art

• Contemporary art


  The art of modern day
• Prehistoric Art/Old stone age (40,000-4.000 BC.)


  • Rock carvings
  • Engravings
  • Pictorial imagery
  • Sculptures
  • Stone arrangements
• Natural pigments and carvings were used to create representations of objects, animals and rituals that prove the existence of such civilization. Prehistoric Art
• Ancient Art (4,000 B.C. - AD. 400)

  • Mesopotamia
  • Egypt
  • Greece
  • The Americas
• Ancient Art


  • Served purposes like telling stories, decorating utilitarian objects, displaying religious and symbolic imagery, and demonstrating social status
  • Many works depict stories of rulers, gods, and goddesses
• One of the most famous works from ancient Mesopotamia is the Code of Hammurabi 1792 B.C
• Medieval Art/Dark ages (AD. 500 - AD. 1400)


  Period of economic and cultural deterioration following the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD
• Medieval Art


  • Artwork centred on more sophisticated and elaborately decorated churches with windows and silhouettes adorned with biblical sublets and scenes from classical mythology
  • Notre Dame, a Parisian cathedral and prominent example of Gothic architecture
• Renaissance Art (1,400 - 1600)


  Natural elements, individualism and realism
• Renaissance Art


  • Artwork had attention-to-detail and precision of the human anatomy
  • Flourished in Florence, Italy primarily due to the Medic
  • Italian designer Filippo Brunelleschi and sculptor Donatello were key innovators
  • Artists used linear perspective and created depth through intense lighting and shading
• Mannerism (1527 - 1580)


  Inspired by the ideals of Michelangelo, Raphael, and other late Renaissance artists, but focused on style and technique over meaning
• Mannerism


  • Figures had stylized features and exaggerated details instead of using the classical ideals of harmonious composition and linear perspective
  • Giorgio Vasari, Francesco Salvati, Domenico Beccafumi, and Bronzino were key artists
• Baroque (1600 - 1750)


  Characterised by ornate, over-the-top visual arts and architecture
• Baroque


  • Artwork depicted grandeur and richness
  • Dramatic compositions with intense contrast between light and dark, and rich color palettes
  • Iconic works of Italian painter Caravaggio and Dutch painter Rembrandt
• Rococo (1699 - 1780)


  Use of natural forms, asymmetrical design, and subtle colors, lightness and elegance
• Rococo


  • Painters like Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher used lighthearted treatments, rich brushwork, and fresh colors
  • Translated to silver, porcelain, and French furniture with curving forms, floral designs, and expressive use of gilt
• Neoclassicism (1750 - 1850)


  Obtained the elements of classical antiquity, with a renewed interest in harmony, simplicity and proportion
• Neoclassicism


  • Artists tried to recreate the great works of ancient art taken from archaeological ruins
  • Italian sculptor Antonio Canova used classical elements in his marble sculptures
• Romanticism (1780 - 1850)


  Rejected order, harmony, and rationality, emphasizing the individual and imagination with an appreciation for nature
• Romanticism


  • Artwork showed passion, emotion, and sensation over intellect and reason
  • Henry Fuseli was a key artist
• Realism (1848 - 1900)


  First modern art movement, a result of the anti-Romantic movement, rise of journalism, and advent of photography
• Realism


  • Artwork featured detailed, lifelike depictions of the subject matter
  • Gustave Courbet was a French influential leader
• Impressionism (1865 - 1885)


  Focused on the impression of an exact moment, using short, quick brushstrokes and an unfinished sketch-like feel
• Impressionism


  • Claude Monet was a leading contributor, with notable works like Impression, Sunrise (1872)
• Post-Impressionism (1885 - 1910)


  Concentrated on subjective visions and symbolic, personal meanings rather than observations of the outside world in the form of abstraction
• Post-Impressionism


  • Artists include Georges Seurat known for pointillism and Vincent van Gogh who used rugged brushstrokes and dark tones
• Art Nouveau (1890 - 1910)


  Translated as "New Art", a genuine movement free from imitation of previous styles
• Art Nouveau


  • Influenced by applied arts, graphics, and illustration, focused on the natural world with long, sinuous lines and curves
  • Alphonse Mucha and Antoni Gaudi were key artists
• Fauvism (1900 - 1935)


  Emphasized the expressive use of intense color, line and brushwork, a bold sense of surface design and flat composition
• Fauvism


  • Henri Matisse led the movement, with works accentuated by painterly qualities and strong color rather than representational or realistic values
• Expressionism (1905 - 1920)


  Sought to display anxieties and raw emotions through the distortion of form and strong colors
• Expressionism


  • Origins can be traced to Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and James Ensor
  • Prominent groups were Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)
• Cubism (1907 - 1914)


  Discarded the idea that art should imitate nature, creating radically fragmented objects through abstraction
• Cubism


  • Led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, characterized by flat, two-dimensional surfaces, geometric forms or cubes, and contrasting vantage points
  • Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso is an iconic work
• Surrealism (1916 - 1950)


  Artwork defied reason, seeking to tap into the unconscious mind to portray revelations found in everyday life
• Surrealism


  • Salvador Dali's paintings depict historical accuracy paired with vivid and bizarre dreams
• Abstract Expressionism (1940s - 1950s)


  Preferred to do away with traditional techniques, with canvases placed directly on the floor
• Abstract Expressionism


  • Jackson Pollock known for his unique style of drip painting, and Mark Rothko's large blocks of color to convey spirituality
• Op Art (1950s - 1960s)


  Short for optical art, greatly influenced by developments in science and technology as well as an interest in optical effects and illusions
• Op Art


  • Bridget Riley's 1964 artwork "Blaze" featured zigzag black and white lines that create the illusion of a circular descent