Modern Art

Modern art refers to artistic work produced from the 1860s to the 1970s.  The birth of modernism and modern art can be traced to the Industrial Revolution. This period of rapid changes in manufacturing, transportation, and technology began around the mid-18th century and lasted through the 19th century, profoundly affecting the social, economic, and cultural conditions of life in Western Europe, North America, and eventually the world. During this time, artists began to experiment with their mediums in response to dramatic shifts in the social, economic, and technological landscape of Europe and America following the Industrial Revolution. Although the term encompasses a vast array of movements and philosophies, all modern art is characterized by a common rejection of the traditional academic rules that defined the art of the previous Romantic Period.

During the Romantic Period, most arts were commissioned by wealthy patrons or the church. This was reflected in the style and subject matter, typically religious or mythological hero scenes. Where Romantic painters chose realistic and narrative depictions of the world. In a significant departure from the established style, Modernist painters favored the expression of ideas, symbolism, and abstraction.

A clear characteristic of all modern art movements is that they rejected Western concepts surrounding high art—each prioritized emotion over aesthetics and employed varying degrees of abstraction.

Modern art does not relate to paintings alone. Artists used many mediums, including sculpture, music, performance arts, and poetry.

While there are many movements within modern art, the most distinct ones include Realism, Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dadaism, Abstract Impressionism, and Pop Art. With all these isms it is easy to get confused. However, each movement is unique in its style, medium, and influence.

The most influential artists who defined Modern Art are:

• Impressionism Artists:

Édouard Manet (1832-1883) French; Claude Monet (1840-1926) French; Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) French; Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) French; Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) French; Edgar Degas (1834-1917) French.

• Post-Impressionism Artists:

Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Dutch; Paul Cézanne (1839 -1906) French; Paul Gauguin (1848 -1903) French; Georges Seurat (1859- 1891) French.

• Fauvism Artists:

Henri Matisse (1869 -1954) French; André Derain (1880-1954) French

• Expressionism Artists:

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 –1938) German; Fritz Bleyl (1880 -1966) German; Erich Heckel (1883 -1970) German; Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (1884 –1976) German; Wassily Kandinsky (1866 –1944) Russian; Franz Marc (1880-1916) German; Gabriele Münter (1877-1962) German.

• Cubism Artists:

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Spanish; George Braque (1882-1963).

• Futurism Artists:

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876 – 1944) Italian; Umberto Boccioni (1882- 1916) Italian; Carlo Carrà (1881-1966) Italian; Giacomo Balla (1871 -1958) Italian; Gino Severini (1883 –1966) Italian.

• Dadaism Artists:

Marcel Duchamp (1887-1986) French; Hannah Höch (1889 -1978) German; Jean Arp (1886 -1966) German/French Austrian; Raoul Hausmann (1886-1971) Austrian.

• Surrealism Artists:

André Breton (1896- 1966) French; Salvador Dali (1904 -1989) Spanish; Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) American; René Magritte (1898-1967) Belgian; Meret Oppenheim (1913-1985) German/ Swiss.

• Abstract Expressionism Artists:

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) American; Willem de Kooning, (1904-1997) Dutch; Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) American; Mark Rothko (1903-1970) American; Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923 -2002) Canadian.

• Pop Art Artists:

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997); Andy Warhol (1929-1987) American.

The long era of Modern Art was followed by Contemporary Art (1970 onwards), the more avant-garde of which is also called Postmodern Art.