20th century

arts
araguably the most eventful period in the history of art, the 20th century
witnessed the birth (foreshadowed at the end of the 19th century) and outgrowth of
abstraction, along with innumerable movements that came and went amidst radical
changes across the globe. Some of most influential modern and contemporary art
movements and developments of the century

impressionism : composers :
Works of Monet, Renoir, and Manet
CLAUDE MONET
By the 1870s, the stage was set for the emergence of Claude Monet (1840-1926) was one of the founders of the
the next major art movement included Claude Monet, impressionist movement along with his friends Auguste
Auguste Renoir, and Edouard Manet and eventually Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille.
spread to other countries, such as Italy, Germany, works :
and the Netherlands. La Promenade
The Red Baats, Argenteuil
EDOUARD MANET AUGUSTE RENOIR
Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was one of the first 19th- Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), along with Claude Monet,
century artists to depict modern-life subjects. He was a key was one of the central figures of the impressionist
figure in the transition from realism to impressionism movement.
works : works :
Argenteuil Dancer
Rue Mosnier Decked With Flags A Girl with a Watering Can Auguste Renoir

post impressionism :
Works of Cézanne and Van Gogh PAUL CEZANNE
After the brief yet highly influential period of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was a French artist and post-
impressionism, an outgrowth movement known as impressionist painter. His work exemplified the transition
post-impressionism emerged. from late 19th-century impressionism to a new and
works :
VINCENT VAN GOGH Hortense Fiquet in a Striped Skirt
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a post-impressionist Still Life with Compotier

painter from the Netherlands. His works were remarkable

for their strong, heavy brush strokes, intense emotions,
and colors that appeared to almost pulsate with energy.
works :

Sheaves of Wheat in a Field

The Sower
 expressionisim
A Bold New Movement

Among the various styles that arose within the expressionist art movements were:
neo-primitivism
fauvism
dadaism
surrealism

neo-primivitism
Neo-primitivism was an art style that incorporated elements
from the native arts of the South Sea Islanders and the
wood carvings of African tribes that surged in popularity at that
time. Among the Western artists who adapted these elements
was Amedeo Modigliani, who used the oval faces and elongated
shapes of African art in both his sculptures and paintings.

fauvism
Fauvism was a style that used bold, vibrant colors
and visual distortions. Its name was derived from
les fauves ("wild beasts"), referring to the group of
French expressionist painters who painted in this
style. Perhaps the most known. among them was
Henri Matisse.

dadaism
was a style characterized by dream fantasies, memory
images, and visual tricks and surprises-as in the paintings
of Giorgio de Chirico. Although the works appeared playful,
the movement arose from the pain that a group of
European artists felt after the suffering brought by World
War I.

surrealism
was a style that depicted an illogical, subconscious
dream world that seemed to exist beyond the
logical, conscious, physical one. Its name came
from the term "super realism," with its artworks
clearly expressing a departure from reality as
though the artists were dreaming, seeing illusions,
or experiencing an altered mental state.
 surrealism
was a style that depicted an illogical, subconscious dream
world that seemed to exist beyond the logical, conscious,
physical one. Its name came from the term "super realism," with
its artworks clearly expressing a departure from reality as
though the artists were dreaming, seeing illusions, or
experiencing an altered mental state.

social realism
The movement known as social realism
expressed the artist's role in social reform. Here, artists used their works to protest
against the injustices, inequalities. immorality, and ugliness of the human condition.

abstractionismabstractionism
Another group of artistic styles emerged at the same time as the expressionist movement.
It had the same spirit of freedom of expression and openness that characterized life in the
20th century, but it differed from expressionism in certain ways. This group of styles was
known as abstractionism.

The abstractionist movement arose from the intellectual points of view in the 20th century.
In the world of science, physicists were formulating a new view of the universe, which
resulted in the concepts of space-time and relativity. This intellectualism was reflected even
in art. While expressionism was emotional, abstractionism was logical and rational. It
involved analyzing, detaching, selecting, and simplifying.
Grouped under abstractionism are the following art styles:
cubism
futurism
mechanical style
non-objectivism

cubism
The cubist style derived its name from the cube, a three dimensional geometric figure
composed of strictly measured lines, planes, and angles. Cubist artworks were,
therefore, a play of planes and angles on a flat surface. Foremost among the cubists
was Spanish painter/sculptor Pablo Picasso (right).
 futurism
The movement known as futurism began in
Italy in the early 1900s. As the name implies,
the futurists
created art for a fast-paced, machine-
propelled age. They admired the motion,
force, speed, and strength of mechanical
forms. Thus, their works depicted the
dynamic sensation of all these as can be
seen in the works of Italian painter Gino
Severini.

mechanical style
As a result of the futurist movement, what became
known as the mechanical style emerged. In this style,
basic forms such as planes, cones, spheres, and
cylinders all fit together precisely and neatly in their
appointed places.

Non-objectivism
The logical geometrical conclusion of
abstractionism came in the style known as
nonobjectivism. From the very term "non-
object," works in this style did not make use
of figures or even representations of figures.
They did not refer to recognizable objects or
forms in the outside world.

abstract expressionism
World events in the mid-20th century immensely influenced the course of
human Wo life and, with it, the course of art history. World War I (1913-1914) and World
War II (1941-1945), in particular, shifted the political, economic, and cultural world stage
away from Europe and on to the "New World" continent, America.

action paintin
One form of abstract expressionism was seen in the
works of Jackson

color field painting

In contrast to the vigorous gestures of
the action painters, another group of
artists who came to be known as "color
field painters" used different color
saturations
 pop art
Like the dadaist movement that arose after World War I,
the pop art movement of the 1960s wanted to make reforms
in traditional values. It also made use of commonplace,
trivial, even nonsensical objects. But unlike the angry,
serious tone of the original dadaists, the pop artists seemed
to enjoy nonsense for its own sake and simply wanted to
laugh at the world.

op art
Another movement that emerged in the 1960s was
optical art or "op art." This was yet another
experiment in visual experience-a form of
"action painting." with the action taking place in
the viewer's eye. In op lines, spaces, and
colors. We precisely planned and positioned to
give the illusion of hovereat

conceptual art
the term implies, conceptual art was that which arose in the
mind of the artist. took concrete form for a time, and then
disappeared (unless it was captured in photo or film
documentation). Conceptualists questioned the idea of art
as objects to be bought and sold. Instead, they brought their
artistic ideas to life temporarily, using such unusual
materials as grease, blocks of ice, food, even just plain dirt.