Realism (1840-1880)

Realism is broadly considered the beginning of modern art. Realism concerned itself with how life was
structured socially, economically, politically, and culturally in the mid-19th century. Realism was the first
explicitly anti-institutional, nonconformist art movement.

important art The Accommodations of Desire (1929)

Artist: Gustave Courbet

Arts and crafts (1860-1920)

Arts and crafts is an international movement in the decorative and fine arts that began in Britain and
flourished in Europe, North America and japan. It emerged from the attempt to reform design and
decoration also was a reaction against a perceived decline in standards that the reformers associated
with machinery and factory production.

Important art Red House (1859-60)

Artist: Philip Webb and William Morris

Impressionism (1872-1892)

Impressionis can be considered the first distinctly modern movement in painting. It is a movement
characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate
depiction of light in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial
element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles.

Important art Vetheuil in the Fog (1879)

Artist: Claude Monet

Art nouveau (1890-1905)

Art nouveau is an international style of art, architecture and applied art, especially the decorative arts.
Art Nouveau was aimed at modernizing design. Artists drew inspiration from both organic and
geometric forms, evolving elegant designs that united flowing, natural forms resembling the stems and
blossoms of plants. The emphasis on linear contours took precedence over color, which was usually
represented with hues such as muted greens, browns, yellows, and blues. The movement was
committed to abolishing the traditional hierarchy of the arts, which viewed the so-called liberal arts,
such as painting and sculpture, as superior to craft-based decorative arts.

Important art Model #342, “Wisteria” Lamp (ca. 1901-05)

Artist: Clara Driscoll for Tiffany Studios, New York

Art deco (1900-1945)

The Art Deco style manifested across the spectrum of the visual arts: from architecture, painting, and
sculpture to the graphic and decorative arts. similar to Art Nouveau, it is a modern art style that
attempts to infuse functional objects with artistic touches. Art Deco works are symmetrical, geometric,
streamlined, often simple, and pleasing to the eye.
important art Victoire (1928)

Artist: René Lalique

Cubism (1907-1922)

Cubism in its various forms inspired related movements in literature and architecture. Artists abandoned
perspective, which had been used to depict space since the Renaissance, and they also turned away
from the realistic modeling of figures. Cubism paved the way for non-representational art by putting
new emphasis on the unity between a depicted scene and the surface of the canvas

Important art Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon (1907)

Artist: Pablo Picasso

Futurism (1909-1944)

Futurism celebrated advanced technology and urban modernity. The Futurists were fascinated by the
problems of representing modern experience, and strived to have their paintings evoke all kinds of
sensations - and not merely those visible to the eye. At its best, Futurist art brings to mind the noise,
heat and even the smell of the metropolis.

Important art The City Rises (1910)

Artist: Umberto Boccioni

Dadaism (1916-1924)

Dada was the first conceptual art movement where the focus of the artists was not on crafting
aesthetically pleasing objects but on making works that often upended bourgeois sensibilities and that
generated difficult questions about society, the role of the artist, and the purpose of art. Dada artists are
known for their use of readymade objects - everyday objects that could be bought and presented as art
with little manipulation by the artist.

Important art Fountain (1917)

Artist: Marcel Duchamp

Constuctivism (1915-late 1930’s)

Constructivism was a desire to express the experience of modern life - its dynamism, its new and
disorientating qualities of space and time. But also crucial was the desire to develop a new form of art
more appropriate to the democratic and modernizing goals of the Russian Revolution.

Important art Design for the Monument to the Third International (1919-1920)

Artist: Vladimir Tatlin

Surrealism (1924-1966)

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual
artworks and writings. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and
non sequitur. Surrealism developed out of the Dada activities during World War I
Important art The Accommodations of Desire (1929)

Artist: Salvador Dalí