Movements, genres, and styles

Movements, genres, and styles

Classical Art Styles and Movements

  • Classical Art (500 BC – 400 AD): Originating from the Greeks and Romans; involves a focus on human beings, clarity of form, simplicity, and grandeur.
  • Byzantine Art (330 – 1453): Characterised by large mosaics and icons depicting Christian figures; bold lines, gold and vivid colours are common.
  • Renaissance (1300 – 1650): Rebirth of art and culture after the Middle Ages. Central themes include humanism, realism, depth, and perspective.

Modern Art Movements

  • Impressionism (1850s-1880s): Characterised by small, thin brush strokes, open composition, ordinary subject matter, and an emphasis on accurate depiction of light.
  • Cubism (1907–1914): Invented by Picasso and Braque; involves an abstract approach depicting all aspects of items in a single plane.
  • Surrealism (1920s-1950s): Influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis, focusing on dreams, subconscious thoughts, and the imagination.

Contemporary Art Styles and Movements

  • Pop Art (1950s-1960s): Characterised by themes and techniques drawn from popular mass culture, such as advertising and comic books.
  • Minimalism (1960s-1970s): Shuns the complexity of high art for simplicity in sculpture and painting; focus is on materials, form, and colour.
  • Digital Art (1980s-present): Using digital technology as an essential part of the creative process; covers a range of artistic works and practices.

Important Genres in Art

  • Portraiture: Art genre that focuses on human subjects; aims to depict the visual appearance of the subject.
  • Landscape: Art genre that focuses on natural scenery, such as mountains, forests, rivers, and fields.
  • Still Life: Art genre that focuses on inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects.

Major Art Styles

  • Abstract: Art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of visual reality. Instead, it uses shapes, colours, and forms to achieve its effect.
  • Realism: Art that attempts to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality, or exotic and supernatural elements.
  • Symbolism: Art style where objects and figures in the artwork are used to represent abstract concepts.