Early Renaissance Art

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the beginning of the Renaissance, which means
rebirth, the oppression of the Medieval ages was lifted. People began to have more
freedom of thought and were able to be more creative. Art became more important
and not only the nobles and the religious authorities, but the rising middle class of
merchants, bankers and contractors were able to commission works of art. Italy was
one of the first countries to exhibit signs of the Renaissance through intellectual thought,
discoveries, and the new style of art.
During this time, perspective drawing was discovered, adding a three-dimensional
effect to art. Many discoveries were made pertaining to human anatomy as
well. However, many of the styles retained some aspects of gothic and Romanesque
art. Important artists during this time include: Donatello, Piero della Francesca, and
Sandro Botticelli.
High Renaissance Art
Soon after the Early Renaissance, the new styles and ways of thinking shifted into high
gear. Emotions came to play a large part in artistic impressions. It was during this time
that some of the most famous artists from Italy, like Leonardo, Michelangelo. Raphael,
and Titian, were born. Albrecht Drer of Germany was also a famous artist at this time.
In Italy, Medieval and Gothic styles of art were pretty much done away with, and
composition and theme became more important. In most other European countries,
however, the Gothic style remained prevalent.
Mannerist Art
Near the end of the 1520s, Italy lost its economic domination. Attitudes changed and
the optimistic views of the Renaissance vanished. Art took on a darker tone, and the
realism of the Renaissance style was replaced by the fantastic.
Baroque Art
Fifty years after the beginning of Mannerism, Baroque art took center stage. At that
time, scientific reasoning was replacing faith, however the Roman Catholic Church
made reforms and was restored to some extent. The church could not use the often
dreary, fantastical art of mannerism, and so Baroque art of the Counter-Reformation
was introduced. This style of art was mostly religious in nature and featured "dramatic
movement." Painting often conveyed the illusion of depth. Some famous artists from
this time include Rembrandt and Caravaggio.
During the same time period, Baroque Classicism in France blended, as the name
implies, classicism and baroque styles.
Rococo Art
Rococo art began in France after Louis XIV's death in 1715. More freedom was
allowed, permitting creativity and self-indulgence in the arts. Classicism was
abandoned for a lighter touch, and the artist was allowed more freedom of style as
well. Characterized by its complexity and lack of economy with scrollwork and figures
covering almost all available space.
Neo-Classic Art
As the name implies, Neo-classicism was a return to the classicism of antiquity with the
addition of some of Baroque Classicism.

Romanticism
The Romantic movement overlaps the latter part of Neo-classicism. Social and cultural
changes in society due to the Industrial Revolution inspired artists to be creative and let
go of traditional methods. Rational thought was no longer as dominant in art, and was
replaced by emotional expression. Some famous artist of this time are Francisco Goya,
and Eugne Delacroix.
Impressionism
Impressionism arose out of the political turmoil in France during the early 1870s. It shows
the effect of the light of the sun on objects outside by giving an "impression" of what is
there. The painting during that time used a feathery stroke to give the paintings a light
and airy texture. Impressionists such as Pissarro, Monet, Renoir, Czanne, and Degas
used modern life as their subject rather than historical events or idealized scenes.
Post Impressionism
Post-Impressionism consists of more scientific techniques called Pointillism and
Divisionism. The former used dabs of color on a white surface while the latter used dabs
of color placed closely together to form larger areas of color. One art movement at
this time called Symbolism used the imagination as a basis for works of art.
Fauvism
The use of color in unrealistic ways shocked the public when Fauvism was
introduced. Bright colors and unpredictability were the hallmarks of Fauvism. Color was
used to express feelings. Matisse was a famous painter from this period.
Expressionism
Expressionism started in Germany were a group of artists ventured to make a bridge
connecting the art of the day to the art of the future. Like Fauvism, it used color to
express emotions.
Cubism
Cubism started out as being a breakdown of forms to simple geometric shapes like the
cone, the cylinder, and the cube. Later, it developed into Analytic Cubism which
fragmented the objects like a shattered mirror. Views from different angles were all
portrayed on the canvas at the same time, creating the abstract, broken image. The
most famous artist of this time was Pablo Picasso.

Art Periods/ Characteristics Chief Artists and Historical Events

Movements Major Works

Stone Age (30,000 Cave painting, fertility Lascaux Cave Ice Age ends (10,000 b.c.8,000
b.c.2500 b.c.) goddesses, megalithic Painting, Woman of b.c.); New Stone Age and first
structures Willendorf, permanent settlements (8000
Stonehenge b.c.2500 b.c.)

Mesopotamian (3500 Warrior art and Standard of Ur, Gate Sumerians invent writing (3400
b.c.539 b.c.) narration in stone of Ishtar, Stele of b.c.); Hammurabi writes his law
relief Hammurabi's Code code (1780 b.c.); Abraham
founds monotheism

Egyptian (3100 b.c. Art with an afterlife Imhotep, Step Narmer unites Upper/Lower
30 b.c.) focus: pyramids and Pyramid, Great Egypt (3100 b.c.); Rameses II
tomb painting Pyramids, Bust of battles the Hittites (1274 b.c.);
Nefertiti Cleopatra dies (30 b.c.)

Greek and Hellenistic Greek idealism: Parthenon, Myron, Athens defeats Persia at
(850 b.c.31 b.c.) balance, perfect Phidias, Polykleitos, Marathon (490 b.c.);
proportions; Praxiteles Peloponnesian Wars (431 b.c.
architectural 404 b.c.); Alexander the Great's
orders(Doric, Ionic, conquests (336 b.c.323 b.c.)
Corinthian)

Roman (500 b.c. Roman realism: Augustus of Julius Caesar assassinated (44
a.d. 476) practical and down Primaporta, b.c.); Augustus proclaimed
to earth; the arch Colosseum, Trajan's Emperor (27 b.c.); Diocletian
Column, Pantheon splits Empire (a.d. 292); Rome
falls (a.d. 476)

Indian, Chinese, and Serene, meditative Gu Kaizhi, Li Cheng, Birth of Buddha (563 b.c.); Silk
Japanese(653 b.c. art, and Arts of the Guo Xi, Hokusai, Road opens (1st century b.c.);
a.d. 1900) Floating World Hiroshige Buddhism spreads to China
(1st2nd centuries a.d.) and
Japan (5th century a.d.)

Byzantine and Islamic Heavenly Byzantine Hagia Sophia, Justinian partly restores Western
(a.d. 476a.d.1453) mosaics; Islamic Andrei Rublev, Roman Empire (a.d. 533a.d.
architecture and Mosque of 562); Iconoclasm Controversy
amazing maze-like Crdoba, the (a.d. 726a.d. 843); Birth of
design Alhambra Islam (a.d. 610) and Muslim
Conquests (a.d. 632a.d. 732)

Middle Ages (500 Celtic art, Carolingian St. Sernin, Durham Viking Raids (7931066); Battle
1400) Renaissance, Cathedral, Notre of Hastings (1066); Crusades IIV
Romanesque, Gothic Dame, Chartres, (10951204); Black Death
Cimabue, Duccio, (13471351); Hundred Years'
Giotto War (13371453)
Early and High Rebirth of classical Ghiberti's Doors, Gutenberg invents movable
Renaissance (1400 culture Brunelleschi, type (1447); Turks conquer
1550) Donatello, Botticelli, Constantinople (1453);
Leonardo, Columbus lands in New World
Michelangelo, (1492); Martin Luther starts
Raphael Reformation (1517)

Venetian and The Renaissance Bellini, Giorgione, Council of Trent and Counter-
Northern spreads north- ward to Titian, Drer, Reformation (15451563);
Renaissance (1430 France, the Low Bruegel, Bosch, Jan Copernicus proves the Earth
1550) Countries, Poland, van Eyck, Rogier revolves around the Sun (1543
Germany, and van der Weyden
England

Mannerism (1527 Art that breaks the Tintoretto, El Greco, Magellan circumnavigates the
1580) rules; artifice over Pontormo, Bronzino, globe (15201522)
nature Cellini

Baroque (16001750) Splendor and flourish Reubens, Thirty Years' War between
for God; art as a Rembrandt, Catholics and Protestants
weapon in the Caravaggio, Palace (16181648)
religious wars of Versailles

Neoclassical (1750 Art that recaptures David, Ingres, Enlightenment (18th century);
1850) Greco-Roman grace Greuze, Canova Industrial Revolution (1760
and grandeur 1850)

Romanticism (1780 The triumph of Caspar Friedrich, American Revolution (1775

1850) imagination and Gericault, Delacroix, 1783); French Revolution (1789
individuality Turner, Benjamin 1799); Napoleon crowned
West emperor of France (1803)

Realism (18481900) Celebrating working Corot, Courbet, European democratic

class and Daumier, Millet revolutions of 1848
peasants; en plein
air rustic painting

Impressionism (1865 Capturing fleeting Monet, Manet, Franco-Prussian War (1870

1885) effects of natural light Renoir, Pissarro, 1871); Unification of Germany
Cassatt, Morisot, (1871)
Degas

Post-Impressionism A soft revolt against Van Gogh, Belle poque (late-19th-century

(18851910) Impressionism Gauguin, Czanne, Golden Age); Japan defeats
Seurat Russia (1905)

Fauvism and Harsh colors and flat Matisse, Kirchner, Boxer Rebellion in China (1900);
Expressionism (1900 surfaces (Fauvism); Kandinsky, Marc World War (19141918)
1935) emotion distorting
form

Cubism, Futurism, Pre and PostWorld Picasso, Braque, Russian Revolution (1917);
Supremativism, War 1 art experiments: Leger, Boccioni, American women franchised
Constructivism, De new forms to express Severini, Malevich (1920)
Stijl (19051920) modern life

Dada and Ridiculous art; painting Duchamp, Dal, Disillusionment after World War
Surrealism(19171950) dreamsand exploring Ernst, Magritte, de I; The Great Depression (1929
the unconscious Chirico, Kahlo 1938); World War II (19391945)
and Nazi horrors; atomic bombs
dropped on Japan (1945)

Abstract PostWorld War II: Gorky, Pollock, de Cold War and Vietnam War
Expressionism (1940s pure abstraction and Kooning, Rothko, (U.S. enters 1965); U.S.S.R.
1950s) and Pop Art expression without Warhol, Lichtenstein suppresses Hungarian revolt
(1960s) form; popular art (1956) Czechoslovakian revolt
absorbs consumerism (1968)

Postmodernism and Art without a center Gerhard Richter, Nuclear freeze movement;
Deconstructivism and reworking and Cindy Sherman, Cold War fizzles; Communism
(1970 ) mixing past styles Anselm Kiefer, Frank collapses in Eastern Europe and
Gehry, Zaha Hadid U.S.S.R. (19891991)
Middle Ages
Themes : Feudalism, Roman Catholic Church, Crusades, and the Battle of Hastings
Characteristics : Elicits fear, guilt and piety Areas of Influence : Italy, Constantinople, the
RCC, Monasteries Word Association : religious, iconic, transcendental
Gothic: 12 th -16 th c.
Themes : Focus on God and His glorification, and the end of the Crusades
Characteristics : flying buttresses, dark monastic buildings Areas of Influence :
developed in France, then spread throughout Europe Word Association : dark, detailed
Italian Renaissance: 14 th -16 th c.
Themes : Individualism, worldly experience Characteristics : classicism, perspective,
human figures, and myths Areas of Influence : Venice and Florence Artists :
Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Bellini, Brunelleschi Word Association : man is
the measure, secular, individual
Northern Renaissance: 14 th -16 th c.
Themes : salvation and religious piety Characteristics : movable (triptych) and
produced copies by the printing press (right) Areas of Influence : Flanders and Northern
Europe Artists : Durer, Bosch, Van Eyck, Brueghel, Grunewald, Holbein Word Association
: religious, Christian Humanism
Baroque: 1545-1715
Themes : Return to the Catholic Church and the power of monarchs Characteristics :
mystery, dramatization, bold Areas of Influence : Spain, Rome, Middle-class Dutch Artists
: Caravaggio, Bernini, Bruegel, Bosch, Velasquez Word Association : sexy, Catholic
Reformation, Council of Trent, monarch
Rococo: 18 th c.
Themes : Extravagance and wealth Characteristics : appeal to royals and nobles, light,
and ornate Areas of Influence : France and Austria, Versailles Artists : Fragonard,
Boucher, and Watteau Word Association : Frivolous, ornate, self-indulgence Back
Neoclassicism: 18 th c.
Themes : Return to classical antiquity Characteristics : Formal, imperial style and
imitation of Greek and Roman art Areas of Influence : mainly France (Napoleon, right)
Artists : David and Ingres Word Association : Napoleon, Greece/Rome, imperial
Romanticism: 1780s-1848
Themes : Emotion, passion, and revolution Characteristics : passionate, dark color and a
return to nature Areas of Influence : France, England, and Spain Artists : Goya,
Constable, Delacroix, Turner, Gericault Word Association : emotional, loss of youth,
mysterious, passion
Realism: Mid-19 th c.
Themes : Rejection of Romanticism, and the depiction of everyday life Characteristics :
subjects were common people and landscapes Areas of Influence : the Dutch Artists :
Courbet, Millet, Daumier Word Association : reality, every day, revolution
Impressionism: 19 th c.
Themes : fleeting and brief word of a first impression based on light and the sudden
moment Characteristics : short, choppy, light brushstrokes and en plein aire (outdoors)
Areas of Influence : France Artists : Monet, Renoir, Manet, Cezanne Word Association :
vibrant, little detail, light, glimpse
Post-Impressionism: 19 th c.
Themes : represented impressionism, but rejected its limitations Characteristics : studied
depth, sometimes more detailed than impressionism Areas of Influence : France Artists :
Cezanne, Seurat, van Gogh Word Association : depth, structure, pointillism (next slide)
Expressionism: Early 20 th c.
Themes : Indebted to Freud; analyzing psyche Characteristics : dissonance in color and
perspective, and messages of anxiety Areas of Influence : Germany, Spain, France,
Russia, Norway, Holland Artists : Munch, Kirchner, Kokoschka, Beckmann, Van Gogh
Word Association : anxiety, Freud, dark
Fauvism: c. 1905
Themes : Color was the main subject Characteristics : color takes importance over lines
or subjects Areas of Influence : France, Dutch Artists : Matisse, some Van Gogh Word
Association : COLOR
Cubism: c. 1910
Themes : synthesized view of subject, represented some African characteristics and
new theories (relativity) Characteristics : fragmented subject, cubes Areas of Influence :
France Artists : Picasso, Braque, Leger, Delaunay Word Association : angular,
fragmentation, square (as in the shape)
Futurism: Early 20 th c.
Themes : speed and power of the machine , restlessness of modern life Characteristics :
subjects of modern life, depicts speed Areas of Influence : mainly Italy and Germany
Artists : Boccioni, followed by Balla and Severini Word Association : speed, machine,
industrial, urban
Dada Art: 1915-1922
Themes : focus on the absurd, reaction to WWI Characteristics : techniques of accident
and chance creating art Areas of Influence : Switzerland, NYC, Paris, and large German
cities Artists : Duchamp, Arp, Ray Word Association : ready-made, absurd, illogical
Surrealism: Late 19 th -20 th c.
Themes : expression of the imagination in dreams, lack of reason Characteristics :
incorporated ideals of Freud and Marx Areas of Influence : Norway, Holland, Spain,
Germany, Spain, France, Russia Artists : Dali, Magritte, Delvaux Word Association :
dreams, subconscious, illogical, out of hysteria Back
Abstract Expressionism: 20 th c.
Themes : nonrepresentational, shape, line, color Characteristics : planes, shapes, and
color Areas of Influence : US, many immigrants from Europe, shift from Paris Artists :
Pollock, Rothko, Kline, de Kooning Word Association : ABSTRACT, subjective
interpretation
Pop Art: Mid-to-Late 20 th c
Themes : bitterness out of WWI, pop culture Characteristics : Random objects, use of dry
humor Areas of Influence : US Artists : Warhol, Odenburg,
Op Art: Mid-20 th c.
Themes : geometric abstract, illusion Characteristics : patterns, lines, checkerboard,
circles Areas of Influence : US and throughout Europe (next slide is in Hungary) Artists :
Vasarely, Riley, Poons Word Association : optical illusions, patterns, playing with the eye
and mind
Photorealism: 1960s and 70s
Themes : depiction of photography, interpretation Characteristics : painting of a photo,
should look like a photograph Areas of Influence : US, Britain Artists : Estes, Close Word
Association : photo, everyday streets or objects