Similarities between both Impressionists and Post-Impressionists are: a real-life subject, distinctive brushstrokes, thick layers of paint and vivid colors. The main difference between both styles is that Post-Impressionism aimed to attain more form and structure, as well as more expression and emotion into their paintings.
In fine art, the term Post-Impressionism denotes the phase of modern art during which artists sought to progress beyond the narrow imitative style of Impressionism, as practised by Claude Monet and his followers. (For more, see: Characteristics of Impressionist Painting.) The phase lasted roughly from 1880 to the late 1900s, although it endured longer outside France. Probably the most influential Post-Impressionist movements included Neo-Impressionism, early Expressionism, Art Nouveau and Fauvism, although the importance of the period lies essentially in the pioneering art of certain individual painters.