Overview of Art History

15,000 BC - Present

40,000 B.C. – 2300 B.C. Prehistoric Era

Prehistoric art refers to artifacts from ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Artists employed resources from their natural environments such as clay, rocks, minerals, animal hair, bones, wood, fat and blood to create images.

Mesopotamia An ancient empire in what

is known as modern day Iraq.

Generally, art was made by carving stone relief used to decorate imperial monuments. The reliefs depict royal affairs, such as hunting and war.

Animal forms, particularly horses and lions, were represented in great detail, while human figures were of less significance.

Egypt

Egyptian art was expressed through painting, sculpture, and jewelry.

The artwork embodies a unique style and makes use of an ancient form of symbolism.

Much of the remaining art comes from tombs and monuments.

Greece

Sculpture and architecture from Greek civilization have influenced other’s throughout history.

Known for their architectural monuments as well as sculptural masterpieces, the Greek’s were also expert craftsman. They crafted and painted beautiful vessels used for everyday life.

Rome

Greatly influenced by Greek culture, the Ancient Romans excelled in painting, sculpting, and architectural design.

Mythological subject matter predominated art at this time.

200 – 1400Middle Ages

The Middle Ages marks a period in between Classical and Modern history (hence “middle”).

It was at this time that Christianity was being spread throughout Europe, and so the art and architecture follows a religious tradition.

Medieval

Medieval is a term used to describe the art created over a span of 1,000 years during the middle ages.

Art was largely produced at this time with a variety of medium including illuminated manuscripts, paintings, sculptures, stained glass, metal works, mosaics and even textiles.

Byzantine

With the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, art and architecture during the Byzantine era followed a religious theme.

Paintings, mosaics, and sculpture were common forms of artistic expression.

Also important at this time were illuminated bible manuscripts.

Romanesque

Following tradition at this time, the Romanesque period is marked by lavishly decorated architecture, manuscripts and embroidery.

Gothic

Developing in France out of the Romanesque period, Gothic art begin with the construction of monumental architecture.

Very ornately designed cathedrals with luminous stained glass windows were commonly constructed at this time.

1400-1600Renaissance

Known as a period of “rebirth”, this was a time when artists looked back to ancient traditions while applying new scientific knowledge.

The development of linear perspective and a greater understanding of human anatomy became two concepts that would forever change the way that artists render the natural world on a two dimensional surface.

Some of the most influential artists of this time include Michaelangelo, DaVinci, Raphael and Botticelli.

Common forms of artistic expression during the Renaissance include painting, fresco, and sculpture.

Centered around the church, art was commonly themed around religion, mythology and portraiture. However, the artists of the Renaissance were mainly interested in capturing the essence and beauty of nature.

Raphael

Davinci

Michaelangelo

Botticelli

1600-1775Boroque

The Boroque period can be characterized as art that conveys a religious theme, through movement and emotion.

Dramatic biblical depictions are common in frescoes and paintings.

Carlo Innocenzo Carlone

Boroque

During the Boroque period, artists commissioned to paint portraits were interested in depicting the wealth and social status of the patrons.

Artists use of symbolism and focus on the detailed rendering of clothing helps us to understand the importance of the figures being depicted.

Ruebens

Mannerism

Following in traditions developed by Renaissance and Boroque artists, Mannerism is a period in which artists created images of elongated and slightly disproportionate figures.

Pontormo

Rococo

Keeping in tradition with Boroque art, Rococo was a period of ornate interior design and decorative arts.

From the beautiful frescoes to the lavish furniture, Rococo was a period of royal luxury.

Thomas Gainsborough

1700-1800Neoclassicism

A reformation of art and architecture, Neoclassical art sought to bring back classical elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Art was now moving away from the decorative and ornate Boroque and Rococo styles.

David

1700-1800Romanticism & Realism

Romanticism marks a period in which artists sought to remove themselves from social and political influences.

Artists were interested in creating images that engage strong emotion within the beauty of a natural environment. Turner

Realism

In response to the emotion of Romanticism, artists instead began to create images that depicted objective reality.

A focus on real-life scenes characterizes the realist style.

Sargent

1886-1906Impressionism

Developing out of France, this period is characterized by vivid colors and loose, visible brushwork.

Artists began to investigate the changing properties of light in everyday subject matter.

Monet

Degas Renior

Morisot Cassatt

Manet

Post Impressionism

Post Impressionist such as Vincent Van Gogh, continued to develop images with vivid colors, dynamic brushwork and real-life subject matter.

The Post Impressionists took these ideologies further as they experimented with the expressive qualities of paint application and an emphasis of geometric forms.

Lautrect

Gaugin

Cezanne

Seraut

Van Gogh

Modern Art Movement

1880-1970Expressionism

FauvismCubismFuturism

DadaSurrealism

Abstract ExpressionismAction Painting

Color FieldPop Art

MinimalismOp Art

1900-1910German Expressionism

Beginning as a cultural reform of art and poetry in Germany, this period in art history is coined as “avant-garde”, or experimental and innovative.

Artists became interested in depicting an emotional experience rather than reality based imagery.

Munch

Kandinsky

1905-1907Fauvism

French for the wild beasts, Fauvism became a period where artists kept in tradition with Impressionist style, while exploring color and painterly qualities within their work.

Matisse

1908-1914 Cubism

Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque are the creators of this unique artistic style.

Characterized by broken, reassembled and abstracted forms, cubism transformed art into a unique modern style.

Picasso

1909-1918Futurism

Originating in Italy, this style of art sought to transform how we see old forms in new innovative ways.

The Futurists explored every medium of art, including interior design and theatre.

Boccioni

1916-1923Dada

A cultural movement rooted in Switzerland, Dada was a response to the seriousness of war.

Rejecting traditional standards of art, Dada artists found art and humor in the meaningless objects of everyday life.

Dada art is characterized as Anti-war and Anti-art.

Dada was a foundation for future art movements such as surrealism and pop art.

Duchamp

1924-1940Surrealism

Characterized by it’s dreamlike qualities, Surrealism became a way for artists to create a unique world of an imagined reality.

Artists such as Salvadore Dali experimented with reality and psychological elements.

Dali

Abstract Expressionism

A post-WW2 movement, Abstract Expressionism is known for it’s spontaneous and subconscious style.

Instead of working with representational forms, the Abstract Expressionists’ work interprets emotional intensity.

Diebenkorn

O’Keeffe

1950-Action Painting

Also known as “Gestural Abstraction”, this unique style of painting explores the application and expression of medium.

Jackson Pollock is known as the quintessential Action painter. Drips, drizzles and splatters are characteristics of his unique style of painting.

Pollock

1950-Color Field Painting

Originating in NY city, this abstract form of painting is known by it’s application of flat fields of color.

A focus on a refined and consistent application of paint is characteristic of this style.

Frankenthaler

Rothko

1950-POP Art

Emerging in Britain in the 1950’s, Pop art explored the influences of Popular culture such as advertising, comic books and cultural objects.

Pop art was innovative in that it was a the first style of art to emerge that used mass-produced imagery in a fine arts context.

WarholLichtenstein

1960-Minimalism

A post-WW2 movement, Minimalism became an expression of the basic and simplified form.

Minimalism is known as a reaction against the Abstract Expressionists.

Mondrian

1964-OP Art

The art of optical illusion. Artists such as Vasarely

and Riley sought to explore the illusion of space while experimenting with line, shape, pattern and color .

The result is an impression of movement, vibration, swelling, warping and hidden imagery.

Riley

Vasarely

1970 - PresentPost Modern Art

Today art continues to transform.

Artists work in a variety of medium including drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed-media, collage, printmaking, photography, ceramics and installation art to name a few.

Stella

Today’s artists are free to express themselves in any way imaginable.

Sometimes Big….

And sometimes small…

Koons

Calder

Some artists create works that reflect a human message.

Haring

Britto

While others explore form and function.

Calder

Wright

Many artists look at our environment for inspiration….

While others continue to look within…

Chihuly

Escher

Art as we know it will continue to change, as artists seek to invent new ways to create fascinating images to capture a world-wide audience.

These contemporary artists are reinventing old materials in new

and interesting ways! Can you figure out what

they’ve used?

KalishGee’s Bend Quilters

Online Resources

The following websites were used as resources for this presentation:

•Wikipedia.com

•About.com

•Bing.com (images)

•Yahoo.com (images)