Art Movement

NID / NIFT / CEPT / NATA / UCEED / CEED Entrance Exam Preparation
Art movements
What is an Art Movement?
● Art Movements are the collective titles that are given to artworks which share the same artistic ideals,
style, technical approach or timeframe.
● There is no fixed rule that determines what constitutes an art movement. The artists associated with
one movement may adhere to strict guiding principles, whereas those who belong to another may
have little in common.
● Art Movements are simply a historical convenience for grouping together artists of a certain period or
style so that they may be understood within a specific context.
● Art Movements are usually named retrospectively by art critics or historians and their titles are often
witty or sarcastic nicknames pulled from a bad review.
● Grouping artists of similar interests or styles into Art Movements is mainly a characteristic of Western
Art.
● Art Movements are essentially a 20th century development when there was a greater variety of styles
than at any other period in the history of art.
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ANCIENT ART
Ancient art refers to the many types of art produced by the advanced cultures of ancient societies with some
form of writing, such as those of ancient China, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
The art of pre-literate societies is normally referred to as Prehistoric art and is not covered here. Although some
Pre-Columbian cultures developed writing during the centuries before the arrival of Europeans, on grounds of
dating these are covered at Pre-Columbian art, and articles such as Maya art and Aztec art.
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MEDIEVAL ART
The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art in Europe,
and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods,
national and regional art, genres, revivals, the artists' crafts, and the artists themselves.
Art historians attempt to classify medieval art into major periods and styles, often with some difficulty. A
generally accepted scheme includes the later phases of Early Christian art, Migration Period art, Byzantine art,
Insular art, Pre-Romanesque, Romanesque art, and Gothic art, as well as many other periods within these central
styles. In addition each region, mostly during the period in the process of becoming nations or cultures, had its
own distinct artistic style, such as Anglo-Saxon art or Viking art.
Medieval art was produced in many media, and works survive in large numbers in sculpture, illuminated
manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork and mosaics, all of which have had a higher survival rate than other media
such as fresco wall-paintings, work in precious metals or textiles, including tapestry. Especially in the early part
of the period, works in the so-called "minor arts" or decorative arts, such as metalwork, ivory carving, enamel
and embroidery using precious metals, were probably more highly valued than paintings or monumental
sculpture.
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RENAISSANCE ART
From the 14th through 17 century, Italy underwent an unprecedented age of enlightenment. Known as the
Renaissance—a term derived from the Italian word Rinascimento, or “rebirth”—this period saw increased
attention to cultural subjects like art and architecture.
Italian Renaissance artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael found inspiration in classical art
from Ancient Rome and Greece, adopting ancient interests like balance, naturalism, and perspective. In
Renaissance-era Italy, this antiquity-inspired approach materialized as humanist portrait painting, anatomically
correct sculpture, and harmonious, symmetrical architecture.
Artists to Know: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael

Iconic Artwork: David by Michelangelo
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BAROQUE ART
The Baroque is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture and other arts that flourished in Europe
from the early 17th century until the 1740s. The Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep
colour, grandeur and surprise to achieve a sense of awe. The style began at the start of the 17th century in
Rome, then spread rapidly to France, northern Italy, Spain and Portugal, then to Austria, southern Germany and
Russia. By the 1730s, it had evolved into an even more flamboyant style, called rocaille or Rococo, which
appeared in France and Central Europe until the mid to late 18th century.
Baroque painters worked deliberately to set themselves apart from the painters of the Renaissance and the
Mannerism period after it. In their palette, they used intense and warm colours, and particularly made use of
the primary colours red, blue and yellow, frequently putting all three in close proximity. They avoided the even
lighting of Renaissance painting and used strong contrasts of light and darkness on certain parts of the picture
to direct attention to the central actions or figures. In their composition, they avoided the tranquil scenes of
Renaissance paintings, and chose the moments of the greatest movement and drama. Unlike the tranquil faces
of Renaissance paintings, the faces in Baroque paintings clearly expressed their emotions. They often used
asymmetry, with action occurring away from the centre of the picture, and created axes that were neither
vertical nor horizontal, but slanting to the left or right, giving a sense of instability and movement. They enhanced
this impression of movement by having the costumes of the personages blown by the wind, or moved by their
own gestures. The overall impressions were movement, emotion and drama. Another essential element of
baroque painting was allegory; every painting told a story and had a message, often encrypted in symbols and
allegorical characters, which an educated viewer was expected to know and read.
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ROCOCO ART
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of
architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colors,
sculpted molding, and trompe-l'œil frescoes to create surprise and the illusion of motion and drama. It is often
described as the final expression of the Baroque movement. Elements of the Rocaille style appeared in the work
of some French painters, including a taste for the picturesque in details; curves and counter-curves; and
dissymmetry which replaced the movement of the baroque with exuberance, though the French rocaille never
reached the extravagance of the Germanic rococo.
Light-hearted depiction of domestic life in the upper class home, Elegantly dressed aristocrats at play, usually in
pastoral landscapes, Look for courting, beauty, romance, fun, playfulness and sexual symbols, Mythological
themes, Pastel colours, i.e. soft and light shades, are characteristic of the period, Look for cherubs hovering
around the painting – chubby, nude male babies with wings were characteristics of Rococo painting style.
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REALISM ART
Realism is a genre of art that started in France after the French Revolution of 1848. A clear rejection of
Romanticism, the dominant style that had come before it, Realist painters focused on scenes of contemporary
people and daily life. What may seem normal now was revolutionary after centuries of painters depicting exotic
scenes from mythology and the Bible, or creating portraits of the nobility and clergy.
French artists like Gustave Courbet and Honoré Daumier, as well as international artists like James Abbott
McNeill Whistler, focused on all social classes in their artwork, giving voice to poorer members of society for the
first time and depicting social issues stemming from the Industrial Revolution. Photography was also an influence
on this type of art, pushing painters to produce realistic representations in competition with this new
technology.
Artists to Know: Gustav Courbet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-François Millet
Iconic Painting: The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet
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IMPRESSIONISM
It may be hard to believe, but this now beloved art genre was once an outcast visual movement. Breaking from
Realism, Impressionist painters moved away from realistic representations to use visible brushstrokes, vivid
colours with little mixing, and open compositions to capture the emotion of light and movement. The
Impressionists started as a group of French artists who broke with academic tradition by painting en plein air—
a shocking decision when most landscape painters executed their work indoors in a studio.
The original group, which included Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille,
formed in the early 1860s in France. Additional artists would join in forming their own society to exhibit their
artwork after being rejected by the traditional French salons, who deemed it too controversial to exhibit. This
initial underground exhibition, which took place in 1874, allowed them to gain public favour.
Artists to Know: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt
Iconic Painting: Water Lilies series by Claude Monet
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POST IMPRESSIONISM
Again originating from France, this type of art developed between 1886 and 1905 as a response to the
Impressionist movement. This time, artists reacted against the need for the naturalistic depictions of light and
colour in Impressionist art. As opposed to earlier styles, Post-Impressionism covers many different types of art,
from the Pointillism of Georges Seurat to the Symbolism of Paul Gauguin.
Not unified by a single style, artists were united by the inclusion of abstract elements and symbolic content in
their artwork. Perhaps the most well known Post-Impressionist is Vincent Van Gogh, who used colour and his
brushstrokes not to convey the emotional qualities of the landscape, but his own emotions and state of mind.
Artists to Know: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin
Iconic Painting: The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh
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CUBISM
A truly revolutionary style of art, Cubism is one of the most important art movements of the 20th century. Pablo
Picasso and Georges Braque developed Cubism in the early 1900s, with the term being coined by art critic Louis
Vauxcelles in 1907 to describe the artists. Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, the two men—joined by other
artists—would use geometric forms to build up the final representation. Completely breaking with any previous
art movement, objects were analysed and broken apart, only to be reassembled into an abstracted form.
This reduction of images to minimal lines and shapes was part of the Cubist quest for simplification. The
minimalist outlook also trickled down into the colour palette, with Cubists forgoing shadowing and using limited
hues for a flattened appearance. This was a clear break from the use of perspective, which has been the standard
since the Renaissance. Cubism opened the doors for later art movements, like Surrealism and Abstract
Expressionism, by throwing out the prescribed artist's rulebook.
Artists to Know: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris
Iconic Painting: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso
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SURREALISM
A precise definition of Surrealism can be difficult to grasp, but it is clear that this once avant-garde movement
has staying power, remaining one of the most approachable art genres, even today. Imaginative imagery spurred
by the subconscious is a hallmark of this type of art, which started in the 1920s. The movement began when a
group of visual artists adopted automatism, a technique that relied on the subconscious for creativity.
Tapping into the appeal for artists to liberate themselves from restriction and take on total creative freedom,
Surrealists often challenged perceptions and reality in their artwork. Part of this came from the juxtaposition of
a realistic painting style with unconventional, and unrealistic, subject matters.
Artists to Know: Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte
Iconic PaintingThe Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí
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ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
Abstract Expressionism is an American art movement—the first to explode on an international scale—that

started after World War II. It solidified New York as the new centre of the art world, which had traditionally been
based in Paris. The genre developed in the 1940s and 1950s, though earlier artists like Wassily Kandinsky also
used the term to describe work. This style of art takes the spontaneity of Surrealism and injects it with the dark
mood of trauma that lingered post-War.
Jackson Pollock is a leader of the movement, his drip paintings spotlighting the spontaneous creation and
gestural paint application that defines the genre. The term Abstract Expressionism, though closely married to
Pollock’s work, is not limited to one specific style. Work as varied as Willem de Kooning’s figurative paintings
and Mark Rothko’s colour fields are grouped under the umbrella of Abstract Expressionism.
Artists to Know: Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Clyfford Still
Iconic Painting: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock
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POP ART
Rising up in the 1950s, Pop Art is a pivotal movement that heralds the onset of contemporary art. This post-war
style emerged in Britain and America, including imagery from advertising, comic books, and everyday objects.
Often satirical, Pop Art emphasized banal elements of common goods, and is frequently thought of as a reaction
against the subconscious elements of Abstract Expressionism.
Roy Lichtenstein’s bold, vibrant work is an excellent example of how parody and pop culture merged with fine
art to make accessible art. Andy Warhol, the most famous figure in Pop Art, helped push the revolutionary
concept of art as mass production, creating numerous silkscreen series of his popular works.
Artists to Know: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns
Iconic Painting: Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol
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KINETIC ART
The seemingly contemporary art movement actually has its roots in Impressionism, when artists first began
attempting to express movement in their art. In the early 1900s, artists began to experiment further with art in
motion, with sculptural machine and mobiles pushing kinetic art forward. Russian artists Vladimir Tatlin and
Alexander Rodchenko were the first creators of sculptural mobiles, something that would later be perfected by
Alexander Calder.
In contemporary terms, kinetic art encompasses sculptures and installations that have movement as their
primary consideration. American artist Anthony Howe is a leading figure in the contemporary movement, using
computer-aided design for his large-scale wind-driven sculptures.
Artists to Know: Alexander Calder, Jean Tinguely, Anthony Howe
Iconic Artwork: Arc of Petals by Alexander Calder
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PHOTOREALISM
Photorealism is a style of art that is concerned with the technical ability to wow viewers. Primarily an American
art movement, it gained momentum in the late 1960s and 1970s as a reaction against Abstract Expressionism.
Here, artists were most concerned with replicating a photograph to the best of their ability, carefully planning
their work to great effect and eschewing the spontaneity that is the hallmark of Abstract Expressionism. Similar
to Pop Art, Photorealism is often focused on imagery related to consumer culture.
Early Photorealism was steeped in nostalgia for the American landscape, while more recently; photorealistic
portraits have become a more common subject. Hyperrealism is an advancement of the artistic style, where
painting and sculpture are executed in a manner to provoke a superior emotional response and to arrive at
higher levels of realism due to technical developments. A common thread is that all works must start with a
photographic reference point.
Artists to Know: Chuck Close, Ralph Going,
Iconic Painting: Untitled by Yigal Ozeri
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LOWBROW
Lowbrow, also called pop surrealism, is an art movement that grew out of an underground California scene in
the 1970s. Traditionally excluded from the fine art world, lowbrow art moves from painted artworks to toys,
digital art, and sculpture. The genre also has its roots in underground commix, punk music, and surf culture, with
artists not seeking acceptance from mainstream galleries. By mixing surrealism imagery with pop colours or
figures, artists achieve dreamlike results that often play on erotic or satirical themes. The rise of magazines like
Juxtapoz and Hi-Fructose have given lowbrow artists a forum to display their work outside of mainstream
contemporary art media.
Artists to Know: Mark Ryden, Ray Caesar
Iconic Painting: Incarnation by Mark Ryde n
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De Stijl movement
De Stijl , Dutch for "The Style", also known as Neoplasticism, was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 in
Leiden. De Stijl consisted of artists and architects. In a more narrow sense, the term De Stijl is used to refer to a
body of work from 1917 to 1931 founded in the Netherlands. Proponents of De Stijl advocated pure abstraction
and universality by a reduction to the essentials of form and colour; they simplified visual compositions to
vertical and horizontal, using only black, white and primary colors.
The De Stijl movement posited the fundamental principle of the geometry of the straight line, the square, and
the rectangle, combined with a strong asymmetricality; the predominant use of pure primary colors with black
and white; and the relationship between positive and negative elements in an arrangement of non-objective
forms and lines.
The De Stijl influence on architecture remained considerable long after its inception; Mies van der Rohe was
among the most important proponents of its ideas. Between 1923 and 1924, Rietveld designed the Rietveld
Schröder House, the only building to have been created completely according to De Stijl principles. Examples of
Stijl-influenced works by J.J.P. Oud can be found in Rotterdam De Unie and Hook of Holland. Other examples
include the Eames House by Charles and Ray Eames, and the interior decoration for the Aubette dance hall in
Strasbourg, designed by Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Jean Arp and van Doesburg.
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Video links
A timeline of visual art movements

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyabu9mU1bk
History of Visual Arts: Timeline of 20th Century

Art Movements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaX8Bdvrgc8
Source : https://www.identifythisart.com/timeline-of-art-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
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Art Movement

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NID / NIFT / CEPT / NATA / UCEED / CEED Entrance Exam Preparation

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Gustav Courbet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-François Millet

Iconic Painting: The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt

Iconic Painting: Water Lilies series by Claude Monet

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin

Iconic Painting: The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris

Iconic Painting: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte

Iconic PaintingThe Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Abstract Expressionism is an American art movement—the first to explode on an international scale—that

Artists to Know: Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Clyfford Still

Iconic Painting: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns

Iconic Painting: Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Alexander Calder, Jean Tinguely, Anthony Howe

Iconic Artwork: Arc of Petals by Alexander Calder

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Chuck Close, Ralph Going,

Iconic Painting: Untitled by Yigal Ozeri

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Artists to Know: Mark Ryden, Ray Caesar

Iconic Painting: Incarnation by Mark Ryde n

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

A timeline of visual art movements

History of Visual Arts: Timeline of 20th Century

Bhanwar Rathore Design Studio www.brdsindia.com

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