20 Art Styles for Midjourney With Prompts and Samples.

Cee Lopez
Bootcamp
Published in
5 min readMay 19, 2023

Art has always fascinated me, with its ability to capture emotions, depict reality, or transport us to new realms of imagination. Recently, I embarked on a creative adventure using MidJourney, a remarkable text-to-image AI platform. With the help of two base images, I explored 20 classic art styles, each one a unique expression of human creativity. Join me as we delve into the depths of artistic evolution, where brushstrokes and colors come alive, bringing forth the spirit of the Renaissance, the grandeur of Baroque, the dreamscapes of Surrealism, and much more.

These are the 2 base images that I utilized for this little experiment.

Photo by Jeremiah Del Mar on Unsplash (Left) Photo by Jayson Hinrichsen on Unsplash (Right)

First I asked ChatGPT to provide me a list of 20 classical art styles. I input the results on GoogleSheets and came up with a base prompt It looked something like this.

Google Sheets

Here are my results, please let me know in the comments if you would like to see more posts like this and also which one is your favorite, personally I really liked the Abstract Expression Style I feel this style blended pretty well with the base images.

My journey through these 20 classic art styles was a thrilling adventure, expanding my understanding of artistic expression and the richness of human imagination. From the timeless elegance of the Renaissance to the provocative nature of contemporary art, each style has left an indelible mark on the history of creativity. Through MidJourney and the two base images, I was able to embark on an artistic exploration like no other, witnessing the transformation of simple images into extraordinary works of art. Art has the power to connect us across time and space, and I hope that my own creations inspire others to embark on their own artistic odyssey. And for all the nerds out there here is a brief description for each art style.

Renaissance: The Renaissance was a period of renewed interest in classical Greek and Roman art and culture. It emphasized realistic representation, perspective, and human anatomy.

Baroque: Baroque art is characterized by its extravagant, grandiose style, elaborate ornamentation, dramatic lighting, and dynamic compositions.

Neoclassicism: Neoclassicism drew inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman art, focusing on idealized forms, rationality, and symmetry. It aimed to revive the principles of classical art.

Romanticism: Romanticism celebrated intense emotions, individualism, and the sublime. It often depicted dramatic landscapes, passionate scenes, and supernatural elements.

Realism: Realism aimed to portray the world as it truly was, often focusing on ordinary subjects and everyday life. It emphasized accurate representation and social commentary.

Impressionism: Impressionism captured the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere, emphasizing loose brushwork and vibrant colors to convey a sense of immediacy and spontaneity.

Post-Impressionism: Post-Impressionism built upon the foundations of Impressionism, but artists in this movement pursued more personal expression, experimenting with color, form, and perspective.

Pointillism: Pointillism utilized small, distinct dots of pure color, which, when viewed from a distance, blended together to create optical effects and vibrant compositions.

Fauvism: Fauvism employed bold, non-naturalistic colors to express intense emotion and evoke a heightened sense of reality. It emphasized the artist’s subjective experience.

Cubism: Cubism revolutionized art by depicting objects from multiple viewpoints, breaking them down into geometric shapes, and rearranging them to emphasize their underlying structure.

Futurism: Futurism glorified the speed, energy, and dynamism of the modern world. It depicted movement, technology, and urban environments through fragmented forms and dynamic lines.

Dadaism: Dadaism emerged as an anti-art movement, rejecting traditional norms and embracing chaos, absurdity, and chance. It often incorporated unconventional materials and methods.

Surrealism: Surrealism explored the world of dreams, the unconscious, and the irrational. It combined unexpected, dreamlike imagery to challenge the viewer’s perception and tap into the depths of the human psyche.

Abstract Expressionism: Abstract Expressionism emphasized spontaneous, gestural brushwork and non-representational forms to convey emotions and subjective experiences.

Pop Art: Pop Art incorporated elements of popular culture, mass media, and advertising, elevating everyday objects and imagery to the realm of high art.

Op Art: Op Art used geometric patterns, precise lines, and contrasting colors to create optical illusions, generating a sense of movement and depth.

Minimalism: Minimalism stripped art down to its essential elements, often utilizing clean lines, simple forms, and a limited color palette to convey a sense of purity and restraint.

Photorealism: Photorealism aimed to create paintings that closely resembled high-resolution photographs, capturing every minute detail with remarkable precision.

Postmodernism: Postmodernism challenged traditional artistic norms, blending various styles, mediums, and cultural references. It often employed irony, pastiche, and self-referentiality.

Contemporary Art: Contemporary art encompasses a wide range of styles, ideas, and mediums, reflecting the diversity and ever-evolving nature of artistic expression in the present day.

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