Last week, we looked at five “isms” in art history: Mannerism, Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism. This week, we’ll consider five of the more recent “isms.”
Post-Impressionism – (very late 1800s and into the turn of the 20th century) Seurat, Van Gogh, Rousseau, Cezanne. This movement overlapped with impressionism, but those who tried an impressionistic approach soon abandoned it for a more structural approach to composition and color theory, using dots (Seurat) or patches (Cezanne) of color and optical mixing.3 The actual quality of the paint took on a greater role, as in the works of Van Gogh with his short, thick strokes.
Symbolism – (turn of the 20th century) By the end of the 19th century, there was an air of discontent over the continent of Europe and the Art world. There was a group of artists eager to abandon the realism of impressionism. This gave birth to Symbolism where symbols from mythology and dream imagery took on greater significance. Some of the major artists of this period were Odilon Redon, Marc Chagall, Edvard Munch, and Gustav Klimt.
Cubism – (the first two decades of the 1900s) This well-known movement came on the heels of Post-Impressionism and overlapped with Symbolism. Cubism was a term coined by an art critic after he viewed a landscape painting by Georges Braque. Braque and Pablo Picasso were good friends and the co-founders of this movement that truly turned the art world on its head. Influenced by the masks of African tribes, this style is characterized by dividing the picture plane into what appears to be facets. Because we see multiple surfaces and vantage points in viewing an object all at once, it is clear that the cubist artists had abandoned all traditional rules of perspective or realism.4 Though started by Picasso and Braque, other artists soon adopted this style of painting – Fernand Leger, Robert Delauney and Marcel Duchamp to name a few.
Surrealism – This movement had its birth in 1924 with a publication by artist Andre Breton about spontaneous creation. Surrealism is rooted in the burgeoning field of psychiatry, and the influential theories of Sigmund Freud.5 The dreamy and bizarre imagery is simultaneously intriguing and disturbing. Some of the most notable surrealist painters are Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Yves Tanguy, and Giorgio De Chirico.
[NOTE: Due to copyright restrictions, we cannot display paintings from this period. However, you
can see an example of Salvador Dali’s iconic painting, The Persistence of Memory at: http://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018]
Abstract Expressionism – this movement came about in New York in the 1940s, as a break from conventional subject matter and techniques. The label of abstract expressionist includes a wide circle of artists over a span of many years where the emphasis was more on the process of creating rather than the finished product. The early years were focused on abstracted, but recognizable subject matter and certainly more figurative. This morphed into more and more gestural (such as the drip and splatter paintings of Jackson Pollock) to the flat and simple color field work of Morris Louis, Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler. What contributed to the impact of abstract expressionist paintings on the public was the scale: most canvases were of an immense size. Other well-known artists of this genre are Willem deKooning, Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline and Adolf Gottlieb.
[NOTE: Due to copyright restrictions, we cannot display paintings from this period. However, you
can see examples of Jackson Pollock’s work at http://www.moma.org/collection/artists/4675]
Take your art to the next level with See the Light videos:
Art Class Volume 5 – Lessons 17-20: Proportions for Composition
Composition is one of the most important aspects of creating a good drawing or painting, yet we often neglect it. In this DVD, Pat Knepley explains the principles of composition, proportion, scale, and point-of-view. You’ll do exercises in each of these concepts so you can learn, not just how to draw, but how to create a visually pleasing work of art. Lessons include, Stand Your “Ground”, Keep Things in Proportion, Scale, and Point of View.
Art Projects (Digital Download)
Year 2: The Next Level (Digital Download)
You learned how to draw in See the Light’s Art Class. Now take it to the next level with Art Projects.
Create your own masterpiece in the style of 9 famous artists. Each project focuses on the work of a famous artist and contains step-by-step tutoring in art history, art elements, art principles, along with integrated Biblical truth.
Art Projects: Pointillism Fruit (Georges Seurat) Download
Create a fruit still-life in the style of French artist, Georges Seurat. Pointillism Fruit is the fourth in See the Light’s Art Projects video series. Each lesson helps advance skills and learning as students complete wonderful works of art in the styles of famous artists. Start creating now with these downloadable video art lessons!
And don’t miss these free resources from our blog:
Watercolor Workshop: Starry Sky (Pt. 1)
/> See the Light Weekly Workshop: Watercolor Starry Sky (Pt. 1) In Part 1 of Watercolor Starry Sky, you’ll learn how to do a background
The Art Elements: Color
Color is one of the seven elements of art. For today’s post, I’ve linked to some websites and videos that focus on color theory. The
More than Words: Illustrating Great Stories (Pt. 2)
Guest post by Pat Knepley – In part one of this post, we looked at three great illustrators. This week we’ll consider four more: N. C.
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