Western Art
History
1 Prehistoric art
2 Ancient
2.1Minoan
2.2Classical Greek and Hellenistic
2.3Roman
3 Medieval
1 Early Medieval art
2 Byzantine
3 Romanesque
4 Gothic
4 Renaissance
1 From Gothic to the Renaissance
2 Early Renaissance
3 High Renaissance
4 Northern art up to the Renaissance
5 Mannerism, Baroque, and Rococo
1 Mannerism (16th century)
2 Baroque (early 17th century to mid-early 18th century)
3 Rococo (early to mid-18th century)
6 Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Academism, and Realism
7 Modern art
8 Contemporary art and Postmodern art
Prehistoric Art~40,000–4,000 B.C
CHARACTERISTICS :Rock carvings,
pictorial imagery, sculptures, and stone
arrangements
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS:
Prehistoric cultures that existed before
the advent of a written language
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Lascaux cave
paintings, Paleolithic era
-prehistoric sculptors used mammoth bone and ivory in
carvings, as well as perishable wood .
Venus of Willendorf, 25,000-30,000
BCE, Naturhistorisches Museum,
Venus of Brassempouy, 25,000 BCE, Musée
Vienna, Austria d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Lay,
France.
Ancient Art 30,000 B.C.–A.D. 400
CHARACTERISTICS: Religious and symbolic imagery,
decorations for utilitarian objects, mythological stories
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Civilizations from
Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and the Americas
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Code of Hammurabi, 1754 B.C.
-The characteristics of ancient art are primarily
stylistic and include techniques such as:
1.Geometric patterns and designs,
2.Animal Motifs, A collection of 282 rules,
3.Representations of gods and goddesses, established standards for
4.Abstract designs, and commercial interactions
5.Less realistic.
present-day Iran, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey.
The Euphronios Krater is an ancient
Greek terra cotta calyx-krater, a bowl
used for mixing wine with water.
he art of the Maya and
their predecessors.
The collection also
includes strong
representative
holdings from Costa
Rica, West Mexico,
and the Andean
regions.
Fallen Warrior from
Temple of Aphaia (c
480-470BC)
The Ziggurat of
Ur, a remake of
an ancient
Ziggurat from
Mesopotamia
Medieval A.D. 500–A.D. 1400
CHARACTERISTICS : Dark imagery, biblical subjects, -The era encompasses
Classical mythology, Gothic architecture
many artistic styles and
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Abbot Suger Cimabue
Giotto
periods, including
-early Christian
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Cimabue
Crucifix, 1288 Giotto -Byzantine,
Lamentation of Christ, 1305
Anglo-Saxon and
-What are 4 characteristics of medieval art? Viking, Insular,
Medieval Art Characteristics Carolingian,
Ottonian,
● Christian subject matter. -Romanesque
● bright colors with ornate patterns and -Gothic.
designs. iconography.
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus –
Early Christian Art
Ravenna Mosaics – Early
Christian Art
Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey
Romanesque was at its height
rib vaults, pointed arches and flying
between 1075 and 1125 in France,
buttresses.
Italy, Britain, and the German lands.
The vault at the Abbey Church of Saint Foy,
Conques, France
Renaissance 1400–1600
CHARACTERISTICS: Natural elements, individualism,
realism, attention-to-detail, precision of human anatomy
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Leonardo da Vinci
Michelangelo Raphael
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Leonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa, 1503
Michelangelo David, David, 1504 Raphael,The School of
Athens, 1511
St Peter’s Basilica
Designed by Alberti,
Raphael, Bramante,
Michelangelo, and Bernini,
St Peter’s Basilica
Duomo Santa
Maria del Fiore
Mannerism 1527–1580
CHARACTERISTICS: Stylized features, exaggerated
details, decorative elements
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Bronzino Francesco Salviati
Giorgio Vasari
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Bronzino, Venus, Cupid, Folly
and Time, 1540 Giorgio Vasari
Allegory of the Immaculate Conception, 1541
Baroque 1600–1750
CHARACTERISTICS: Ornate, grandeur, richness,
stylistically complex, dramatic
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Caravaggio Johannes
Vermeer Rembrandt van Rijn
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Caravaggio
The Calling of St Matthew, 1600 Rembrandt
The Night Watch, 1642 Johannes Vermeer,Girl with a
Pearl Earring, 1665
Rococo 1699–1780
CHARACTERISTICS: Lightness, elegance, natural forms,
asymmetrical design, subtle colors
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Antoine Watteau Francois Boucher
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Antoine Watteau
Embarkation for Cythera, 1718 Francois Boucher
Venus Consoling Love, 1751
Neoclassicism 1750–1850
CHARACTERISTICS: Renewed interest in classical
antiquity, harmony, simplicity, and proportion
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Antonio Canova
Jacques-Louis David
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Jacques-Louis David
Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801 Antonio Canova
The Three Graces, 1816
Romanticism 1780–1850
CHARACTERISTICS IMAGINATIVE elements, focus on
passion, emotion, and observing the senses
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Francisco Goya Henry
Fuseli William Blake
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Henry Fuseli
The Nightmare, 1781 William Blake
The Ghost of a Flea, 1820 Francisco Goya
Saturn Devouring His Son, 1823
an artistic, literary, musical and
intellectual movement that originated
in Europe towards the end of the 18th
century.
ex:-The raft of medusa
Realism 1848–1900
CHARACTERISTICS: Detailed depictions of everyday life
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS : Gustave Courbet
Jean-François Millet
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Jean-François Millet
The Gleaners, 1857 Gustave Courbet
Woman with a Parrot, 1866
-a mid
nineteenth
century artistic
movement
characterised by
subjects painted
from everyday
life in a
naturalistic
manner.
Art Nouveau 1890–1910
CHARACTERISTICS: Long, sinuous lines and curves
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Alphonse Mucha Antoni
Gaudí Gustav Klimt
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Antoni Gaudí
Church of Sagrada Familia, 1882 Gustav Klimt
The Kiss, 1908 Alphonse Mucha
Princess Hyacinth, 1911
Art Nouveau is an international
style of art, architecture, and applied
art, especially the decorative arts.
Impressionism 1865–1885
CHARACTERISTICS: Short, quick brushstrokes,
separation of color, sketch-like finish, modern subject
matter
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Claude Monet
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Dance in the City, 1872 Claude Monet, Impression,
Sunrise, 1899.
Post-Impressionism 1885–1910
CHARACTERISTICS: Subjective visions, symbolism,
abstraction
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Georges Seurat Vincent van
Gogh
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Georges Seurat
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,
1886 Vincent van Gogh
The Starry Night, 1889
Fauvism 1900–1935
CHARACTERISTICS: Expressive color, line, and
brushwork, bold surface design, flat composition
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: André Derain, Henri
Matisse
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Henri Matisse
Woman with a Hat, 1905André Derain
The Houses of Parliament, 1905-1906
Expressionism 1905–1920
CHARACTERISTICS: Distortion of form, strong use of
colors
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Edvard Munch Wassily
Kandinsky
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Edvard Munch
The Dance of Life, 1900 Wassily Kandinsky
The Blue Rider, 1903
Cubism 1907–1914
CHARACTERISTICS: Abstraction, flat, two-dimensional surfaces,
geometric forms, contrasting vantage points
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Georges Braque Pablo Picasso
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Georges Braque
Violin and Palette, 1909 Pablo Picasso,Guernica, 1937
Surrealism 1917–1950
CHARACTERISTICS: Exploration of dreams and
unconsciousness, inspired by Sigmund Freud
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Max Ernst René Magritte
Salvador Dalí
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Salvador Dalí,The Persistence of
Memory, 1931 Max Ernst,The Robing of the Bride,
1940René Magritte,The Son of Man, 1964
Abstract Expressionism 1940–1950s
CHARACTERISTICS : Spontaneity, improvisation,
colossally scaled works, unique techniques
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Jackson Pollock Mark
Rothko
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Jackson Pollock
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), 1950 Mark Rothko
Orange and Yellow, 1956
Op Art 1950s–1960s
CHARACTERISTICS: Use of colors, patterns, shapes,
and contrast to create images that appeared to be moving
or blurring
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Bridget Riley Jean-Pierre
Yvaral Victor Vasarely
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Bridget Riley
Blaze, 1964
Pop Art 1950s–1960s
CHARACTERISTICS: Use of everyday, mundane objects,
bold, vivid colors, mass media
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS: Andy Warhol Roy
Lichtenstein
INFLUENTIAL WORKS: Andy Warhol
Campbell's Soup Cans, 1962 Roy Lichtenstein
Brushstrokes, 1962
Minimalism 1960s–1970
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is
CHARACTERISTICS:- A focus on exactly what the art an art movement that began in post–World War II in
portrays, aside from outside realities and emotions Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in
the 1960s and early 1970s.
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS:- Carl Andre Donald Judd
Frank Stella
Minimalist art is characterized by several
INFLUENTIAL WORKS :-Frank Stella
Black Series I, 1967 factors:
● a variety of geometric shapes and
patterns.
● as few forms as possible.
● few variations in color and shape, used
in repetition.
● often utilizing industrial, or non typical,
materials.
● precise edges and blatant borders.
● monochromatism (black/white/grey) is
common in this form.
Conceptual Art mid-1960s–mid-1970s
CHARACTERISTICS An emphasis on ideas over visual
components in the form of performances, ephemera,
and other forms
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS Joseph Kosuth Marcel
Duchamp Sol LeWitt
INFLUENTIAL WORKS Joseph Kosuth
One and Three Chairs, 1965
Conceptual art can be – and can look like –
almost anything. This is because, unlike a
painter or sculptor who will think about how
best they can express their idea using paint or
sculptural materials and techniques, a
conceptual artist uses whatever materials and
whatever form is most appropriate to putting
their idea across
mainly focused on “ideas and purposes”
rather than the “works of art” (paintings,
sculptures, and other valuable objects)
Contemporary Art 1970–present
CHARACTERISTICS:- Exploration of Postmodernism,
Feminist art, Neo Expressionism, Street art, Appropriation
art, Digital art, and other small schools
LEADING CONTRIBUTORS:- Jeff Koons
INFLUENTIAL WORKS:- Jeff Koons,Michael Jackson and
Bubbles, 1988
contemporary fine art is
more than just painting and
is defined by 7 fine art
disciplines: painting,
sculpture, architecture,
poetry, music, literature,
and dance.
