Lesson 7: Brief History of Art and Art Movement

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this discussion, the students are expected to:
• Identify the underlying history, philosophy of the era or movements
• Cite important characteristics in an artwork based on the era movement
• Classify various movements by citing their important characteristics such as historical
background, factors, influential persons, socio-political issues, and prevalent artists,
and forms and media

Discussion:
Art Movement
Art Movement refers to the tendency of style in art that has a specific common
philosophy or goal. Art movement is followed by a group of artists during a restricted period
of time (from a few months to a decade) with the heyday of such movement.
Art movement are very important in modern art when each consecutive movements is
considered a new avant-garde (new and unusual or experimental ideas).
The following art movements from the ancient time to the present are presented here.

1. Cave Painting
These are painted drawings on a cave walls or ceilings, mainly by prehistoric origin,
dated to some 40, 000 years ago (around 38,000 BCE) in Euroasia. The exact purpose of
Paleolithic cave paintings is not known. Evidence suggests that they were merely
decorations of living areas since the caves in which they have been found do not have
signs of ongoing habitation. They are also often located in areas of caves that are not
easily accessible. Some theories hold that cave paintings may have been a way of
communicating with others, while other theories ascribe a religious or ceremonial purpose
to them. The paintings are remarkably similar around the world, with animals being
common subjects that give the most impressive images. Humans mainly appear as
images of hands, mostly hand stencils made by blowing pigment on a hand held to the
wall.
The earliest known cave paintings/drawings of animals are at least 35,000 years old
and were found in caves in the district of Maros, located in Bantimurung district, South
Sulawesi, Indonesia, according to datings announced in 2014. Previously it was believed

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 28

that the earliest figurative paintings were in Europe. The earliest figurative paintings in
Europe date back to the Aurignacian period, approximately 30,000 to 32,000 years ago,
and are found in Chauvet Cave in France, and in the Coliboaia Cave in Romania.

2. Ancient Egyptian Art

Visual arts like painting, sculpture, architecture, and other arts were produced by the
civilization of ancient Egypt in the lower Mile Valley from about 3000BC to 30AD. Ancient
Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and was both highly stylized
and symbolic. It was famously conservative, and Egyptian styles changed remarkably
little over more than 3000 years. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs and
monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of
knowledge of the past.
Ancient Egyptian art included paintings, sculpture in wood (now rarely surviving), stone
and ceramics, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories, and other art media. It
displays an extraordinarily vivid representation of the ancient Egyptian’s socioeconomic
status and belief systems.

3. Greek Art
Greek art began in Cycladic and Minoan civilization and gave birth to Western
classical art in subsequent Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods (with further
developments during the Hellenistic Period). It absorbed influences of Eastern civilizations,
of Roman art and its patrons, and the new religion of Orthodox Christianity in the
Byzantine era and absorbed Italian and European ideas during the period of
Romanticism, until the Modernist and Postmodernist. Greek art is mainly five forms:
architecture, sculpture, painting, pottery and jewelry making.
There are 3 scholarly division of the stages of later ancient Greek art that
correspond with historical periods of the same names. These are the:
• Archaic - a period of gradual experimentation
• Classical - witnessed the flowering of mainland Greek power and artistic
domination
• Hellinistic - opened with the death of Alexander the Great, witnessed the
creation of "Greek-style art" throughout the region, as more and more
centers/colonies of Greek culture were established in Greek-controlled lands.
The period also saw the decline and fall of Greece and the rise of Rome: in
fact, it ends with the complete Roman conquest of the entire Mediterranean
basin.
The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of
many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture
and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 29

Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great’s conquests initiated several centuries in
exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist
art, with ramifications as far as Japan. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist
aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European
artists. Pottery was either blue with black designs or black with blue designs.

4. Roman Art
The prehistoric Roman Art encompasses two periods:
• Etruscan Period (2000-1000BC) – subject matter of paintings was ancestor worship,
catacombs, and sarcophages
• Roman Period (2000BC-400AD) – art was characterized by commemorative statues,
sarcophage, frescoes, and design with vine motifs.
Art in these periods served the cult of ancestors and defied emperors. Roman art
includes architectures, painting, sculpture, and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-
work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered in modern
terms to be minor forms of Roman art although this would not necessarily have been the
case for contemporaries. Sculpture was perhaps considered the highest form of art by
Romans, but figure paintings was also very highly regarded.
Ancient pottery was not a luxury product, but a vast production of “fine wares” were
decorated in reliefs that reflected the latest taste and provided a large group in society
with stylish objects at what was evidently an affordable price. Roman coins were an
important means of propaganda and have survived in enormous numbers.

5. Chinese Painting
The traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is
done with a brush dipped in black ink or colored pigments, oils are not used. As with
calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk.
The finished work can be mounted in scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls.
Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding
screens, and other media.
The highest form of Chinese painting is the landscape painting and still generally used
today.
The time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period (907-1127) is
known as the “Great age of Chinese landscape”.
Main Techniques in Chinese Painting:
• Gongbi – means meticulous, uses highly detailed brush strokes that delimits details
very precisely, often highly colored and usually depicts figural or narrative subjects,
often practiced by artists working for royal court or in independent workshops

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 30

• Ink and wash painting/shui-mo(“water and ink”)/ literati painting – one of the “Four
Arts” of Chinese Scholar-official class, an art practiced by gentlemen, a distinction
that begins to be made in writings on art from the Song dynasty, this style is also
referred to as “xieyi” or freehand style.

6. Japanese Painting
The Japanese painting encompasses a wide variety of genres and styles. The long
history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese
aesthetics and the adaptation of imported ideas, mainly from Chinese painting which
was especially influential at a number of points; significant Western influence only comes
from the later 16th century onwards, beginning at the same time as Japanese art was
influencing that of the West.
Areas of subject matter includes Chinese influence, Buddhist religious painting, ink-
wash painting of landscapes, calligraphy, and painting of animals and plants, especially
birds and flowers.

7. Renaissance Art
Renaissance art emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about 1400. Renaissance art took
as its foundation the art of classical antiquity but later transformed that tradition by
absorbing recent development in the art of northern Europe by applying contemporary
scientific knowledge.
The Renaissance is divided into 3 periods:
• Early Renaissance (13th-14th century)
o Placed emphasis on simplicity gestures and expression
o Painting depicted man and nature in fresco technique
• High Renaissance (16th century)
o Florence, Venice, and Roman painting style was the center of this period
o Da Vinci introduced the chiaroscuro (the treatment of light and shade in
drawing and painting)
o Michelangelo dramatized figures in his famous contrapuesto twists
• Mannerism Period (Late Renaissance Period)
o Classical texts became available (this include philosophy, prose, poetry,
drama, science, a thesis on the arts, and early Christian theology)
o Europe gained access to advanced mathematics
o Advent of movable type printing
o Improvement of oil and paint and developments in oil painting

8. Mannerism Art

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 31

In this art, there are variety of approaches influenced by famous artists such as
Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaelo Sanzio and Michelangelo. Mannerism exaggerates such
qualities of art design often resulting in compositions that are asymmetrical or unnaturally
elegant. The style is notable for its intellectual sophistication as well as its artificial qualities.
It favors compositional tension and instability rather than balance and clarity of earlier
Renaissance painting. Mannerism in literature and music is notable for its highly florid style
and intellectual sophistication. Mannerism has been applied by analogy to the Silver Age
of Latin Literature.

9. Baroque Art
This art flourished in the early 17th century up to late 18th century. Paintings in the
Baroque period are ornate and fantastic. They appeal to the emotion, are sensual and
highly decorative. They make use of light and shadow to produce dramatic effects. The
painting shows figures in diagonal, twists and zigzags.
Baroque sculpture started in the 17 th century. It depicted the beauty of art and
stressed on the expression of emotion.
Rembrandt, Diego Velasquez, Peter Paul Rubens and many others were some of the
famous painters of this period. The works of Gian Lorenzo Bermini and the La Piedad of
Gregorio Fernandez were respresentatives of Baroque sculpture.

10. Rococo Art

Rococo started in the 18th century in France during the reign if King Louis XV. This art
quickly spread to other parts of Europe particularly Bavaria, Austria, Germany, and Russia.
Rococo painting placed emphasis voluptuousness and picturesque and intimidate
presentation of farm and country. The Rococo art technique made use of soft pastel
colors, rendering the landscape smoking and hazy with the subject always in the center
of the canvas.
Famous Rococo painters were Jean Antoine Watteau, Jean Honore Fragonard,
William Hogarth and many other more.
Rococo architects took a different approach from a lavishly decorated architecture
which appeared in Rome and Spain. The exteriors were simple while the interiors are
entirely dominated by their ornament. The style was highly theatrical, floor plans of
churches were often complex, in palaces, grand stairways became centerpieces, and
offered different points of view of the decoration.

11. Neo-Classicism Art

This art movement started in Rome in the mid18th century. Neoclassicim was
considered the “highest rank given to Western movements in decorative and visual arts,
literature, theater, music and architecture.

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 32

Neoclassical architecture is based on the principle of simplicity and symmetry.

12. Neo-impression
This art movement was coined by a French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 when he
described the art movement founded by George Seurat. This period gave emphasis on
science-based interpretation of urban and rural scenes.

13. Impressionism
The impressionistic art during the 19th century was characterized by relatively small,
than and yet visible brush strokes, open composition, as well as emphasis on accurate
depiction of light in its changing qualities of ordinary subject matter.
See Module 01 p.6 for additional details

14. Post-impressionism
Post impressionism encompasses a wide range of stylistic variations focused on
abstract form and pattern when paint is applied to the canvas surface. Structure, order,
and optical effects of color dominated the post impressionist’s aesthetic vision. This
movement also depicts art in bright colors, images were often distorted disregarding the
natural colors.
See Module 01 p.7 for additional details

15. Art Noveau

Art Noveau or New Art is an innovative style of modern art that become popular
sometime in 1890 to 1914. This kind of art movement was very useful in architecture,
applied arts and decorative arts.
Its typical decorative flat patterns mostly curvaceous in shape is in line with its philosophy
of applying artistic design to everyday objects as part of the everyday life. These artistic
designs were especially depicted on birds, flowers, insects, hair, and curvaceous bodies
of beautiful women – an indication of making beautiful things in environment available to
everyone.

16. Fauvism
Fauvism was the first important art movement in 1900s. The fauves did not attempt to
express ethical, philosophical or psychological themes. Most of these artists tried to paint
pictures of comfort, joy, and pleasure. They used extremely bright colors. To fauve, for
example, a tree trunk need not to be brown. It could be bright red, purple, or any vibrant
color.
See Module 01 p.8 for additional details

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 33

17. Expressionism
Expressionism was introduced in Germany during the first decade of the 20 th century/
it has casts its influence on European artists from 1910 up to the present. It also has
seemed to have influenced the playwrights in English and Filipino in the Philippines.
As can be seen on the work of Amelia Lapeña Bonifacio “Sepang Loca” (1958). The
exponents of expressionism believed in the necessity of a spiritual rebirth for man in age
that was becoming influenced by materialism. Paul Dumal’s “Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio”
(1969) and Reuel Aguila’s “Mapait sa Bao” are plays which depicted the idea of rebirth
of the individual as possible only within the context of the transformation of the entire
society.
The emotional expressions can be described as involving pathos, morbidity, violence,
or chaos, and tragedy. It also sometimes portray defeat.
See Module 01 p.8-9 for additional details

18. Cubism
It takes the abstract form through the use of cone, cylinder, or sphere at the expense
of other pictorial elements. Cubists want to show form in their basic geometrical shapes.
Paul Cezanne’s works played an important role in the development of cubism. It was
further developed by Georges Braque of France and Pablo Picasso of Spain.
See Module 01 p.9 for additional details

19. Futurism
Futurism developed in Italy about the same time cubism appeared in France. Futurist
painters wanted their work to capture the speed and force of modern industrial society.
Their paintings glorified the mechanical energy of modern life. Subjects included
automobiles, motorcycles, and railroad trains – subject that express the explosive vitality
of a modern city.

20. Abstractionism
Abstract means “to move away or separate”. Abstract arts moves away from
showing things as they really are. The painters or artists paints the picture not as it really
looks. The picture are not just lifelike, it is rendered not realistic.
In the field of sculpture, artists also began doing abstract sculpture. They felt that the
texture and shape of a sculpture were more important than the exact form. Constantin
Brancusi’s “bird in Space” is an example. Brancusi was so impressed by the grace of a
bird in flight, by the sweep of its body as it flew on air, that he represented those qualities
in his sculptural work. His work does not look like a bird for it is supposed to convey an
impression of a bird’s grace and speed.

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 34

Art subjects can be represented through the following:

• Distortion – manifested when the subject is misshapen condition or the
regular shape is twisted
• Elongation – lengthening of a subject (protraction or extension)
• Mangling – show subject or objects which are cut, lacerated, mutilated, or
hacked with repeated blows.
See Module 01 p.11for additional details

21. Dadaism
Dadaism is a protest movement in the arts performed by a group of artists and poets
in Switzerland. The Dadaist reacted to what they believed were utworn traditions in art
and the evils they saw in society. They tried to shock and provoke the public with
outrageous pieces of writing, poetry recitals, and art exhibitions. Much dadaic art was
playful and highly experimental. The name “dada” is a French word meaning “hobby
horse” was deliberately chosen because it was nonsense. The best known Dadaist was
the French artist Marcel Duchamp.
See Module 01 p.10 for additional details

22. Surrealism
Like Dadaism, from which it arose, Surrealism uses art as weapon against the evil
restrictions that surrealists see in society. Unlike Dadaism, it tries to reveal a new and higher
reality than that of daily life. Surrealism is an invented word meaning “super realism”. The
movement was influenced by the Freudian psychology which emphasizes activities of the
subconscious state of mind.
The surrealist claim to create forms and images not primarily by reason, but by
thinking unthinking impulse and blind feeling or even accident.
See Module 01 p.10-11 for additional details

23. Constructivism
Constructivism started as early as the 20th century in Russia. As an art, this is applied in
the construction of social evils existing in the present society. It is contrasted with
surrealism. Constructivism emphasizes the reconstruction of the evils of what society has
done to man.

24. De Still or Neoplasticism

The Dutch term for De Still is “The Style”. This Dutch movement was founded in 1917 in
Netherlands. Proponents of De Still advocated pure abstraction and universality by a
reduction to the essentials of form and color; they simplified visual compositions to vertical
and horizontal, using only black, white and primary colors.

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 35

25. Abstract Expressionism

This is a style of abstract painting that originated in New York after World War II and
gained an international vogue. It has close antecedents in European art, whose work was
characterized by great verve, the use of large canvasses, and a deliberate lack of
refinement in the application of the paint. Strong color, heavy impasto, uneven brush
strokes, and rough textures are other typical characteristics. Abstract expressionism
departs completely from the subject matter, from studied precision, and from any kind of
preconceived design. Jackson Pollock was one of the abstract expressionism painters of
the New York School.

26. Optical Art

Optical Art is op art for short. This is a style of visual art that emphasize the use of
optical illusions. Op art works are abstract, with many better known pieces created in
black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden
images, flashing and vibrating patterns, or swelling or warping.

27. Pop Art

It started in Britain and the United States during the mid-to-late 1950’s. The movement
presented a challenge to tradition of fine art by including imagery from popular mass
culture, such as advertising, comic books, and mundane cultural objects. One of its aim is
to use images of popular (as opposed to elitist) culture in art, emphasizing the banal or
kitschy elements of any culture, most often through the use of irony. In pop art, material is
sometimes visually removed from its known context, isolated, or combined with unrelated
material.
See Module 01 p.12 for additional details

28. Post-minimalism
This art movement emerged in the late 1970s that employs a variety of arts such as
body art, process art, conceptual arts, and performance arts. The post minimalist artists
use materials that are unprocessed, uncomposed, and sagged instead of using industrial
and fabricated materials to achieve the desired purpose. The most important art was
“Untitled” produced by Eva Hesse, in 1970.

29. Conceptual Art

Some works by conceptual art, sometimes called installations, may be constructed
by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions. This method was fundamental
to American artist Sol LeWitt’s definition of Conceptual Art, one of the first to appear in
print.

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 36

In conceptual art, the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work.
When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and
decisions are made beforehand and the execution is perfunctory affair. The idea
becomes a machine that makes the art.

30. Photorealism
Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other
graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce
the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be used
broadly to describe artworks in many different media, it is also used to refer specifically to
a group of paintings and painters of the American art movement that began in the late
1960s and early 1970s.

31. Installation Art

It is a form of conceptual art whereby objects or materials are configured or
arranged in a room or spaces to present a message to the viewer. The objects configured
may have an impact on the viewer since the viewers are allowed to experience the
craftsmanship of the artist. The installation of the objects may only be temporary unless
they are photographed or documented to be presented as evidence of an artwork.
Some of the installation arts were the following:
• “still life” line drawings of clustered objects made from adhesive tapes by
Michael Craig-Martin
• “Earth Rooms of Walter de Maria”, a room filled with sump oil viewed from a
foot bridge by Richard Willson
Critics of this art form stressed that installation art has low instrinsic value because
their real value is the artistic effect the artist produce.

32. Body Art

Body art is a form of body painting, using the body as canvas or artwork employing
color pigments for cultural motives. Face painting, body painting, and tattoo art are
forms of body art that dates back from pre-historic times. These art forms during the early
times were employed to identify prominent personalities like tribal chiefs. Modern body art
is utilized as a cosmetic make-up as shown in stage plays, television programs, in circuses
and movie characters.
Other types of body arts include:
• mine and living statues
• nail
• human nude-scope photography

Learning Module on Art Appreciation

 37

Among the well-known body artists were Chris Burden, Gina Pane,
Benjamin Vantierand many other more.

33. Land Art

Land art is known also as “Earthworks”, “Earth Art”, or “Landscape
Art” that started inAmerica in the 1960s by developing man’s
awareness of his relationship with his environment through “thought-
provoking construction” of art works that uses materials such as
stones, rocks, clay to create artistic imagery. The purpose of this
artwork is to touch the sensibilities of man towards the environment.
The most celebrated piece of earth art is Robert Smithson's Spiral
Jetty of 1970. In thecompletion of this earth sculpture, Smithson had
to rearrange rock, soil and algae to form a long (1500 feet) spiral-
shaped jetty jutting out into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Another
famous earthwork - probably the largest ever attempted - was James
Turrell's project to re-sculpt the earth around the Roden Crater
volcano in Arizona. Other famous projects include Christo Javacheff
and Jeanne-Claude's encirclement of eleven Florida islands in pink
polypropylene fabric in 1980-3, and their 1997-8 installation at the
Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park in Basel, Switzerland, during
which 180 trees were wrapped in woven polyester fabric. Alan Sonfist's
Time Garden in New York is another work of note.

34. Performance Art

Performance art is an art form that emerged in the 1970s in
America. This art is expressed in many forms such as dance, music,
video, drama, painting, and film. The artistsperforms or expresses his art
before a live audience. The performance artist may likewise incorporate
in his performance such mediums as music and dance, recitation, music,
fashion, juggling and tumbling as a small-scale event or massive
performance spectacle.
Performances can be held anywhere such as in cafes, bars, museums,
square, auditorium,even on streets before a large live audience.

Summary of the Lesson:

There is no definite and specific criterion that determine what
constitutes a true art movement. The reason is that artists differ in their
expression of art as well as their use of techniques and medium in creating
artworks. Nevertheless, those artists who share and usealmost similar
techniques and artistic styles and approaches in producing artworks may
be grouped as belonging to a certain art movement. Some art
movements emerged becameprominent in the 19th century while others
in the 20th and 21st century, as such, they are classified art movements
in the classical, modern, and contemporary period. Some of the 19th and
20th century arts, continue to exist today probably because of their
influence and impact on people’s lives as well as their importance to a
new world of digital technology.

References/Attributions:
Art Encyclopedia Retrieved from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/index.htm
Ariola, Mariano M. 2018. Art Appreciation. Library Services &
Publishing Inc., Intramuros, Manila