Styles of art

Renaissance
Wealthy characters, no landscape

Elizabeth and Mary Linley

1792 by T. Gainsbourg

Conversation pieces
Portraits of people of the same family or friends. They can be inside or outside.

Romanticism
Mostly darkness and a little bit of light.
When it’s about the weather: storms, heavy snow or
rain, thunder, …
When it’s about people: dreams, nightmare,
imagination, …

The
Fishermen at Sea
1782
1796 by Turner

Naturalism
Countryside, rural scenes, plein air style. Paint a scene as
though you are taking a photo.

Flatford Mill
1816 by Constable

Hudson River School

US style, very realistic, shows the beauty of
the American landscapes, nature is
idealised, plenty of naturalistic details, huge
American landscapes.

1
Pre-Raphaëlite
In The Medieval age, it represents myths, legends, and history.
When they Show women: beautiful creatures, waiting for their
prince.
“Art for art’s sake” = no message behind, just to show a
beautiful painting.
GodSpeed
1900 by Burke Leighton

Impressionism
The Sisters, 1885 by Mary Cassatt
A French painter who also used this style was Monet.
Techniques: portraits, landscapes, sceneries, any topic but
what is important is the style used, the brushwork.

Realism
It is an attempt to depict things as they actually are, no distortion, no idealism but
ordinary life. It raises a social awareness: life of commoners (people who are usually
invisible)

American Regionalism: American Gothic, 1930 by G. Wood

Illustrated Arts: Freedom From Want, 1943 by N. Rockwell, life of

common people during Thanksgiving, it looks like a cartoon.

Harlem Renaissance
The Library, 1960 by Lawrence
Geometric shapes, black people, very colourful. It raises
awareness about black people and their arts.

Abstract Expressionism
Untitled, 1953 by Rothko
Huge size

2
 Surrealism
Pope Innocent X, 1953 by F. Bacon
Nightmarish or dream-like painting

American Modernism
Room in New York, 1932 by E. Hopper

Precisionism: Georgia O’Keeffe, 1925.

Industrialisation, cities, absence of nature, huge buildings, no humans.

Urban Alienation: Chop Suey, 1929 by E. Hopper

Blue and Green, 1960: supposed to represent an
American landscape (in this painting it is a river).

Pop Art
Campbell’s Soup Cans, by Wahrol
Consumption society, capitalism,
inspired by everyday life but also
denounces it.

Roy Lichtenstein “Masterpiece”

Underground/Avant-Garde
Dusthead, 1982 by J.M. Basquiat
Anti aesthetics: he breaks the codes of conventional arts,
provocative, and conveyed social messages.

3
Hyperrealism
So realistic it looks like a photo, with a high level of
details. It can be anything: portrait, landscape…
Cream Pie, 1987 by R. Goings

Minimalism
Geometric shape, simple colours, something pure and simple,
anything superficial is removed, there is no message nor
meaning.
Concentric Squares, 1966 by F. Stella

Postmodernism
Geometric forms, colourful, realistic daily life sceneries,
disenchanted scenes.
The Splash, 1966 by Hockney

Beverly Hills Housewife, 1967 by Hockney

Street-Art
Napalm, by Bansky: picture denouncing the
Vietnam war.
Located in the streets for it to be visible,
provocative, conveys a message.

Mobile Lovers, 2015.

Conceptual Arts
The idea is more important than the aspect of the
work.
Digital art: Garden, 2015 by Hockney.

4
 For The Love of God, 2007 by Damien Hirst
It is all made of diamond.

The Young British Artists Group

God Knows Why, 2005 by D. Hirst (dead animal)

Self, 2011 by Marc Quinn:

sculpture of a head with the artist’s
own blood. It is placed on a table and inside a glass box that keeps
it cold so it doesn’t melt.