-garde innovators and Mary Cassatt was no exception. Her work exemplifies the general characteristics that came to define impressionist oeuvres. In her painting Young Women Picking Fruit, 1892 the departure from previous art forms is evident. In the painting, the previously imperative use of chiaroscuro is missing. In fact, the flatness of the painting serves to make the paint itself, the colors used, and the subject even more salient. Impressionist works came to also be known for the distinct tâches of paint that shifted the focus from a painting's narrative to the paint itself. In Young Women Picking Fruit, the viewer easily sees every brushstroke Cassatt painted. The importance of capturing light at a specific moment, in the case of this painting the way light shines as two women are in a garden and one of them picks the fruits from a tree, is also notable in Impressionist art. The lilac undertones in the female's white dress suggest this effect of light on the subject.

The capturing of the way light transforms a certain subject shifts the previous focus on two dimensional representations of a three dimensional world, to the capturing of an optical effect at an specific moment in time. In this way, the individualist character of impressionist art ties in with its technical aspects. The premier impressionist artist strived to give his/her own "impression" or optical vision of a subject, and in doing so, attempted to capture the fleeting moment, a moment affected by the way light shines.

Thomas Eakins Portrait of Benjamin
Howard Professor Rand, 1874

In contrast to Cassat, Eakins's work differs in technique and subject. Eakins attempted to capture the true essence of American life and in capturing a "true portrayal" he gives a realist rendition of his surroundings. In his portraits and landscapes we see a painter that like Cassatt, did not want to conform to the conventions of the time, and who chose to portray the individual character of all his subjects. Eakins in his portraits rejects the notion that a portrait must be flattering to be successful. His work is also notorious for his representations of the "American Hero". In paintings like Portrait of Benjamin Howard Professor Rand, 1874, Eakins tries to represent with the outmost reality the fact that the new modern hero is the professional American male who through his work is changing the destiny of his country. In this case the subject is a physician whose intellectual concentration is his most salient feature. He is clearly defined by his intellectual and professional achievements. Like Eakins, Cassatt sought to render the "modern hero" but in her case, the modern hero happened to be female. Therein lies the biggest difference between these two contemporaries. They both had different visions in regards to gender roles and gender identity. 

Mary Cassatt sought to portray the world of women as women themselves defined it. In her paintings Cassatt portrays her world as defined by herself and the relationships she has with other women and with children. This is the world of the upper class, of cultivated people, but also a world where women are individuals complete within themselves. Women in her oeuvre are free entities who go to the opera by themselves as seen in Woman in Black at the Opera, 1880 and who lead lives not preoccupying themselves with the constant male gaze. They ride carriages, and enjoy the company of other women as seen in Young Women Picking Fruit. Cassatt is one of the first painters who portrays the close relationships that women had with other women and did so in a very natural way. Cassatt's subjects were also primarily female and powerful in their own right. Her work differs greatly with Eakins's in this regard as he primarily represented women as a contrary and supplementary force to men. This is clearly seen in his painting The Gross Clinic, 1875 in which the woman who sits at the left  is a striking opposite to the main focus of the painting, the male surgeon. She is portrayed as a frail figure, scared, and unable to look at the scene before her while the males are portrayed as unsentimental and academically focused individuals. 

Thomas Eaknis The Gross Clinic, 1875

Cassatt's modern vision for women and the role that in her view women should hold in society is best allegorized in the mural she painted for the Chicago 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. In Modern Women she portrays women picking the fruits of science and knowledge and women pursuing fame. Both of this representations challenge the passive role women were supposed to have in society. These  representations also exemplify the great differences that lie in Eakins and Cassatt's work and in the society of their time. As Impressionism brought about the modern age of painting, one is able to see in Cassatt's oeuvre an example of a modern work but also an example of a modern vision for the women of her time. Eakins's work in contrast focuses on the roles men play in society and his realist style embeds his subjects with all the idiosyncrasies that ushered the modern age.

For more on Mary Cassatt, a documentary is available here.

References

Fillin Yeh, Susan. Mary Cassatt's Images of Women. Art Journal. Vol. 35, No. 4 (Summer, 1976).

Eisenman, Stephen F. Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History. 4th Edition. New York, NY:            Thames &Hudson, 2011.

Gender Role - Cassatt versus Eakins

When comparing the works of Cassat and Eakins, it is inevitable to talk about gender roles. Both artists have a few things in common in their background. They were born in the same year (1844) and they’re both from Pennsylvania and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and then later both studied in Europe.

Both artists have a couple of things in common when comparing their works, both Cassat and Eakins reject the notion that the portrait of a woman should be flattering in order to be successful. They refuse to idealize their female sitters. On the other hand, there are many differences among both artists. First of all, they have different genders. However, this gender role should not be interpreted as simply inborn qualities of masculinity and femininity. It must be envisioned as social and historical conditions. It’s easy to discern gender difference in a simple opposition in iconography. Eakins’ Swimming Hole depicts young men and boys swimming naked outdoors while Cassat’s Five O’clock Tea depicts ladies drinking tea in an elegant parlor.

In Swimming Hole, Eakins was constructing an image of an American hero and his democratic freedom. He used nature and nudity to depict freedom. Eakins, a more traditional painter, uses three dimensionality, with a vanishing point drawing our eye to the horizon. In Five O'clock Tea, Cassatt depicts ladies having their moment, away from the men's gaze. As opposed to Eakins, Cassatt erases space in Five O'clock Tea. She is anti-depth. 

At a time when men were known to have the ''power of gaze,'' Cassatt tried to depict an all active  modern woman having the "power of the gaze" in Woman in Black at the Opera. Cassatt gives her energy and control. There's a guy in the back that is possibly gazing at her but she's not even aware because she is very focused having her gaze at the opera. This could even be a self-portrait of Cassatt herself.


     Even though Eakins also tried to represent heroines of Modern life, they are depicted as having less power and being less active than Cassatt's heroines. Even though Eakins' females are active, as in his The Concert Singer, they are just part of the scenario. The man's hand on the left bottom of the painting still depicts men as having more power and control over the woman. The man is still the leader.


Eisenman, Stephen F., Nineteenth Century Art - A Critical History. Fourth Edition. 



http://www.moma.org/search?&page=1&query=mary+cassatt

MARY CASSATT AND THOMAS EAKINS IN GENDER ROLES

     The late 19th Century was an interesting time for the Art World in Europe. There were a number of different movements happening at the time such as Impressionism, Expressionism, and other isms. Retrospectively the participation of women artist seem minimal in comparison to to that of their male counterparts. Issues of gender and gender roles played a big part in this. I will examine two artists, a male and a female, and how they represented gender and gender roles in their artwork.

Mary Cassatt. Five O' Clock Tea. 1880

     The artists I will examine are Thomas Eakins (July 25th, 1844-June 25th, 1916) and Mary Cassatt (May 22, 1844-June 14th, 1926). Eakins painted the human figure in various poses or doing various activities. Mary Cassatt did the same thing. The difference lies in the way they are represented. Eakins painted male nudes sometimes involved in leisurely activities or playing sports. Cassatt on the other hand painted women, sometimes friends or relatives, involved in activities that women at that time enjoyed. Most of these activities involved motherhood or simply doing simple things like conversing with friends or drinking tea. The question is; why this contrast?
   
     Why are Cassatt's models drinking tea or playing with babies while Eakins' are either playing sports or hanging out naked? Male artists at the time and in times prior painted females either nude or in the company of a man with the man as the central figure. The female nudes were often painted with the "male gaze" in mind. Cassatt's art changed that. She represented women, fully clothes and not paying any attention to the viewer. The women were mostly mothers with children and if it were a self portrait the women were presented as powerful and strong. Eakins did something strikingly different in his treatment of some of his subjects.

Thomas Eakins. The Wrestlers.

     Eakins often painted men and women naked. Sometimes the women were looking at the audience in anticipation of the male gaze but the men were doing what Cassatt's models were doing; not paying attention to the audience! Eakins' models were either wrestling or involved in some sport activity. Now comes the issues of gender roles.

Mary Cassatt. A Woman and Child in The Driving Seat. 1881

     While Eakins painted his male figures at rest or in leisure and some of his female figures satisfying the male gaze, Cassatt painted hers enjoying life and at leisure with their clothes on. The roles of both the male and female genders were set at the time. The thinking of the time was that women belonged in the house tending to children and doing house work. Cassatt often painted women doing those things and other things as well. She has paintings of women playing musical instruments and driving horse and buggies with their children. Her intended audience weren't all male but females as well. Gender roles would not be restricted to simply being some sort of house keeper. This was the key difference between the two artists, the way the subject was presented.

Thomas Eakins. Arcadia. 

     The next difference is the style in which these two artists painted. While Eakins painted in the traditional style with classical canons of proportion using scientific perspective, direct lighting and what not, Cassatt destroyed all of this as if to say she was destroying the paradigms of restriction. She became a prominent member of the impressionist movement and lived life without too much restriction. Eakins on the other hand lived by set rules that didn't make him much different from any other person of the day.

     To conclude what I am saying I say that Cassatt broke through the fallacy of gender roles and poked the male gaze in the eye with her painting and style. Eakins on the other hand represented the perpetuation of these societal ideas in art. While Cassatt enjoyed her freedom in Paris, Eakins returned back to his comfort zone in America and died alone.

Cassatt vs Eakins Gender Roles in Impressionism

Mary Cassatt and Thomas Eakins were American painters that migrated from the United States and moved to Paris.  Both were Impressionist painters who were influenced by gender roles and depicting specific moments on to the canvas.  Both Cassatt and Eakins were focused on capturing moments of time, movement, a visual representation of their experience, with the use of the brushstroke as quickly painted canvases.

Cassatt began studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts at the age of fifteen.   She grew impatient with the method of teaching and felt that the men had a patronizing attitude towards teaching and art making.  Despite her father’s objections she moved to Paris in 1866 where she became part of the Impressionists.  She also studied with artist Thomas Couture who portrayed mostly romantic and urban scenes.  The Parisian art scene was going through changes where artists soon began to veer away from the accepted Academic tradition of painting.

Mary Cassatt’s Woman in Black at the Opera, 1880 is Cassatt’s signature stamp on her views of the importance of the feminine role in art.  Not only does she crop the image into a strikingly interesting composition where the foreground is flooded with the dark black dress of the woman’s attire, the light of the canvas is portrayed in the background which points to a man who is gazing at the woman in black.  In this depiction, Cassatt is able to make a commentary that the female gaze is not only as important but perhaps even more important than the male gaze.  No longer is the female the subject of men’s interest but the very figure which directs and controls what is being looked at.  Prior to this moment women were mostly portrayed as nude figures or objects that are placed on the picture plane for the male viewer.  Cassatt decides to incorporate her feminist rendition of what painting should be in a group filled with dominant male painters.  

In her painting, Cassatt shows a woman hunched in a a masculine form, fiercely independent sitting alone in a lodge, and attending the opera alone which was taboo in this particular time.  She is isolated and defiantly does not invite anyone to join her because she is intellectually absorbed in the act of observing.

                                          Mary Cassatt Woman in Black at the Opera, 1880

Thomas Eakins, also a native of Pennsylvania studied drawing and anatomy at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.  He also attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and took on to the Impressionist movement.  His work differed from Cassatt in that his dominant theme was comprised of a focus on the male model.  There is some speculation about Eakins’ sexual preferences but I will remove that from this observation. 

           

In Max Schmitt in a Single Scull, 1871, America’s economic and cultural transition into modernity is best portrayed.  Here Eakins highlights the celebration of champion oarsman Max Schmitt a personal friend of Eakins.  Eakins depicts himself in the distant boat in the background rowing away from Schmitt.  Eakins depicts a specific moment, representing what he saw as an artist and uses light being captured.

                                                       Male Gender Roles

Eisenman, Stephen M. Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History. 4th ed. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2011. Print.

Study Guide – Quiz 1

Development of Modern Art Fall 2012

Tuesdays + Thursdays 1:00pm - 2:20pm Bradley Hall 312

Department of Arts, Culture and Media – Rutgers University

 

Study Guide – Quiz 1

Neoclassicism

Jacques-Louis David, Belisarius Begging Alms, 1781
Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1785
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, 1787
Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Tennis Court, 1791
Jacques-Louis David, Death of Marat, 1793
Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass, 1800
Jean-Auguste Ingres, Napoleon on his Imperial Throne, 1806
Jean-Auguste Ingres, Apotheosis of Homer, 1827
Jean-Auguste Ingres, Grand Odalisque, 1814
Antonio Canova, Perseus Carrying the Head of Medusa, 1804-8.
Antonio Canova, Pauline Bourghese as Venus, 1808

Romanticism

Théodore Géricault, The Charging Light Calvaryman, 1812
Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818-9
Eugène Delacroix, The Death of Sardanapalus, 1827
Eugène Delacroix, The Massacre at Chios, 1824
Eugène Delacroix, The 28th of July- Liberty Leading the People, 1830
Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Slave Ship, 1840
John Constable, The Hay Wain (Landscape- Noon), 1821
John Constable, Hadleigh Castle, 1829

Goya
Francisco de Goya, Family of Charles IV, 1800
Francisco de Goya, Second of May, 1808, 1814
Francisco de Goya, Third of May, 1808, 1814
Francisco de Goya, The sleep of reason produces monsters, 1797-8
Francisco de Goya, Pilgrimage to San Isidro, 1820-3
Francisco de Goya, Saturn Devouring his Son, 1819-23

American Art 1770-1865
John Vanderlyn, The Death of Jane McCrea, 1804
Casper David Friedrich, The Abbey in the Oakwood, 1809-10
Casper David Friedrich, Monk by the Sea, 1809
Thomas Cole, Kaaterskill Falls, 1826, detail
Thomas Cole, Course of the Empire- The Pastoral or Arcadian State, 1834
Thomas Cole, Course of Empire- Consumation, 1835-6
Thomas Cole, Course of the Empire- Desolation, 1836
Thomas Cole, View from Mount Holyoke, The Oxbow, 1836
Asher Brown Durand, Progress (The Advance of Civilization), 1853
Frederic Edwin Church, Cotopaxi, 1862
Harriet Hosmer, Zenobia in Chains, 1859
Edmonia Lewis, Hagar in the Wilderness, 1868
Edmonia Lewis, Forever Free, 1867
Edmonia Lewis, Old Indian Arrowmaker and His Daughters, 1872

Realism
Jean-François Millet, The Sower, 1850
Jean-François Millet, The Gleaners, 1857
Rosa Bonheur, Plowing the Ninervais, 1849
Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, 1853-5
Honoré Daumier, Rue Transnonian, April 15, 1834, 1834
Honoré Daumier, The Third Class Carriage, c. 1860-2
Gustave Courbet, The Meeting, 1854
Gustave Courbet, Peasants of Flagey Returning from the Fair, 1849
Gustave Courbet, The Stonebreakers, 1849
Gustave Courbet, Interior of My Studio, a Real Allegory Summing Up Seven Years of My Life as an Artist, 1854-5

Impressionism
Edouard Manet, Déjeuner Sur L’Herbe, 1863
Edouard Manet, Olympia, 1863
*Titian, Venus of Urbino, 1538

Edouard Manet, A Balcony, 1868-69

Claude Monet, Women in the Garden, 1866-7
Claude Monet, Impression Sunrise, 1872
Claude Monet, Gare St-Lazare, 1877

Berthe Morisot, Psyche, 1876

American Painters and Gender - Realism and Impressionism

Mary Cassat, Five O'Clock Tea, 1880

Mary Cassat, The Boating Party, 1893-4

Mary Cassat, Woman in Black at the Opera, 1880

Post Impressionism

George Seurat, A Bathing Place, Asnieres, 1883-4
George Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte, 1884-6
George Seurat, Invitation to the Sideshow (La Parade), 1887-8
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, 1892-5
George Seurat, La Chahut, 1889-90
George Seurat, The Circus, 1890-1
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Circus, Fernando, the Ring Master, 1888

ADDED on 10/25
Post Impressionism (con't)

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Ambassadeurs, Artistide Bruante, 1892

Vincent Van Gogh, The Artist's Bedroom in Arles, 1888
George Seurat, Woman Powdering Herself, 1889-90 
Vincent Van Gogh, La Berceuse, 1889
Vincent Van Gogh, The Potato Eaters, 1885
**from Realism - Gustave Courbet, After Dinner at Ornans, 1849 
Vincent Van Gogh, Sower, 1888

Symbolism
Vincent Van Gogh, Crows in a Wheatfield, 1890
Paul Gauguin, Yellow Christ, 1889
Paul Gauguin, The Meal, 1891
Paul Gauguin, The Seaweed Gatherers, 1889
Paul Gauguin, Where do we come from? Where are we? Where are we going?, 1897
James Ensor, Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889, 1888
Odilon Redon, The Cyclops, 1905
Odilon Redon, Smiling Spider, 1881
Gustav Klimt, The Kiss, 1907-8

Edvard Munch, The Voice, 1893
Edvard Munch, Madonna, 1893