MacCarthy’s Criticism of Impressionism

Having been the Secretary of the Post-Impressionist Exhibition of 1910-11 (pg. 97), It is no surprise that Desmond MacCarthy would convey a negative outlook on impressionist art. According to MacCarthy, Post-Impressionists consider the Impressionists, “Too Naturalistic (pg. 98).” I suppose this revelation is consistently present in art. For example, cinema is always undergoing changes in how scenes should be filmed. First, it was the goal of the director to set up a shot to be clear as a bell with every character and object vividly depicted. Now, it is common to see choppy editing, blurred characters and shaky cameras for the sake of conveying the raw emotion on screen. I also realize that realism is a factor that applies to this as well. This can be observed in movies like The Bourne Supremacy, which contain fight scenes where the audience is still not overtly aware of what is happening between the characters. The FX original show, The Shield was also a great influence in this style of cinematography.
Desmond MacCarthy claims that the Post-Impressionists attitude towards nature was “far more independent (98).” He felt this style was too constrictive and focused on the wrong sort of details. I suppose MacCarthy viewed impressionists more as engineers or scientists than as artists. Is it not the true purpose of art to inspire emotion? Post-Impressionists believe the focus should be more on sending a message than depicting one. Perhaps MacCarthy is right.