An art movement is a style in art. It is a period of time when popular art shares similar styles.
In this lesson, we will learn about 16 major art styles that impacted the art world over the years.
Some time periods have overlapped as the art world became used to new styles. It may have a common philosophy, followed by a group of artists. It may be a label given by a critic to describe a type of artwork. Some art movements can be pinned down to a time and place, or to particular artists. A verbal explanation of movements may come from the artists themselves, sometimes in the form of a published statement, or the movement is labeled afterward by some art historian or critic.
Here are some major art movements:
1. Classicism - It refers to the imitation of the art of classical antiquity (c.1000BCE - 450CE), notably the imitation of Greek art, Roman art, Aegean art, and Etruscan art. For example, any painting, architecture, or sculpture produced during the Middle Ages or later, which was inspired by the art of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome.
2. Neoclassicism - It refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Examples of Neoclassicism in architecture are Neue Wache in Berlin (Germany) and the White House in Washington D.C. (United States).
Traditionally, classicism is about the art made in ancient times (or antiquity) or later art inspired by that of antiquity. But Neoclassicism is always about the art made later but inspired by antiquity. So, Classicism and Neoclassicism are often used together. It often means clearness, harmony, and elegance, made by careful attention to traditional forms.
David, Jacques-Louis: Portrait of Madame Récamier
Portrait of Madame Récamier, oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David, 1800; in the Louvre, Paris.
Giraudon/Art Resource, New York
3. Impressionism - It is a style of painting that began in France in the late 19th century. Impressionist painters are mostly known for their work in oil paint on canvas. Impressionist painting shows life-like subjects painted in a broad, rapid style with bright colors and easily seen brushstrokes. The term 'impressionism' comes from a painting by Claude Monet which he showed in an exhibition with the name Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise). An art critic called Louis Leroy saw the exhibition and wrote a review in which he said that all the paintings were just "impressions". The word stayed.
4. Post-impressionism - It is a term used to describe the development of French art after Manet (painter, 1832-1883). Roger Fry was the first one to use the term in 1910 when he organized an exhibition Manet and the Post-Impressionists. The post-impressionists were artists of the late 19th century who saw the work of the French Impressionist painters and were influenced by them. Their art styles grew out of the style called Impressionism. These artists developed impressionism but rejected its limitations. They continued using the real-life subject matter, with vivid colors and thick paint. They lived in France and knew each other, but didn't work as a group like impressionists. They painted in ways that were different from each other. The post-impressionists led the way for other artists to experiment and develop all the different styles of Modern art in the 20th century.
5. Art Nouveau - It is an international art movement and style based on organic forms. It became popular at the turn of the 19th century and continued until the First World War. It became flourished throughout Europe and the United States. It has floral and plant-inspired motifs, and stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. Art Noveau is an approach to design that makes art part of everyday life. The term Art Nouveau was coined, in Belgium by the periodical L’Art Moderne to describe the work of the artist group Les Vingt and in Paris by S. Bing, who named his gallery L'Art Nouveau.
Aubrey Beardsley, “The Dancer’s Reward (Salome),” 1894.
6. Modern Art - It is not to be confused with contemporary art. The modern art label refers to the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th-century art. Works produced during this time showcase artists' interest in re-imagining, reinterpreting, and even rejecting traditional aesthetic values of preceding styles.
7. Abstract Art - It is a modern art that does not represent real things. It has color, lines, and shapes (form) to make images that express feelings. It began to be noticed in the 1900s, especially in New York. The art is usually large in size. It has lines and figures everywhere, so the eye doesn't focus on one particular point in the piece, like in traditional art.
8. Cubism - Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality invented in around 1907-08 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. They brought different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted. Cubism was one of the most influential styles of the 20th century. It is generally agreed to have begun around 1907 with Picasso's celebrated painting Demoiselles D'Avignon. By breaking objects and figures down into distinct areas or planes, the artists aimed to show different viewpoints at the same time and within the same space and so suggest their 3D form.
9. Fauvism - It is the name applied to the work produced by a group of artists (which included Henri Matisse and Andre Derain) from around 1905 to 1910, which is characterized by bright cherry landscapes, pure vivid color, figure paintings, and bold distinctive brushwork. When shown at 1905 in an exhibition in Paris, the contrast to traditional art was so striking that it led critic Louis Vauxcelles to describe the artists as "Les Fauves" or "wild beasts", and thus the name was born.
10. Futurism - It was an Italian art movement in the early 20th century, which aimed to capture the dynamism and energy of the modern art world. The Futurists were well versed in the latest developments in science and philosophy and particularly fascinated with aviation and cinematography. Futurist artists denounced the past, as they felt the weight of past cultures was extremely oppressive, particularly in Italy. The Futurists instead proposed an art that celebrated modernity and its industry and technology.
11. Expressionism - It started in Germany during the early part of the 1900s. This tried to convey emotion and meaning rather than reality. Each artist had their own unique way of "expressing" their emotions in their art. The artist depicts not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person. The artist accomplished this aim through distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy. At the same time, colors are often vivid and shocking.
12. Constructivism - It originated in Russia from 1913 onward by Vladimar Tatlin who rejected the idea of art for art's sake in favor of art for social purposes. It heavily influenced graphic and industrial designers. In this, the role of the artist was reimagined to be an engineer wielding tools, instead of a painter holding a brush. The artwork became part of a greater visual program meant to awaken the masses and lead them towards awareness of class divisions, social inequalities, and revolution. The Constructivists believed that art had no place in the hermetic space of the artist’s studio. Rather, they thought that art should reflect the industrial world and that it should be used as a tool in the Communist revolution. It was popular in the Soviet Union and Germany.
13. Dadaism - It is an artistic movement in modern art that started around World War II. It started in Zurich in negative reaction to the horrors and follow of the war. Its purpose was to ridicule the supposed meaninglessness of the modern world. It peaked from 1916-1922, and it influenced surrealism, pop art, and punk rock. It favored going against normal social actions. Followers of Dadaism included Antonin Artaud, Max Ernst, and Salvador Dali. In addition to being anti-war, dadaism was also anti-burgeois and had political affinities with the radical left.
14. Surrealism - It was founded by the poet Andre Breton in Paris in 1924. Surrealism was an artistic and literary movement. It proposed that the Enlightenment - the influential 17th and 18th-century intellectual movement that championed reason and individualism - had suppressed the superior qualities of the irrational, unconscious mind. Its goal was to liberate thought, language, and human experience from the oppressive boundaries of rationalism. Many surrealist artists used automatic drawing or writing to unlock ideas and images from their unconscious minds, and others sought to depict dream worlds or hidden psychological tensions.
15. Contemporary art - It is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century by artists who are living in our time. It provides opportunities to reflect on society and the issues that are important to us and the world. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advanced world. Their art is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that challenges the boundaries. It is characterized by the lack of a uniform, organizing principle, ideology; and is a cultural dialog that concerns larger contextual frameworks such as personal and cultural identity, family, community, and nationality.
Modern art versus Contemporary art
16. Pop art - It is a modern art movement that developed in the 1950s and 60s. It was created by the Scottish sculptor and artist Eduardo Paolozzi in London, 1952. Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, and Roy Lichtenstein are examples of pop artists. It uses commercial items and cultural icons such as product labels, advertisements, soft drinks, comic books, and movie stars. It is meant to be fun. There are a number of ways that artists use these items to create art such as repeating the item over and over again, changing the color or texture of the item, and putting different items together to make a picture.
