Renaissance
Origin. Renaissance (French for ‘rebirth’) was born in Florence, Italy in the early 14ᵗʰ century and continued to be the dominant style across Europe until the 17ᵗʰ century. Worth remembering the Medici Family for backing this revolutionary art movement. [Mannerism — Late Renaissance]
Philosophy. Renaissance was primarily driven by Humanism, which is a cultural movement that emphasized on human achievements in various fields such as literature, science, education.
Characteristics. Linear Perspective (relativity of size — based on vanishing point), Secularism (shift from religion to broader themes like day-to-day life), Naturalism, Realism (visual accuracy — perfect anatomy), Individualism (individual over groups), Symmetry, Depth
Famous Artists. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Bellini
Renowned Works. Mona Lisa, Creation of Adam, The School of Athens, The Last Supper, Sistene Madonna, The Birth of Venus, Sistene Chapel, Vitruvian Man
Other Renaissance Intellectuals. Dante, Rene Descartes, Galileo, Copernicus, Machiavelli
Baroque
Origin. The Baroque Period followed Renaissance and Mannerism in the early 17ᵗʰ century and preceded Rococo, also known as Late Baroque period. It originated in Rome, Italy. [It is supposedly Catholic-Counter-Reformation Art in the wake of Protestant Reformation]
Characteristics. Grandeur, Dramatic (use of color, contrasts), Exaggeration, Tenebrism (employing extreme lights and darks), Biblical (mostly, not all), Emotional
Famous Artists. Carravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Giovanni Bernini
Renowned Works. Bacchus, Education of the Princess, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, Boy with a Basket, Judith Slaying Holofernes
Rococo. Late Baroque — more graceful than Baroque, but quite intricate. Primarily French influenced (rococo — derived from French word rocaille meaning shell and rock ornamentation). Characteristics — Asymmetry, Warm pastel colors. Example— Murano Glass.
Neo-Classicism
Origin. Revival of classical art, inspired from the cultures of Greece and Rome. 18ᵗʰ century.
Philosophy. Opposition to the gaudy style of Baroque and Rococo. It brought about a revival in classical thought, reflecting the ongoing social and political topics. Neo-classicists believed that art had the power to transform the society and must therefore impart a moralizing message through it.
Characteristics. Clean style, Contemporary subject matters
Famous artists. Jacques-Louis David (Oath of the Horatii), Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles, L’Excommunication de Robert le Pieux, The Anger of Achilles
Romanticism
Origin. After the French Revolution in 1789, Europe experienced a significant social change. It became clear that the hope for ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ had not been realized. This gave wings to Romanticism, where artists celebrated the emotional intuition and perception of the individual.
Philosophy. Romanticism ideas aligned with Enlightenment, which is a philosophical and literary movement that emphasized on the individual. A return to nature , emphasis on spontaneous plein-air painting — a belief in the goodness of humanity, the promotion of justice for all, and a strong belief in the senses and emotions, rather than reason and intellect.
Famous artists. Joseph Mallord William Turner, Eugène Delacroix, Theodore Gericault, Francisco Goya, Caspar David Friedrich
Renowned works. The Desperate Man, The Soul of the Rose, Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Moonrise over the Sea, The Fighting Temeraire, Liberty Leading the People, The Nightmare, Mary Magdalene Grieving over the Body of Christ
Realism
(Realism or Naturalism) — accurate depiction
Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Origin. A radical movement in the last 1800s (mainly in France) which basically captured the artists’ impressions of their surroundings . It is the precursor to Post-Impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism.
Characteristics. Plein air (outdoor), depicting passage of time by focusing on light, capture movement, brush strokes (small and thick) — impasto technique (thick paint making the strokes visible), everyday subjects
Famous Artists. Claude Monet (Forerunner; Impression, soleil levant), Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne
Renowned Works. Paris Street: Rainy Day, Haystacks: End of Summer, Woman with a Parasol — Madame Monet and Her Son, The Artist’s Garden at Giverny, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère
Post-Impressionism
A movement that originated as a reaction to Impressionism, which deviated from the concerns of natural rendering of light and color.
Artists. Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Rousseau (Primitivism)
Paintings. Starry Night, Café Terrace at Night, Wheatfield with Crows, The Harvest, The Card Players
Pointilism or Neo-Impressionism
Characteritics. Small dots or points of color which form a cohesive image.
Artists. Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Henri Edmond Cross, Jerry Wilkerson, Chuck Close
Paintings. A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (Fun Fact: One of the most parodied paintings — The Simpsons, The Office), Bathers at Asnières, Un Dimanche (A Sunday), Portrait of Cindy Sherman: Chuck Close.
Symbolism
Philosophy. Response to industrial revolution and advances in science. Involved depicting emotive aspects such as love, fear, anguish, death, desire including dreams and imagination. More like Anti-Realism, focus on Poetic ideals and Mysticism
Artists. Odilon Redon (Forerunner), Paul Gauguin, Edvard Munch
Expressionism
Origin. Expressionism emerged in Germany in the early 1900s.
Philosophy. Heavily inspired from Symbolism currents, Expressionism was born due to the effects of an imminent war. It came about as a resistance to the bourgeois culture and revolved around portraying what is within. Artists embraced their inner feelings and brought that into reality. Unlike Impressionism, which sought to depict an impression of the surrounding world, expressionists replaced real objects with their own image of it, even if it meant distortion of reality.
Famous Expressionists. Van Gogh (expressed his tormented state of mind), Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, Egon Schiele, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc
Renowned Works. The Scream, Seated Woman with Bent Knee, Improvisation VII, Blue Horses
Fauvism
Origin. French movement in early 20ᵗʰ century named after les Fauves (French for “the wild beasts”)
Characteristics. Intense Color (explosion of colors), Bold Burshwork
Famous Artists. Henri Matisse, Andre Derain
Paintings. Luxe, Calme et Volupté, The River Seine at Chatou, Charing Cross Bridge, Woman with a Hat
Cubism
Origin. An avant-garde movement which is considered to be one of the most influential art movement of the 20ᵗʰ century.
Philosophy. Inspired from Paul Cezanne, who painted with a different point of view (and also African tribal masks which showed a vivid image of a head — even if unnatural)
‘A head is a matter of eyes, nose, mouth, which can be distributed in any way you like’ — Pablo Picasso
Synthetic Cubism — involved using real elements (like newspaper) instead of paints unlike Analytical Cubism.
Characteristics. Geometric Figures, Distortion, 2-D nature, multiple vantage points
Famous Cubists. Pablo Picasso (Forerunner), Georges Braque, Juan Gris
Renowned Paintings. Girl with Mandolin, Mechanical Elements, Bottle and Wine glass on Table, Artillery, Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table, Man with a Guitar
Futurism
Origin. Artistic and Social movement that originated in Italy in the 20ᵗʰ century. Parallel movement seen in Russia as well. Cubism influences can be seen clearly.
Characteristics. The focus in on progress and modernity. Futurists endeavored to bring in new technologies (trains, cars, and airplanes) into their depictions. Speed, space and time continuum, youth, violence are also honored in their work.
Renowned Works. Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, Dancer at Pigalle, The Cyclist, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, Brooklyn Bridge, Speeding Motorboat
Dadaism
Origin. 20ᵗʰ century movement with early roots in Zurich, Switzerland.
Fun fact. This is the only artistic movement to be named by the artists themselves. When Hans Richter joined the group in 1917, he assumed that ‘Da-Da’ was taken from the Romanian language and meant ‘Yes-Yes’ — an enthusiastic and positive affirmation of life. Another widely accepted interpretation is that ‘Dada’ means ‘hobbyhorse’ in French and was chosen for the childishness and naivety it represents. Hugo Ball stated, ‘What we call Dada is foolery, foolery extracted from the emptiness in which all higher problems are wrapped…’
Philosophy. With the outbreak of WWI, Dadaism was an outcry over war, violence and nationalism. It is perceived as a protest movement, more like Artist Anarchy (a nihilist movement). Zurich was a melting pot of World War exiles and gave birth to ‘Cabaret Voltaire’ — a rendezvous for the radicals, founded by Emmy Hennings and Hugo Ball (Pioneers of Dadaism). Raoul Hausmann — Pioneer of Berlin Dadaism
Characteristics. Refraining from logic and reason, Dadaists embraced Irrationality and Randomness, Provocation
Works include Art, Poems, Articles, Magazines.
Surrealism
Origin. Largely influenced by Dadaism, Surrealism developed in the aftermath of WWI, centered in Paris. Flourished between WWI and WWII.
Characteristics. Bizarre, Connecting Consciousness to the Unconsciousness (Sigmund Freud influences), Abstract, Irrational
Artists. Salvador Dali (Forerunner), René Magritte, Jean Arp, Max Ernst, André Masson
Renowned Works. The Persistence of Memory, The Son of Man, The Elephant Celebes, Golconda (Magritte), The Therapeutist, The Lovers II
Pop Art
Origin. UK and US in the late 1950s
Characteristics. Subtle Social Criticism, Mass media Messaging, Mundane and Daily life objects are primary subjects, Consumerism and Popular Culture. (Comics)
Andy Warhol — In an Interview
AW: I think everybody should like everybody.
Is that what Pop Art is all about?
AW: Yes. It’s liking things.
And liking things is like being a machine?
AW: Yes, because you do the same thing every time. You do it over and over again.
Famous Artists. Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Robert Rauschenberg
Renowned Works. Campbell’s Soup Cans, 210 Coca Cola bottles, Whaam!, Mr. Bellamy, Triple Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, A Bigger Splash, Spoonbridge and Cherry
Minimalism
Pop Art and Minimalism set a precedent to Post-modern Art. Minimalism portrays pure beauty through minimal elements. It does not pretend to be anything else.
What you see is what you see — Frank Stella (The Minimalist Mantra)
Famous Works. Frank Stella’s Black Paintings, Ifafa II (Frank Stella), Red Circle on Black (Jiro Yoshihara), With My Back to the World (Agnes Martin), A Walnut Stain (Pierre Soulages), Star of Persia
PhotoRealism
The Art of studying a photograph and replicating it as real as possible. Also known as Hyper-realism or Super-realism.
Famous Works. Pedro Campos and Chuck Close’s paintings, McDonald’s Pickup, Supreme Hardware Store