Classical: Although it varies from genre to genre,

classical art is renowned for its harmony, balance and

sense of proportion. In its painting and sculpture, it
employs idealized figures and shapes, and treats its
subjects in a non-anecdotal and emotionally neutral
manner. Colour is always subordinated to line and
composition. It is typically understated - handling is
impersonal to the point of anonymity - and it seeks to
achieve a harmonious and contemplative effect.
Classical architecture is closely regulated by
mathematical proportions. Greek designers, for
instance, used exact mathematical calculations to fix
the height, width and other characteristics of
architectural elements. Moreover, these proportions
would be altered slightly - certain elements (columns,
capitals, base platform), would be tapered for example
- to create the optimum visual effect, rather as if the
building was a piece of sculpture.

Medieval: Like
their artistic predecessors, early medieval artists
enjoyed creating relief sculptures, carvings that stand
out from a background like 3-D pictures. Using ivory as
a medium, they carefully sculpted intricate designs on
panels, book covers, caskets, devotional items, and
even doors. Their subject matter was nearly always
Christian and depicted Jesus' life, death, and
resurrection, scenes from the Old Testament, and
Christian
symbolism.

Gothic: Its main form of expression was

architecture - exemplified by the great Gothic
cathedrals of Northern France.In Gothic design,
the planar forms of the previous Romanesque
idiom were replaced by a new focus on line. And
its soaring arches and buttresses permitted the
opening up of walls for unprecedented huge
windows of stained glass filled with beautifully
nspirational translucent images of Biblical art, far
surpassing anything that wall painting or mosaic
art had to offer. All this created an evocative humanistic atmosphere quite different from the
Romanesque period.

Renaissance: At the period, there was the rise of anatomical drawings and paintings. The
Italian Renaissance artist-Leonardo da Vinci pioneered this move. He set the standard for
drawing and painting anatomically correct bodies. He birthed this out of his quest to
thoroughly understand the human body. He did this by performing 20 autopsies while
drawing all that he found in the human body, the way he saw them. He then incorporated
what he learned of bone structures, musculature, and organ placement (from the bodies he
drew or painted), into the body of knowledge.Both light, shadow, and perspective were used
effectively to draw attention to figures in paintings.

Baroque:
Baroque
art is

characterized by great drama, rich color, and

intense light and dark shadows. Baroque artists
chose the most dramatic point, the moment when
the action was occurring:Baroque art was meant
to evoke emotion and passion instead of the calm
rationality that had been prized during the
Renaissance. Walter Friedlaender refers to such "elements as interest in verisimilitude and
naturalism (often with a strong allegorical content), representations of extreme states of
feeling, a desire to suggest extensions into space, dynamic movement, an intense
engagement with light (in its physical and spiritual connotations) and a sensitivity to the
impact of Classical civilizations, as representing some of the salient features of Baroque art."
Although the era of the seventeenth century is said to be quite ambivalent toward any one
style, the Baroque painters exhibited several characteristics in their painting that made it
clear that the work was Baroque: 1) painterly brushstrokes, 2) recession of the plane, 3)open
form, 4) unity, and 5) unclearness of subject.
Modern: A new way of seeing nature and the experimentation of materials with fresh ideas
are the main perspective of modern art. During 1860 to 1970 was the time period when
modern art emerged out. It is a transformation of art from the narrative, which was
characteristic of traditional art towards abstraction. Abstract art is the formation of visual
language in which an Artist creates an independent composition of color, shape, and line
from the references of the visual world.

SOURCE:
Classical: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/definitions/classicism-in-art.htm

Medieval:https://study.com/academy/lesson/early-medieval-art-architecture-characteristics-
techniques-famous-works.html

Gothic: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/gothic.htm

Renaissance: https://www.theartist.me/art/top-characteristics-of-renaissance-art/

Baroque: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Baroque_art

Modern: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-characteristics-of-modernist-art