Art History.

Prehistoric Art

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

Ancient Art

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.

Medieval

CHARACTERISTICS:

Dark imagery, biblical subjects, Classical mythology, Gothic architecture

LEADING CONTRIBUTORS:

• Abbot
• Suger
• CimabueGiotto

INFLUENTIAL WORKS:

• Cimabue
  Crucifix, 1288Giotto
• Lamentation of Christ, 1305

Renaissance

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, 1504
• Raphael
  The School of Athens, 1511

Mannerism

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

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

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

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

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

Realism

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

Art Nouveau

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

Impressionism

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

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

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, 1905
• André Derain
  The Houses of Parliament, 1905-1906

Expressionism

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

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

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, 1940
• René Magritte
  The Son of Man, 1964

Abstract Expressionism

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

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

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

Arte Povera

CHARACTERISTICS:

Use of soil, rocks, paper, and other natural elements to create a pre-industrial sentiment

LEADING CONTRIBUTORS:

• Alighiero Boetti
• Giovanni Anselmo
• Mario Merz

INFLUENTIAL WORKS:

• Mario Merz
  Giap’s Igloo, 1968

Minimalism

CHARACTERISTICS:

A focus on exactly what the art portrays, aside from outside realities and emotions

LEADING CONTRIBUTORS:

• Carl Andre
• Donald Judd
• Frank Stella

INFLUENTIAL WORKS:

• Frank Stella
  Black Series I, 1967

Conceptual Art

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

Contemporary Art

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