ART OF EMERGING EUROPE (Semis notes)
It was a period that is
 Art has been an integral part in European
history.
ANCIENT GREECE
 The Greeks were known to excel in various
field and aspects and society.
 The Greeks were known to place prime
importance in the use of reason.
 The development of Greek Art can be
divided into four period:
i. Geometric Period – it was a period when
geometric shapes and pattern have taken
the spotlight in most of the artworks.
ii. Archaic Period – placed importance in
human figures.
iii. Classical Period – it was during this time
when the Greeks found themselves
rebuilding their temples and focusing on
RENNAISANCE ART
creating artworks.
iv. Hellenistic Period – art was primarily
focused on showcasing emotions and
depicting reality.
 Lacoon and his sons
ANCIENT ROME
 The Roman Republic was established around
500 BCE. This civilization eventually
transformed into one of Western Europe’s
mightiest empires. Since they had expanded
and covered many territories, they interacted
with neighboring civilizations, particularly
with the Greeks.
 It can be said that Roman civilization came of
age during the Hellenistic Period.
 Ancient Greece had a huge impact in the
formation of Roman culture.
 Colosseum
MIDDLE AGES
 As the term denotes, it is the period between
the decline of the Roman Empire and the
Renaissance.
characterized by ignorance and darkness.
 The printing press came later after the Middle
Ages, so copies of the scriptures were done by
hand.
 During this time, great cathedrals were also
built. These cathedrals can be categorized into
two periods:
a. Romanisque
- (1050-1200), inspired by the old
Roman empire.
- Maria Laach Abbey, Germany
- The vault at the Abbey Church of
Saint Foy, Conques, France
b. Gothic
- (1200-1500), which had a more
northern flavor from the Goths-
vulgar and barbarian.
- Rose window and facade of
- Chartres Cathedral (1194-1220)
 During this period, artist valued the
“individual” as a subject of arts. The influence
of humanism shifted the focus of some
artworks during the Renaissance Period to
empower the “individual.”
 Most artwork emphasized naturalism, which
was also an influence of humanism since
there was a great emphasis on the
proportionality of the human body.
 Naturalism is a philosophical viewpoint
according to which everything arises from
natural properties and causes, and
supernatural or spiritual explanations are
excluded or discounted.
 During the Renaissance Period, there was also
a revival of Roman theatrical
plays.
 Roman mosaic depicting actors
and an aulos player.
 Mosaic of theatrical mask, House of the
Tragic Poet, Pompeii
MANNERISM
 Mannerism was a period in art history, which
was a product of the Renaissance Period.
 Most artworks during this period displayed
distorted figures, two-dimensional spaces,
discordant hues and colors, and lack of
defined focal point.
 Mannerism: Bronzino (1503–1572)
 Madonna with the Long Neck (1534–40) By:
Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as
Parmigianino
BAROQUE AND THE ROCOCO
 The term “baroque” is derived from the
Portuguese term barocco which is translated
as “irregularly shaped pearl.” Which
according to some historians was a response
to Protestantism. This period roughly spanned
from 1600 to 1750.
 Most artists used colorful palettes and
ornamentation in their works.
 ROCOCO refers to an artistic style
especially of the 18th century characterized
by fanciful curved asymmetrical forms and
elaborate ornamentation.
NEOCLASSICISM
 There seems to be a debate among historians
as to the beginnings of modern art. There are
accounts that would attribute for the
emergence of this kind of art during the
French Revolution in 1789.
 Neoclassicism was a movement in Europe
that transpired during the late eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries.
 Anton Raphael
Mengs,
Judgement of Paris, c. 1757, bought by
Catherine the Great from the studio
ROMANTICISM
 Romanticism, as an art movement, used the
central themes of Neoclassicist artworks as a
springboard.
 During the Age of Revolutions, there has been
a tremendous focus on patriotic and
nationalistic movements.
 The major and central themes of Romanticism
movement include the emphasis on the
goodness of mankind. Artists also emphasized
emotions and feelings of man, which was a
deviation from the humanist principle of
rationalism.
 Eugène Delacroix, Death of Sardanapalus,
1827, taking its Orientalist subject from a
play by Lord Byron
REALISM
 Realism as style of work focuses on the
accuracy of details that depicts and somehow
mirrors reality.
 Realism as modern movement in art veered
away from traditional forms of art. In a way, it
revolutionized themes and techniques in
paintings.
 Idealistic concepts and images were replaced
by real manifestations of society.
 Ilya Repin, Barge Haulers on the Volga,
1870–73
IMPRESSIONISM
 The impressionism movement started in
France, which led to a break from the
tradition in European painting.
Impressionism is a style of painting that
emerged in the mid-to late 1800s.
 The most conspicuous characteristic of
impressionism in painting was an attempt to
record visual reality accurately and
objectively in terms of transient effects of
light and color.
 The Father of Impressionism is Claude
Monet
  Claude Monet, Impression, Soleil Levant
(Impression, Sunrise) 1872
POST-IMPRESSIONISM
 It is an art movement that emerged in France,
which is a result of both the influence and
rejection of impressionist but later saw the
inherent limitations and flaws of
impressionism.
 Father of post impressionism is Paul Cezanne
 Some of the famous post-impressionism
artists: PAUL CEZANNE, GEROGERS
SEURAT, PAUL GAGUGIN, VINCENT
VAN GOGH
 Reproduction by Paul Cezanne Starry Night
by Vincent Van Gogh
NEO IMPRESSIONISM
 As an art movement, neo-impressionism is
considered as a response to a empirical
realism of impressionism.
 The leading figure in neo-impressionism was
Georges Seurat who recorded optical
sensation on a more scientific manner. His
color theories paved the way for the technique
called pointillism.
 Pointillism is a technique of painting in which
small, distinct dots of color are applied in
patterns to form an image.
 Other neo-impressionist artists: HENRI-
EDMOND CROSS, MAXIMILLIEN
LUCE, CAMILLE PASSARRO
 Georges Seurat (1859–1891) “A Sunday on
La Grande Jatte; Henri-Edmond Cross'
'Mediterranean Shores'(1895)
ART NOUVEU
 This ornamental style of art was a break from
the conservative historicism, which was the
prevailing and dominant theme of most
Western artworks.
 In most works, the defining characteristic of
Art Nouveau is the asymmetrical line that
usually is in the form of insect wings or
flower stalks.
 Redhead Among Flowers by Alphonse Mucha
FAUVISM
 This is a style of painting that emerged in
France around the turn of the twentieth
century.
 Henri Matisse. Woman with a Hat, 1905
CUBISM
 French artists Pablo Picasso and Georges
Braque introduced a new visual art called
Cubism. This style would later have a huge
influence on artists during the twentieth
century.
 Cubists highlighted the two-dimensional
surface of the picture plane.
 Cubists emphasize that they are not in any
way obliged to copy texture, form, color, and
space. They presented a new depiction of
reality that may appear fragmented objects for
viewers.
 Pablo Picasso, 1910, Girl with a Mandolin
FUTURISM
 It is an early twentieth century art movement
that started in Italy, which highlighted the
speed, energy, dynamism, and power of
machines. In addition, common themes for
works in this movement are restlessness and
the past-space of modern life.
 The greatest impact of futurism is evident in
poetry and visual arts.
 Italian poet and editor Filippon Tommaso
Marinette coined the term “futurism.”
 Severini, Gino (1883-1966) – 1912, Dynamic
Hieroglyphic of the Bal Tabarin
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
What is modern art?
 Period that began in the 1880’s and lasted
until 1960’s.
 Focused on surrealism rather than depicted
life as perceived by the church or
influential in society.

 Denotes the style and philosophy of the art
produced during that era.
 The devotion of artists to a strict
narrative was often illustrated in their
figurative works.
 Artist was committed to developing a
language of their own original but
representative.
 It tends to find the pure idea of art.
What is Contemporary Art?
 Developed after 1960’s and still emerging.
 “present” “today” or “now”.
 Concerned about the purity in art.
 It was the idea that was more important
than its visual articulation.
 It turns the traditional paintings and
sculptures into more experimental formats.
Several Movement That Was Caught In Between
The Succession of Modern Contemporary Art:
1. ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM (early
1940’s to mid-1960’s)
 Basic tenets of abstraction and combination
in with gestural techniques, mark making,
and a rugged spontaneity in its visual
articulation.
 Started in New York, hence also called
New York School.
a. Action Painting
- Showed physicality, direction and
most often the spontaneity of the
action that makes drips and strokes
possible.
b. Color Field
- Emphasize the emotional power of
colors.
- From vivid decorations to more
toned-down transitions
2. OPTICAL ART OR “OP ART” (early 1960
onwards)
 Relied on creating illusion using colors,
pattern, and other perspective tricks.
 Showed a certain kind of dynamism.
1. KINETIC ART (early 1950’s onward)
 Harnessing the current and direction of
wind.
 Predominantly sculptural, most were
mobiles and even motor-drive machines.
 Example of how art and technology can be
brought together.
1. GUTAI (1950’s to 1970’s)
 Means embodiment and concreteness.
 The goal was not only to explore the
materiality of the implements used in the
performance but also to hold a deeper desire
to make sense of the relationship between
the body, movements, and the spirit of their
interaction during the process of creation.
2. MINIMALISM (early 1960’s)
 Seen as an extreme type of abstraction that
favored geometric shapes, colors field, and
use of materials that had an “industrial” the
sparse.
 Painters and sculptors avoided overt
symbolism and emotional content, but
instead called attention to the materiality of
the works.
3. POP ART (1950’s)
 It drew inspiration, sources, and even
material from commercial culture, making
it one of the most identifiable and relatable
movements in art history.
 They turned to commodities designed and
made for the masses.
 The aim was also elevating popular culture
as something on par with fine art.
4. POST-MODERNISM (1970’s)
 Most pertinent movement that solidified
the move to contemporary art.
 Included conceptual art, neo-
expressionism, feminist art.
Other Contemporary Art Movements
1. NEO POP ART (1970’s)
 In the 1980’s Andy Warhol renewed an
interest in pop art, but it’s different from
neo pop art because of the first ideas of
Dada’ in which ready-made materials were
used.
 Dada is a movement that was very much
against the values of the bourgeois, the
colonial and even the national. It was both
anarchic, the war ensued because of the
values, movements abhor or despises.
2. PHOTOREALISM
 Painstaking attention to detail is aimed,
without the artist personal style.
 Drawings and paintings are so immaculate
in their precision that start to look like they
are photos without a direct reference to the
artist who created them.
 Chuck Close and Gerhard Richter –
photorealist artists
3. CONCEPTUALISM
 Informed and shaped by pop art.
 Fought against the idea that art is
commodity.
 Brought about by art institutions such as
museums and galleries where works are
peddled and circulated.
 Jenny Holzer, Damien Hirts, Ai Wei Wei –
major conceptual artists
4. PERFORMANCE ART
 Related to conceptual art, and began in the
1960’s.
 Most concerned about the heart of artwork
rather than with entertaining the audience.
 May be planned/spontaneous or
live/recorded, it is durational in nature and
considered as ephemeral works of art.
 Marina Abramovic, Yoko Ono, and Joseph
Beuys – rosters of well-known artists.
5. INSTALLATION
 Is a kind of immersive works.
 Large-scale, installation art makes use of a host
of objects, materials, conditions, and even light
and aural components.
 Considered site-specific and may be temporary
or ephemeral in nature.
 Allan Kaprow, Yayoi Kusama, and Dale
Chihuly. – installation artists.
6. EARTH ART/LAND ART
 Considered as a kind or spin-off of installation.
 It is a kind of human intervention into a specific
landscape or terrain.
 It is different from environmental art in a sense
that it does not focus on the subject but rather
on landscape manipulation and the materials
used taken directly from the ground or
vegetation.
 Robert Smithson, Christo, Richard Lond, Andy
Goldsworthy, and Jeanne-Claude.
7. STREET ART
 It is a by-product of the rise of graffiti in the
1980’s.
 Artworks created are not traditional in formal
but are informed by illustrative, painterly and
print techniques and even a variety of media.
 Most found in the public sphere, various people
who access them have formed the impression
and perception of the artworks themselves.
 This art is unsanctioned and does not enjoy the
invigilated environments of museums and
galleries.
*GRAFFITI – word based
*STREET ART – imaged based