Art Periods and Movements
Abstract Expressionism
(between 1940 and 1960)
Movement in painting, originating in New York City in the 1940s. It emphasized spontaneous personal expression, freedom from accepted artistic values, surface qualities of paint, and the act of painting itself. Pollock, de Kooning, Motherwell, and Kline, are important abstract expressionists.
http://www.3w-art.com/pollock/pol1502.jpg
Baroque A movement in European painting in the 17th and early 18th centuries, characterized by violent movement, strong emotion, and dramatic lighting and coloring. Bernini, Caravaggio and Rubens were among important baroque artists.
http://stations.dualravens.com/oftheresurrection/stationsix/doubting%20thomas%20by%20carravagio.JPG
Classicism
(Britain mid to late 19th century)
Referring to the principles of Greek and Roman art of antiquity with the emphasis on harmony, proportion, balance, and simplicity. In a general sense, it refers to art based on accepted standards of beauty.
www.arthistoryguide.com/ images/42.jpg 256 x 394 pixels - 18k
Cubism A revolutionary movement begun by Picasso and Braque in the early twentieth century. It employs an analytic vision based on fragmentation and multiple viewpoints.
abstractart.20m.com/ PicassoThe_Guitar_Player... 786 x 1097 pixels - 183k
Expressionism Refers to art that uses emphasis and distortion to communicate emotion. More specifically, it refers to early twentieth century northern European art, especially in Germany c. 1905-25. Artists such as Rouault, Kokoschka, and Schiele painted in this manner.
The Old King Georges Rouault 1937 30 1/4 x 21 1/4 in Carnegie Institute Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
Fauvism From the French word fauve , meaning "wild beast ." A style adopted by artists associated with Matisse, c. 1905-08. They painted in a spontaneous manner, using bold colors.
Mme Matisse: Madras Rouge (The Red Madras Headress) Summer 1907 (120 Kb); Oil on canvas, 99.4 x 80.5 cm (39 1/8 x 31 3/4 in); Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA
Gothic
A European movement beginning in France. Gothic sculpture emerged c. 1200, Gothic painting later in the thirteenth century. The artworks are characterized by a linear, graceful, elegant style more naturalistic than that which had existed previously in Europe.
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/eyck/church.jpg
Impressionism
A late-nineteenth-century French school of painting. It focused on transitory visual impressions, often painted directly from nature, with an emphasis on the changing effects of light and color. Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro were important impressionists.
www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pissarro/redroofs/redroofs.jpg
Mannerism
A style c. 1520-1600, that arose in reaction to the harmony and proportion of the High Renaissance. It featured elongated, contorted poses, crowded canvases, and harsh lighting and coloring.
Frans Floris 1516-1570 The Sacrifice of Christ protecting Humanity 1562 Wood H 1.65 m; W 2.30 m INV 20746
Neoclassicism
A European style of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its elegant, balanced works revived the order and harmony of ancient Greek and Roman art. Jacques Louis David and Canova are examples of neoclassicists.
The Death of Socrates Jacque Louis-David 1787 (100 Kb); Oil on canvas, 129.5 x 196.2 cm (51 x 77 1/4 in); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pointilism
A method of painting developed by Seurat and Paul Signac in the 1880s. It used dabs of pure color that were intended to mix in the eyes of viewers rather than on the canvas. It is also called divisionism or neoimpressionism.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte 1884-86 Georges Seurat Oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago
Pop art
A movement that began in Britain and the United States in the 1950s. It used the images and techniques of mass media, advertising, and popular culture, often in an ironic way. Works of Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Oldenburg exemplify this style.
Lichtenstein In the Car 1963 Magna on canvas
Postimpressionism
A term coined by British art critic Roger Fry to refer to a group of nineteenth-century painters, including Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Gauguin, who were dissatisfied with the limitations of expressionism. It has since been used to refer to various reactions against impressionism, such as fauvism and expressionism.
The Starry Night 1889 Oil on canvas 29 x 36 1/4 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Renaissance
Meaning "rebirth" in French. Refers to Europe c. 1400-1600. Renaissance art which began in Italy, stressed the forms of classical antiquity, a realistic representation of space based on scientific perspective, and secular subjects. The works of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael exemplify the balance and harmony of the High Renaissance (c. 1495-1520).
Raphael St. George Fighting the Dragon 1505 Oil on wood 30 x 26 cm (12 x 10 1/4 in.) Musee du Louvre, Paris
Rococo
An eighteenthcentury European style, originating in France. In reaction to the grandeur and massiveness of the baroque, rococo employed refined, elegant, highly decorative forms. Fragonard worked in this style.
Fragonard The Reader c. 1770-72 Oil on canvas 82 x 65 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington
Romanticism
A European movement of the late eighteenth to mid nineteenth century. In reaction to neoclassicism, it focused on emotion over reason, and on spontaneous expression. The subject matter was invested with drama and usually painted energetically in brilliant colors. Delacroix, Gericault, Turner, and Blake were Romantic artists.
Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog c. 1818 Friedrich Oil on canvas 94.8 x 74.8 cm Kunsthalle, Hamburg
surrealism
A movement of the 1920s and 1930s that began in France. It explored the unconscious, often using images from dreams. It used spontaneous techniques and featured unexpected juxtapositions of objects. Magritte, Dali, Miro, and Ernst painted surrealist works.
www.learningarea.com/paintings/pictures/temp tation_of_st_anthony.htm Dali