SIALANA, RAUL JR.

January 15, 2020

BSMT 2 L

DIFFERENT PERIODS OF ART

Prehistoric Art (~40,000–4,000 B.C.)

The origins of art history can be traced

back to the Prehistoric era, before written
records were kept. The earliest artifacts come
from the Paleolithic era, or the Old Stone Age,
in the form of rock carvings, engravings,
pictorial imagery, sculptures, and stone
arrangements. Stonehenge

Ancient Art (4,000 B.C.–A.D. 400)

Ancient art was produced by

advanced civilizations, which in this case
refers to those with an established written
language. These civilizations included
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and those of
the Americas.

Standard of Ur

Medieval Art (500–1400)

The Middle Ages, often referred to as the “Dark

Ages,” marked a period of economic and cultural
deterioration following the fall of the Roman Empire in
476 A.D. Much of the artwork produced in the early
years of the period reflects that darkness, characterized
by grotesque imagery and brutal scenery.

Gero Cross
 Renaissance Art (1400–1600)

This style of painting, sculpture,

and decorative art was characterized by a
focus on nature and individualism, the thought
of man as independent and self-reliant.
Though these ideals were present in the late
Medieval period, they flourished in the 15th
and 16th centuries, paralleling social and
economic changes like secularization.

The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci

Mannerism (1527–1580)

Mannerist artists emerged from the ideals of

Michelangelo, Raphael, and other Late Renaissance
artists, but their focus on style and technique
outweighed the meaning of the subject matter. Often,
figures had graceful, elongated limbs, small heads,
stylized features and exaggerated details.

Madonna with the Long Neck

Parmigianino

Rococo (1699–1780)

Rococo originated in Paris, encompassing

decorative art, painting, architecture, and sculpture.
The aesthetic offered a softer style of decorative art
compared to Baroque’s exuberance. Rococo is
characterized by lightness and elegance, focusing on
the use of natural forms, asymmetrical design, and
subtle colors.

The Swing
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Neoclassicism (1750–1850)

As its name suggests, the

Neoclassical period drew upon elements
from classical antiquity. Archaeological
ruins of ancient civilizations in Athens and
Naples that were discovered at the time
reignited a passion for all things past, and
artists strove to recreate the great works of
ancient art.

Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Jacques-Louis David

Romanticism (1780–1850)

Romanticism embodies a broad range of

disciplines, from painting to music to literature. The
ideals present in each of these art forms reject order,
harmony, and rationality, which were embraced in
both classical art and Neoclassicism. Instead,
Romantic artists emphasized the individual and
imagination.

La Maja desnuda
Francisco Goya

Realism (1848–1900)

Arguably the first modern art

movement, Realism, began in France in
the 1840s. Realism was a result of
multiple events: the anti-Romantic
movement in Germany, the rise of
journalism, and the advent of
photography. Each inspired new interest
in accurately capturing everyday life.

The Gleaners
Jean-François Millet
 Art Nouveau (1890–1910)

Art Nouveau, which translates to “New Art,”

attempted to create an entirely authentic movement
free from any imitation of styles that preceded it. This
movement heavily influenced applied arts, graphics,
and illustration. It focused on the natural world,
characterized by long, sinuous lines and curves.

The Kiss
Gustav Klimt

Impressionism (1865–1885)

Impressionist painters sought to capture the

immediate impression of a particular moment. This
was characterized by short, quick brushstrokes and
an unfinished, sketch-like feel. Impressionist artists
used modern life as their subject matter, painting
situations like dance halls and sailboat regattas
rather than historical and mythological events.

Female Nude
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Post-Impressionism (1885–1910)

Post-Impressionist painters worked

independently rather than as a group, but
each influential Post-Impressionist painter
had similar ideals. They concentrated on
subjective visions and symbolic, personal
meanings rather than observations of the
outside world. This was often achieved
through abstract forms.
The Starry Night
Vincent van Gogh
Fauvism (1900–1935)

Led by Henri Matisse, Fauvism built upon

examples from Vincent van Gogh and George Seurat.
As the first avant-garde, 20th-century movement, this
style was characterized by expressive use of intense
color, line, and brushwork, a bold sense of surface
design, and flat composition.

Woman with a Hat

Henri Matisse

Expressionism (1905–1920)

Expressionism emerged as a
response to increasingly conflicted world
views and the loss of spirituality.
Expressionist art sought to draw from
within the artist, using a distortion of form
and strong colors to display anxieties and
raw emotions. Expressionist painters, in a
quest for authenticity, looked for inspiration
beyond that of Western art and frequented
ethnographic museums to revisit native folk
traditions and tribal art.

Nu couché
Amedeo Modigliani

Cubism (1907–1914)

Cubism was established by Pablo

Picasso and Georges Braque, who rejected the
concept that art should copy nature. They moved
away from traditional techniques and perspectives;
instead, they created radically fragmented objects
through abstraction.

Guernica
Pablo Picasso
 Surrealism (1916–1950)

Surrealism emerged from

the Dada art movement in 1916,
showcasing works of art that defied
reason. Surrealists denounced the
rationalist mindset. They blamed this
thought process on events like World
War I and believed it to repress
imaginative thoughts.
The Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dalí

Abstract Expressionism (1940s–1950s)

Shaped by the legacy of Surrealism, Abstract

Expressionism emerged in New York after WWII. It’s
often referred to as the New York School or action
painting. These painters and abstract sculptors broke
away from what was considered conventional, and
instead used spontaneity and improvisation to create
abstract works of art. This included colossally-scaled
works whose size could no longer be accommodated by
an easel. Instead, canvases would be placed directly
upon the floor.

Woman I
Willem de Kooning

Contemporary Art (1970–present)

The 1970s marked the beginning of contemporary

art, which extends through present day. This period is
dominated by various schools and sm aller movements that
emerged.

Brilliant Information Overload Pop Head

Douglas Coupland