Art Movements Summary
Abstract Expressionism
**Brief History**: New York, post-WWII. Influenced by European refugees and trauma. Key
figures: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko.
**Important Points**: Divided into Action Painting (Pollock) and Color Field (Rothko).
Emphasized emotion, scale, and spontaneity.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Jackson Pollock – Watery Fields (1947); Mark Rothko –
Untitled (1953–1954).
**Iconic Artworks**: Pollock’s Watery Fields; Rothko’s Untitled (1953–1954).
Cubism & Futurism
**Brief History**: Cubism: Paris, 1907, Picasso and Braque. Futurism: Italy, 1909,
Marinetti’s Manifesto.
**Important Points**: Cubism: Fragmentation, geometric forms. Futurism: Motion, speed,
technology.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Picasso – Les Demoiselles d’Avignon; Carrà – The
Funeral of the Anarchist Galli.
**Iconic Artworks**: Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (MoMA); Funeral of the Anarchist Galli
(MoMA).
Dada and Surrealism
**Brief History**: Dada: Zurich, 1916, anti-war. Surrealism: Paris, 1924, started by Breton.
**Important Points**: Dada: Absurdity, anti-art. Surrealism: Dreams, unconscious mind.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Tzara, Arp, Dalí – The Persistence of Memory;
Duchamp – Fountain (1917).
**Iconic Artworks**: Duchamp's Fountain; Dalí’s Persistence of Memory.
Egyptian Art
**Brief History**: 3000 BCE–30 CE, focused on religion, afterlife, and symbolism.
**Important Points**: Rigid frontality, idealized forms, use of stone and gold.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Anonymous artisans. Notable works: Tutankhamun’s
Mask, Nefertiti Bust.
**Iconic Artworks**: Tutankhamun’s Mask, Egyptian Museum; Nefertiti Bust, Berlin
Museum.
Classical Greek & Hellenistic
**Brief History**: Classical: 480–323 BCE. Hellenistic: 323–31 BCE. Greek culture
expansion.
**Important Points**: Classical: balance and idealism. Hellenistic: drama, realism.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Kritios Boy (Classical); Laocoön and His Sons
(Hellenistic).
**Iconic Artworks**: Kritios Boy – Acropolis Museum; Laocoön Group – Vatican Museums.
Impressionism
**Brief History**: France, 1860s–1880s. Response to academic art and inspired by science
and urban life.
**Important Points**: Loose brushwork, focus on light, en plein air, fleeting moments.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Claude Monet, Renoir, Degas.
**Iconic Artworks**: Not specified in file.
Post-Impressionism
**Brief History**: 1910–1960. Built on Impressionism with personal expression and
symbolic use.
**Important Points**: Bold colors, geometric shapes, expressive distortion.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Van Gogh – Starry Night; Cézanne – Mont SainteVictoire.
**Iconic Artworks**: Starry Night – MoMA; Mont Sainte-Victoire – by Cézanne.
Realism
**Brief History**: France, mid-19th century. Reaction against romanticism.
**Important Points**: Focused on ordinary people and real struggles, emotional truth.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Courbet – The Stonebreakers, The Desperate Man;
Millet – The Gleaners.
**Iconic Artworks**: The Desperate Man, The Gleaners, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.
Neoclassicism
**Brief History**: Late 18th–early 19th century Europe. Response to Rococo and
Enlightenment ideals.
**Important Points**: Greek/Roman themes, simplicity, balance, civic virtue.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Jacques-Louis David – Oath of the Horatii; Capitol
Building architects.
**Iconic Artworks**: Oath of the Horatii – Louvre; Capitol Building – Washington D.C.
Renaissance
**Brief History**: 1300–1600, began in Italy. Revival of classical ideas, rise of humanism.
**Important Points**: Anatomy, realism, perspective, individualism.
**Important Artists and Artworks**: Da Vinci – Mona Lisa, Last Supper; Michelangelo –
David.
**Iconic Artworks**: Mona Lisa – Louvre; David – Accademia Gallery; Last Supper – Milan.