An Introduction to Art History:
Artists, Artwork, and Art Movements
Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionism, Pointillism,
Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism,
Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art
Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh,
Claude Monet, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock,
Andy Warhol, George Seurat, Pablo Picasso,
Edvard Munch
Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Caravaggio, Georges Braque, Paul
Cezanne,Janz Vermeer, Henri Mattise, Wassily Kandinsky, Georgio
O’keefe, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Paul Klee, Raphael,
Paul Gauguin, M.C. Escher, Max Ernst, Giorgio de Chirico, Roy
Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns
The Renaissance
• Centered in Italy in the 15th - 16th century
• The Renaissance was a period of great creative and intellectual activity,
during which artists broke away from the restrictions of the previous era.
• Throughout the 15th century, artists studied the natural world in order to
perfect their understanding of such subjects as anatomy and
perspective.
• The Renaissance can be described in two parts, the Early Renaissance
and the High Renaissance.
• The High Renaissance was the culmination of the artistic developments
of the Early Renaissance, and one of the great explosions of creative
genius in history.
• It is notable for three of the greatest artists in history: Michelangelo
Buonarroti, Raphael Sanzio and Leonardo da Vinci.
Follow the links below to study the gallery of each period.
Early Renaissance
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
High Renaissance
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The Early Renaissance
Browse through the
The 15th Century
(1400’s)
Gallery of Early Renaissance art.
Write down your answers to these questions. If you don’t know, make
some guesses.
What are some of the common themes or subjects of the artworks from this period?
What part of society seems to heavily influence the artwork of this period?
If you had to guess, who do you think was paying for (or commissioning) many of these
artworks?
Look closely at the subjects of the artworks. How realistic are they? (Let’s say on a
scale of 1-10) Explain why you think so.
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The Early Renaissance
The 15th Century
(1400’s)
Characteristics of Early Renaissance Art:
Student Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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The High Renaissance
Browse through the
The 16th Century
(1500’s)
Gallery of High Renaissance art.
Write down your answers to these questions. If you don’t know, make
some guesses.
There is a very common subject matter that appears in at least 10 works in this gallery.
Can you find what it is?
What does this tell us about the artwork of this period?
Look closely at the subjects of the artworks. How realistic are they? (Let’s say on a
scale of 1-10) Explain why you think so. Do you think they are more or less realistic
than in the previous period?
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The High Renaissance
The 16th Century
(1500’s)
Characteristics of High Renaissance Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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The Baroque Period
The 17th Century
(1600’s)
• Baroque Art developed in Europe around 1600, as an reaction against
the intricate and formulaic Mannerism that dominated the Late
Renaissance. Baroque art is more realistic and more emotionally
affecting than Late Renaissance art.
• One of the great periods of art history, Baroque Art was developed by
Caravaggio,Gianlorenzo Bernini and Annibale Carracci, among others.
This was also the age of Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer and
Velázquez.
• Michelangelo Caravaggio, and Rembrandt Van Rijn are two of the
most celebrated painters of all time. They made famous a style of
chairoscuro in visual art that is still essential today. Chairoscuro is a
term in art for a contrast between light and dark. Some of Rembrandt
and Caravaggio’s work are among of the greatest examples of the
style of chiaroscuro.
• In the 18th century, Baroque Art was replaced by the more elegant and
elaborate Rococo art style.
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The Baroque Period
The Baroque Period
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Baroque Art:
Notes:
What is the Italian word for an emphasis on the contrast between light and dark?
How realistic are the paintings from this era?
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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Impressionism
What century?
____________
(
)
• Impressionism is a light, spontaneous manner of painting which began
in France as a reaction against the restrictions and conventions of the
dominant Academic art.
The movement's name was derived from Monet's early work,
Impression: Sunrise, which was singled out for criticism by Louis Leroy
upon its exhibition.
The hallmark of the style is the attempt to capture the subjective
impression of light in a scene , most commonly landscapes.
The core of the earliest Impressionist group was made up of Claude
Monet, Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Others associated
with this period were Vincent Van Gogh, Camille Pissarro, Edgar
Degas, Edouard Manet, and the American Mary Cassatt.
The Impressionist style was probably the single most successful and
identifiable "movement" ever, and is still widely practiced today. But as
an intellectual school it faded towards the end of the 19th century,
branching out into a variety of successive movements which are
generally grouped under the term Post-Impressionism. Pointillism is
the most popular Post-Impressionist movement.
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Impressionism
Impressionism
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Impressionist Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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Pointillism
What century?
____________
(
)
• Pointillism is the most popular Post-Impressionist movement.
• Pointillism is a form of painting in which tiny dots of primary-colors are
used to generate secondary colors. It is an offshoot of Impressionism,
and is usually categorized as a form of Post-Impressionism. It is very
similar to Divisionism, except that where Divisionism is concerned with
color theory, Pointillism is more focused on the specific style of
brushwork used to apply the paint.
The term "Pointillism" was first used with respect to the work of
Georges Seurat, and he is the artist most closely associated with the
movement. The relatively few artists who worked in this style also
included Paul Signac and Henri-Edmond Cross.
Pointillism is considered to have been an influence on Fauvism.
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Pointillism
Pointillism
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Impressionist Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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•
Cubism
What century?
____________
(
)
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Cubism
Cubism
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Cubist Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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•
Surrealism
What century?
____________
(
)
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Surrealism
Surrealism
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Surrealist Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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•
Expressionism
What century?
____________
(
)
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Expressionism
Expressionism
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Expressionist Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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Abstract Expressionism
What century?
____________
(
)
•
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Abstract Expressionism
Abstract Expressionism
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Abstract Expressionist Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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•
Pop-Art
What century?
____________
(
)
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Pop-Art
Pop-Art
What century?
____________
(
)
Characteristics of Pop-Art:
Notes:
Famous Artists:
Famous Artworks:
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d.
c.
b.
a.
e.
f.
g.
j.
i.
h.
Matching – Artist with Artwork
and Art Movement
ARTIST
Jackson Pollock
WORK
ART MOVEMENT
Andy Warhol
Pablo Picasso
Vincent Van Gogh
Claude Monet
Leonardo Da Vinci
Salvador Dali
Edvard Munch
George Seurat
Rembrandt Van Rijn
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