Periods/Movements in Art
History: A Brief Overview
MR. BECKETT
CREATIVE WRITING
Romanticism (1780-1850)
 Partly a reaction against the Industrial
Revolution and against the scientific
perspective on nature.
 Emotion was at the core of the arts,
especially in the expression of the
individual’s experience.
 The natural world and one’s surroundings
was often seen as a means of inspiration.
Romanticism (cont.)
 Most Famous Painters of the Romantic Period
include:
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Caspar David Friedrich
Eugene Delacroix
J.M.W. Turner
William Blake
Samuel Palmer
Philipp Otto Runge
Francisco Goya
Romantic Paintings
Flowers by Eugene Delacroix
Chinchester Canal by J.M.W. Turner
Realism (1848-1900)
 An attempt to represent things accurately and
truthfully.
 A revolt against the emotionalism of
Romanticism.
 Portrayed ordinary people and situations, not
avoiding unpleasant or nasty aspects of life.
 Details of reality were stressed.
 Industrial and technological advances,
especially photography, let to this movement.
Realism (cont.)
 Realist Painters
 Gustave Coubet
 Jean-Francois Millet
 Honore Daumier
 Edoudard Manet
 Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Realism Paintings
Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet by
Gustave Courbet
The Gleaners by Jean-Francois
Millet
Impressionism (1865-1885)
 Originated in Paris and the artists received a brutal
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backlash from other artists.
Characterized by small, thin, yet visible brush
strokes.
Emphasized accurate depiction of light and how light
changes with time.
Used ordinary subject matter, but emphasized the
bending and freedom of experiencing the world
around us.
Freedom came out in choice of colors and choice of
line/brush strokes. Sensation was key.
Impressionism (cont.)
 Famous Impressionistic Painters:
 Claude Monet
 Edgar Degas
 Pierre-Auguste Renoir
 Paul Cezanne
 Edouard Manet
Impressionistic Paintings
Venice Twilight by Claude Monet
The Pink Dancers, Before the Ballet
by Edgar Degas
Post Impressionism (1885-1910)
 Reaction to and extension of Impressionism. The
Post Impressionists found Impressionism boring in
its choices.
 Also used vivid colors, thick application of paint,
distinctive brush strokes, and real life subject matter.
 Emphasized geometric shapes and forms, distorted
form for expression, and use unnatural and random
color.
Post Impressionism (cont.)
 Famous Post-Impressionism Painters
 Paul Cezanne
 Henri Rousseau
 Vincent van Gogh
 Georges Seurat
Post Impressionist Painters/Paintings
Starry Night
Vincent Van Gough
Van Gogh's Room at Arles
Post Impressionist Painters/Paintings
(cont.)
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island
of La Grande Jatte
Georges Surrat
Mandrill in the Jungle
Henri Rousseau
Expressionism (1900-1935)
 Originating in Germany, Expressionism
sought to present the world completely from
an individual perspective.
 The goal was to express meaning, mood,
emotion, or experience.
 More concern for expression than
presenting things as they are in the physical
world.
Expressionism (cont.)
 Famous Expressionist Artists
 Egon Schiele
 Wassily Kandinsky
 Edvard Munch
 Paul Klee
Expressionistic Paintings
Sweet Summer Roses by Wassily Kandinsky
Cat and Bird by Paul Klee
Scream
Edvard Munch
Cubism/Futurism/Constructivism (19051920)
 Cubism:
 associated with art produced in Paris
 objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstract
form.
 Objects/subjects are depicted from multiple view points.
 Futurism:
 Originated in Italy. Rebelled against all things “past.”
 Emphasized themes associated with the future: speed,
technology, youth and violence, cars, airplanes, and cities.
 Constructivism:
 Originated in Russia
 Objects were created not to express beauty but to push for
some larger purpose.
 The push to create work that would be mass produced.
Famous Painters/Paintings: Cubism
 Cubism:
 Georges Braque
 Pablo Picasso
 Jean Metzinger
 Albert Gleizes
 Fernard Leger
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
La Guitare by Georges Braque
Futurism Painters/Paintings
 Umberto Boccioni
 Giacomo Balla
 Gino Severini
 Carlo Carra
The Noise of the Street by Umberto Boccioni
Luchetto by Giacomo Balla
Constructivist Painters/Paintings
 Vladimir Tatlin
 Kasimir Malevich
 Alexandra Exter
 Robert Adams
 El Lissitzky
Vladimir Tatlin - Model for the Monument
to the Third International,
Alexandra Exter – Design for a Stage
Dadaism and Surrealism (1917-1950)
 Dadaism:
 Born out of a reaction to the horrors of World War I.
 Rejected reason, favoring nonsense and irrationality.
 Some even believe the word “Dada” is a made up, nonsense
word.
 Was often very anti war in its message.
 Collage came out Dadaism
 Many famous Dadaists became Surrealists
Famous Dadaism Paintings
Famous Painters
Hans Arp
Raoul Hausmann
Hannah Höch
Johannes Baader
Hannah Höch Cut with the Dada
Kitchen Knife through the
Last Weimar Beer-Belly
Cultural Epoch in Germany
Raoul Hausmann
ABCD (Self-portrait)
Dadaism and Surrealism (cont.)
 Surrealism
 Aimed to address the battling conditions of dream and reality.
 Artists paint illogical, “disturbing” scenes with photographic
precision.
 The idea was to create a realistic looking painting with strange
creature from everyday objects.
 This “strange creature” was to represent the unconscious part
of our minds (the dream world).
Famous Surrealist Artists/Paintings
 Salvador Dali
 Max Ernst
 Rene Magritte
 Joan Miro
Salvador Dali – Inspiration in Many Forms
Max Ernst - Célèbes or Elephant Célèbes
Abstract Expressionism (1940s-1950s)
 Originated in America (New York City)
 Emphasis on subconscious mind (like Surrealism),
but also emphasized spontaneity.
 Rejection of shape in order to create freedom and
emotion.
 Although criticized for lack of effort/planning,
careful planning went into most paintings.
Famous Abstract Expressionist
Painters/Paintings
 Jackson Pollock
 Mark Rothko
 Helen Frankenthaler
 Willem de Kooning
 Philip Guston
Jackson Pollock - Convergence
Dirty Grapes – Mark Rothko
Pop Art (1960s)
 Originated in Britain in the mid 50s and in the U.S. in the
late 50s.
 Challenged the art world by including material that was used
in pop culture
 Advertising
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News
Comic Book Characters
Popular Icons/Famous People
 Aim was to use found, common, or popular material instead
of elitist material of the art world.
 Pop art aimed to be popular, low cost, mass produced,
young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and very
commercial.
Famous Pop Artists/Paintings
 Andy Warhol
 Roy Lichtenstein
 Keith Haring
 Jasper Johns
 Jean-Michel Basquiat
 David Hockney
Famous Pop Artists/Paintings (cont.)
Roy Lichtenstein's Drowning Girl
Andy Warhol– from his collection
Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat
Collaborative – Op Op
Post Modernism (1970-Present)
 “Modern art” is Romanticism through Pop Art, Post
Modern Art seeks to contradict Modern Art.
 New forms of art have been developed:
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Multimedia: using different media to present art (video,
photography, sound, technology, etc.)
Installation Art: 3-D art or objects used in art
Conceptual Art: Ideas presented are more important than the
beauty of the art.
Performance Art: Art that uses living people to create its art.
Types of Post-Modern Art
Multimedia
Installation Art
Types of Post-Modern Art (cont.)
Conceptual Art
Performance Art