Art Movements – Overview
• Art Movements are collective titles for artworks sharing similar ideals, styles,
techniques, or timeframes.
• There is no fixed rule defining an Art Movement; artists may have either strong
commonalities or very little in common.
• Movements are a historical tool to help understand artists within a certain context.
• Typically named retrospectively by art critics or historians—often using sarcastic
or witty names from reviews.
• Grouping artists into movements is mostly a Western art tradition.
• The concept of distinct Art Movements is largely a 20th-century development, due
to the variety of styles.
Visual Art Movements
Renaissance (c. 1400 – 1600)
“Rebirth” of classical learning and techniques
Characterized by introduction of linear perspective to create depth
Development and mastery of oil paint on canvas
Skilled use of light and shadow (chiaroscuro) to model form and draw focus
Baroque (c. 1600 – 1725)
Exaggerated motion and theatricality to evoke emotion
Dramatic contrasts of light and shadow (tenebrism)
Promoted by the Catholic Church to inspire devotion
Employed by aristocracy as a projection of power, triumph, and control
Sought to engage the viewer directly in the scene
Neoclassicism (c. 1760 – 1830)
Revival of Greek and Roman subjects and styles
Crisp, clean compositions with hard edges
Bright primary colors and dramatic but controlled lighting
Accurate depiction of ancient costume, architecture, and ideals
Romanticism (c. 1770 – 1850)
Emphasis on individual emotion, imagination, and the sublime
Glorification of nature, the past, and personal freedom
Preference for darker, mysterious themes; occasional occult or satanic imagery
Portraiture and historical scenes as expressions of national spirit
Realism (c. 1840 – 1880)
Depiction of everyday life and contemporary social issues
Truthful representation without idealization or exoticism
Focus on the mundane—even the ugly or sordid
French roots: satirical portrayals of political and social realities
Impressionism (c. 1872 – 1892)
Rapid, loose, visible brushstrokes to capture fleeting effects
Emphasis on light, color, and the sense of movement
Separation of colors on the canvas, allowing optical mixing
Post-Impressionism (c. 1887 – 1905)
Reaction against naturalism in Impressionism
Continued use of vivid color and thick paint application
Greater focus on symbolic content and emotional expression
Use of unnatural colors to convey mood and meaning
Fauvism (c. 1905 – 1908)
“Wild” use of color unbound from representational purpose
Color treated as an autonomous, expressive element
Prioritized individual expression and emotional response over academic theory
Expressionism (c. 1905 – 1933)
Art born from the artist’s inner emotions rather than external reality
Radical distortion of form and color to evoke mood and ideas
Cubism (c. 1907 – 1922)
Rejection of single-point perspective; fragmented forms
Open compositions blending figure and ground
Multiple viewpoints shown simultaneously to reflect modern experience of space and
time
Dadaism (c. 1916 – 1924)
Anti-art movement rejecting logic, reason, and bourgeois values
Employed nonsense, irrationality, and protest against war and capitalism
Use of ready-made objects to question the nature and purpose of art
Surrealism (c. 1924 – 1966)
Sought to channel the unconscious mind (influenced by Freud’s Interpretation of
Dreams)
Juxtaposition of unexpected objects to unlock imagination (e.g., lobster-telephone)
Exploration of desire, symbolism, and dream imagery
Abstract Expressionism (c. 1943 – 1965)
Broad umbrella of styles united by redefining the act of painting
Emphasis on spontaneous, gestural brushwork and large-scale canvases
Content often rooted in universal themes and emotion; New York–centered
Pop Art (c. 1943s – 1965s)
Incorporated imagery from mass media, advertising, and popular culture
Isolated and recontextualized everyday objects and comic-book aesthetics
Challenged traditional boundaries between “high” and “low” art
Photorealism (started in 1960s)
Artists meticulously reproduced photographs in paint or drawing
Focus on technical precision to achieve an uncanny semblance of reality
