#2 Understanding Art Movements
Art history in 4 minutes or less! Or you may need to take this one in chunks...
Western art history dates to the Prehistoric era (~40,000 B.C.), with the earliest artifacts from the Paleolithic era appearing as rock carvings, engravings, pictorial imagery, sculptures, and stone arrangements. To cover approximately 42,000 years of the history of art in detail would take an eternity (and a much longer lesson series!), but thankfully scholars have divided art history into periods or “movements.” By learning about significant movements in art history, we not only gain insight into how artists of the past recorded, responded to, and dealt with the issues of their day (all art was contemporary at some point!), but we also develop our skills in identifying and talking about artistic styles, traditions, and techniques.
This second lesson will cover a handful of significant art movements that not only impacted the course of Western art history but also continue to be studied, referenced, and re-interpreted by artists today. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and resources such as the Artlex Online Art Dictionary or Tate’s Online Glossary of Art Terms are excellent destinations for learning and discovering more!
While you may not be interested in collecting historical art, or have the budget for it, I encourage you to become familiar with major art historical movements so that you can contextualize what you are looking at and identify contemporary artists who are either influenced by certain movements or are creating their own.
Air kisses (because, ya know, art fairs), Casey
Various Art Movements You Should Know
Renaissance (1400-1600)
Art of the Renaissance was characterized by a focus on nature and individualism. The idea of man as independent and self-reliant was paramount, and emotional expression was a celebrated ideal. Realism, attention to detail, and the study of human anatomy emerged, and linear perspective was developed to create depth in two dimensional works. Famous artists from this time include Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, and Donatello.
Baroque (1600-1750)
The Baroque period was known for its ornate, over-the-top visual arts and architecture. Spurred on by a growing interest in broadening human intellect and global discovery, the stylistic tendencies of this period were complex. Baroque artwork is dramatic with rich color palettes, amplified by the development of chiaroscuro, or the emphasized contrast between light and dark. Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Rembrandt are well-known artists from this period.
Romanticism (1780-1850)
Romanticism celebrated the individual and imagination, focusing on passion, emotion, and sensation and rejecting the order, harmony, and rationality that had been popularized by the proceeding period of Neoclassicism. An appreciation for nature developed, and artists began painting outside, or en plein air. Famous artists of the Romantic period include Francisco Goya, John Constable, Eugène Delacroix, and J.M.W. Turner.
Realism (1848-1900)
Realism is considered to be the first “modern” art movement. Emerging with the rise of journalism and the advent of photography, Realism represented a new interest in accurately capturing the everyday lived experiences of people across the demographic spectrum. The development of naturalism and the emphasis on realism of the subject initially shocked middle- and upper-class audiences, who were more familiar with art that celebrated the upper echelons of society. The term“realism” now also describes artworks painted in a realistic (almost photographic) way. Famous artists from the Realism movement include Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, and Édouard Manet.
Impressionism (1865-1885) & Post-Impressionism (1885-1910)
Alongside the boom in technological invention of the period, the Impressionists rejected realism and rather sought to capture the instant impression of a specific moment. With modern life as its subject matter and a focus on depicting light’s changing qualities, Impressionist art is characterized by short, quick brushstrokes and an almost unfinished “sketchbook” feel. Famous artists include Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, and Berthe Morisot.
Post-Impressionism refers to a distinct change in direction from Impressionism and favored more abstract forms, concentrating on subjective visions and symbolism rather than direct observations. The most well-known post-impressionists are Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Vincent van Gogh.
Fauvism (1900-1935)
Fauvism is considered to be the first avant-garde 20th-century movement and is characterized by expressive use of intense color, line, and brushwork, a bold sense of surface design, and flat composition. A core element of the movement was the separation of color from its descriptive, representational purpose. Henri Matisse led the movement, and other well-known Fauvist artists include André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck.
Cubism (1907-1914)
Cubism was established by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque as direct rejection to the idea that art should imitate nature. Cubist art was characterized by abstraction, radically fragmented geometric objects, flat surfaces, and multiple viewpoints. The movement is credited with creating infinite new possibilities for the treatment of visual reality and inspiring many later abstract styles. Other well-known Cubist artists are Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Lyubov Popova, and Juan Gris.
Surrealism (1916-1950)
Surrealism rejected the rational mindset and embraced art that defied reason. Fighting against the repression of imagination, Surrealist artists tapped into the unconscious mind to depict revelations of everyday life. Influenced by figures such a Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, Surrealism championed the irrational, poetic, and revolutionary. Famous Surrealist artists include Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Max Ernst, and Leonora Carrington.
Abstract Expressionism (1940s-1950s)
The artists of this movement broke away from what was considered conventional and instead relied on improvisation and spontaneity (automatism) to create abstract works of art. Abstract Expressionist artwork is characterized by gestural brush-strokes, with some artists being called “action painters,” both for the expressive and emotional “movement” in the works of art and for the physical nature in which some artists would create. Notable artists from this movement include Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko, Joan Mitchell, and Robert Motherwell.
Op Art (1950s-1960s)
With advances in science and technology, interest in optical effects and illusions grew. Op art (short for “Optical” art) is characterized by geometric forms, shapes, colors, and patterns that appear to move or blur. Often Op artists would work in black and white for maximum contrast, though some artists, such as Bridget Riley, explored color theory and function to explore new depths of illusion. Other famous Op artists include Victor Vasarely, Jesus Rafael Soto, and Richard Anuszkiewicz.
Pop Art (1950s-1960s)
Pop art, perhaps one of the most famous movements of the 20th-century, explored the theme of consumerism and mass-media by using everyday objects from popular and commercial culture to create art. The focus on identifiable imagery represented a distinct shift in the direction of modernism and challenged traditional views on what art should be by proving that art can draw from any source. Well-known artists of this movement include Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Hamilton, Peter Blake, and Rosalyn Drexler.
Minimalism (1960s-1970s)
An extreme form of abstract art, Minimalism developed as a response to the expressive works of Abstract Expressionism. It questioned whether works couldn’t be more “anonymous” and not act as a representation of something else, instead focusing only on the materiality of the artwork and its own reality. Minimalism is characterized by purified forms, order, simplicity, and harmony and encourages the viewer to focus only on what is physically in front of them. Famous Minimalist artists include Frank Stella, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Ellsworth Kelly, and Judy Chicago.
Conceptual Art (1960s-1970s)
Completely rejecting previous art movements, Conceptual art favored ideas over visual components. Because the art was focused on ideas and concepts rather than the finished art object, there is no classifiable style or form. Conceptual art may appear in the form of performances, written descriptions, or ephemera, but can be and look like almost anything. Notable Conceptual artists include Joseph Kosuth, Ai Weiwei, Jenny Holzer, On Kawara, and John Baldessari.
Contemporary Art (1970-present)
Beginning in the 1970s and continuing today, Contemporary art consists of many smaller movements, including Postmodernism, Feminist art, Street art, The Pictures Generation, Neo-Expressionism, Young British Artists (YBA), and Digital art, among many others. Current trends are digital and technological innovation, sustainability (both in theme and materials), diversity, and gender equity. Some exciting artists working today are George Rouy, Wanda Koop, Freya Douglas-Morris, Dana Shutz, Jake Grewal, LaToya Hobbs, Loie Hollowell, Ken Nwadiogbu, and Tschabalala Self.
There is a lot of information to absorb in this email, and we’re only scratching the surface. I would love to hear your immediate reactions to the art historical movements outlined above.
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