The premise for this show, “After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art,” is a sound one: to mark art’s transitional point to Modernism as it moved from naturalism through Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, and Symbolism, all the way to Cubism and other forms of abstraction, within the time frame of 1886 (the occasion of the eighth and last Impressionist exhibition in Paris) to 1914. Eight exhibition rooms reveal with admirable clarity this development both chronologically and geographically. This layout also allows for the tastes of the crowds to be clearly revealed: it is the earlier works—of Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Degas—that have large groups lingering in front of them, while the later cubist and abstract pieces create some empty floor space around them.
It is a remarkable journey in such a short period of time.
The startling transformation of styles is most starkly seen in the final room, “New Terrains,” which ingeniously juxtaposes three pieces by Piet Mondrian. The first, Isolated Tree on the Gein, I (1906), depicts its scene in a recognizable way while still moving beyond straight Impressionism. The second, Tree (1908), retains an element of verisimilitude (although at a distance the subject might be mistaken for a fig leaf). In turn, the abstract third, Composition no. XVI (Compositie I, Arbres)(1912–13), tells us from the title that the painting contains trees, but we have to take the artist’s word for it. It is a remarkable journey in such a short period of time. Full credit to