SUMMARY
Art Movements and Artists: 19th to 21st Century
Modernism, spanning the 19th and 20th Influenced by mysticism and Parisian
centuries in Europe, marked a shift towards Cubism, artists like Mondrian worked with
change and innovation across various art unadorned shapes and primary colors to
forms. It arose amidst the impact of explore equilibrium in art and life.
industrialization, challenging traditional
These movements, though diverse,
norms in art and culture.
collectively represented the spirit of
A. Symbolism: A 19th-century movement Modernism, challenging traditional forms
rejecting Realism and Impressionism, and embracing innovation and change.
seeking to express mystical ideas through
Symbolism
color and line. Artists like Edvard Munch
and Gustav Klimt exemplified this A 19th century art movement rejecting
movement. Realism and Impressionism and their
representation of the visual and concrete
B. Futurism: Embraced change, speed, and
world. The Symbolists sought to express
innovation, glorifying machines and
mystical and spiritual ideas through colour
endorsing war. Artists depicted dynamic
and line. They used these elements to
subjects and writers focused on streamlining
express emotions and thoughts that were
language. However, the movement waned
beyond literal descriptions.
after WWI.
Examples:
C. Vorticism: A specifically English
movement embracing the machine age's Edvard Munch (1863-1944), The Scream,
advances. It advocated for abstraction and 1893
independence from traditional forms, but
struggled to cope with the devastation of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), The Kiss, c.
WWI. 1907
D. Constructivism: Born from Cubism and Surrealism
Futurism's influence, it aimed to serve Surrealism can be understood as the art of
societal purposes using modern industrial the imagination and dreams. The Surrealists
materials. Artists like Tatlin created was wanted to create art based on or using
innovative works like the Monument for the their subconscious thought. They were
Third International. greatly inspired by the philosophical
E. Suprematism: Founded by Malevich, it writings of Sigmund Freud, (The
pioneered pure geometrical abstraction in Interpretation of Dreams, 1900).
painting. Artists aimed to break art down to The Surrealists also used art-making
its essence using basic shapes and colors, techniques such as automatism, whereby the
imbued with spiritual undertones. artist would draw freely, allowing his hand
F. De Stijl: Dutch movement advocating for to move with minimum conscious control.
simplicity and directness in art and design. This kind of unconscious art was also
achieved by throwing paper on the floor or Synthetic Cubism (b1912)
allowing the paint to drip from the brush.
The second phase of Cubism welcomed the
Examples: introduction of collage and found objects.
They also mixed sand and saw dust to their
Joan Miro (1893-1983), The Birth of the
paint in order to create different textures.
World, 1925
Example: Picasso, Collage, 1913
Rene Magritte (1898-1967), The Treachery
of Images, 1928-9 and Personal Values, Art and War in the 20th Century:
1952 Salvador Dali (1904-89), The
The war had a profound impact on society,
Persistence of Memory, 1931
beliefs, and the organization of society.
Cubism Artists responded by creating new art forms,
particularly in Germany and America where
Cubism is recognised as a style of painting
many Jewish Germans sought refuge.
invented by Georges Braque (1882-1963)
and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in the 20th Art Before the War:
century. Inspired by Cezanne’s theory of
German Expressionism (1905-1930): A
reducing form to its geometric shapes, these
movement focused on expressing emotions
artists used collage and paint to make 2D
through line, shape, and color, rejecting
images of 3D objects, and places, from
bourgeois values. Groups like Die Brücke
multiple viewpoints.
and Der Blaue Reiter exemplified this
The initial influence was African art, movement.
particularly African masks. Picasso’s, Les
Italian Futurism: Celebrated modernity and
Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907 is often cited
the pace of the modern world, breaking from
as the first Cubist painting.
traditional art forms.
Art During the War:
Cubism can be divided into 2 phases:
Dada Art: Berlin-based artists created
Analytical Cubism (1907-1912) politically engaged, satirical works using
collage and photomontage. Dada spread to
The first phase of Analytical Cubism began
New York during World War II.
with a limited colour palette of earth colours
and greys. They tried to represent figures, Art After the War:
landscapes and still life as they might be
Abstract Expressionism: Developed in post-
seen from a number of different viewpoints.
WWII New York, artists like Jackson
They dismantled the objects, reducing them
Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de
to geometric shapes and then reassembled
Kooning emphasized spontaneous, gestural
them.
marks to express inner emotions. They
Example: Braque, Young Girl with Guitar, prioritized the art-making process over the
1913 final outcome.
Pop Art and Consumerism in the 21st Rachel Whiteread's "Embankment" at Tate
Century: Modern (2005).
Originating in America and England in the Performance Art:
1960s, Pop Art emerged as a style that
Involves the artist using their body as a
engages with popular culture and
medium to convey a performed or acted art
consumerism. It draws inspiration from
piece, often site-specific. Examples include
advertising aesthetics, using bright colors
Marina Abramovic's "Rhythm 0" (1974) and
and bold shapes. While it celebrates
Amanda Coogan's "Spit Spit Scrub Scrub"
consumer culture, Pop Art also serves as a
(2011).
critique of 21st-century commodity culture
and the influence of mass media.
Examples:
- Richard Hamilton's "Just what is it that
makes today’s homes so different, so
appealing?" (1956)
- Andy Warhol's "32 Campbell’s Soup
Cans" (1962)
Postmodernism in the 21st Century:
In the Postmodern era, art defies easy
definition and embraces inclusivity. It
rejects modernist ideals of autonomous
individuality, focusing instead on collective
experiences and viewer participation.
Boundaries between art forms dissolve,
allowing music, sculpture, painting, film,
and theatre to merge seamlessly.
Conceptual Art:
Prioritizes the main idea over aesthetics,
often using readymade objects or involving
others in the creation process. Examples
include Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain"
(1917) and Dorothy Cross's "Virgin Shroud"
(1993).
Installation Art:
Focuses on three-dimensional works that
alter perceptions of space, often site-
specific. Examples include Carsten Höller's
"Test Site" at Tate Modern (1998) and
