Art History
The Nineteenth Century: Birth of the “ISMS”
The Twentieth Century: Modern Art
- The Annotated Mona Lisa, Carol Strickland
Some of the Major Art Movements:
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Nineteenth Century
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Neo Classicism
Romanticism
Realism
Art Nouveau
Impressionism
Post-Impressionism
Early Expressionism
Symbolism
Art Movements continued…
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Twentieth Century:
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Fauvism
Cubism
Modernism
Dada + Surrealism
Abstract Expressionism
Colour Field and Hard Edge painting
Pop Art
Minimalism
Conceptual Art
Photo-Realism
Neo- Expressionism
Post-Modernism
Romanticism (1800 – 1850)
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Rebelling against the Neoclassic “Age of Reason”
Artist chose emotion and intuition over rational
objectivity
Romantics pursued their passions – living
intensely rather than wisely
Turner, “The Fountain of Indolence”
Gericault, “The Raft of the Medusa”
Realism (1850 to 1900)
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Precise imitation of visual perceptions without
alteration.
Artists depicted scenes of real life, peasants and the
urban working class.
Begins alongside the “Machine Age” – The Industrial
Revolution
Daumier, “The Third-Class Carriage”
Homer, “Snap the Whip”
Art Nouveau (between 1890 and WWI)
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Ornamental style opposed to the sterility of the
Industrial Age.
Flowering, decorative forms were created to counter
the unaesthetic look of machine-made products.
Tiffany, “Grape Vine”
Beardsley, “The Peacock Skirt”
Antonio Gaudi (1852 – 1926)
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Architect
Inspired by random forms of
nature
Impressionism (1860s – 1886)
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The first total artistic revolution since the Renaissance
Rejected Renaissance perspective, balanced
composition, idealized figures and chiaroscuro.
Recorded perceptions through colour and light.
Created distinctively short, choppy brushstrokes.
Artists such as: Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas
Claude Monet
Poppies Blooming, 1873, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of
June 30, 1878
Impression (Sunrise), soleil levant, 1872
Post-Impressionism (1850 – 1905)
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Style derived from Impressionism – including bright
colour patches and brush strokes
Wanted art to be more substantial, not dedicated
wholly to capturing a passing moment (dissatisfied
with Impressionism)
Artists such as: Seurat, Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Cottages ,
1890
Morning: Going out to Work (After Millet)
Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers,
August 1888
Fauvism: Exploring Colour (1904 – 08)
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Characterized by arbitrary colour
First avant-garde art movement of the twentieth
century
The public was critical, calling the artists “wild beasts”
and “mad”
Experimented with new ways to express their
emotional response to a scene
Derain, “Big Ben”
Henri Matisse: Fauvism
Dance (I) 1909. Oil on canvas,
Red Room (Harmony in Red) ,1908
Pablo Picasso: Master of many styles
The Old Guitarist, late 1903
Oil on panel
Composition with Skull, 1908, Oil on canvas
Cubism
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Revolt against realism in the form of shape (whereas
Fauvists rejected realistic colour)
Shattering forms into fragments, collage, dismantling
and reassembling images
Picasso, “Weeping Woman”
Braque, “Violin and Candle”
Surrealism
Was developed following the Dada
movement (response to the madness of
World War I)
 Use of dream-like imagery, inspired by
dreams and subconscious
 Use of juxtaposition, metamorphosis, and
distortion
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Salvador Dali: Surrealism
The Persistence of Memory
Metamorphosis of Narcissus
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans
(Premonition of Civil War)
Rene Magritte: Surrealism
False Mirror,1928
The Human Condition, 1935
Social Protest Art - Photojournalism
Dorothea Lange
Highlighted poverty among the
dispossessed during the Depression
Jacob Riis
A pioneering photojournalist, exposed
issues such as homelessness among
immigrants
Marc Chagall: A master of many styles
Birthday. 1915
I and the Village. 1911.
Oil on canvas
Abstract Expressionism (1940s – 50s)
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“Art” is not just the product of artistic creation, but
the process of creating it
Stressed energy, action and kineticism
Artists liberated themselves from the need to suggest
recognizable images, giving free rein to impulse and
chance
Gorky, “Water of the Flowery Mill”
Jackson Pollack
Pop Art
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Subjects drawn directly from popular culture
Work based on images from the mass media and
advertising
Characterized by glossy, bright colours produced with
mechanical quality
Lichtenstein, “Whaam!”
Andy Warhol: Pop Art
Self-Portrait. 1966. Silkscreen ink on synthetic
polymer paint on nine canvases,
Double Elvis. 1963. Silkscreen ink on
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Op Art (mid 1960s)
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“Optical Art”, developed by Bridget Riley
Combines colour and abstract patterns to produce
optical illusions of pulsating movement
Riley, “Cataract”
Riley, “Big Blue”
Vaserely, “Duo-2”
The Group of Seven: Canadian Landscape
Carmichael, “Frood Lake”
Tom Thompson, “The West Wind”
Emily Carr: Canadian West Coast
Upward Trend, 1937, oil on canvas
Red Tree, c 1938, oil on paperboard
Potlatch Welcome, c 1928, oil on canvas
First Nations and Inuit Art in Canada
Arnaktauyok, “The Power of Tunniq”
Jay Simeon, “Raven Mask”