Modern art

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For other uses, see Modern art (disambiguation).
Dejeuner sur l'Herbe by Pablo Picasso
Dejeuner sur l'Herbe by Pablo Picasso
At the Moulin Rouge: Two Women Waltzing by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892
At the Moulin Rouge: Two Women Waltzing by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892
The Scream by Edvard Munch, 1893
The Scream by Edvard Munch, 1893
I and the Village by Marc Chagall, 1911
I and the Village by Marc Chagall, 1911
Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, 1917
Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, 1917
Campbell's Soup Cans 1962 Synthetic polymer paint on thirty-two canvases, Each canvas 20 x 16" (50.8 x 40.6 cm), by Andy Warhol, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Campbell's Soup Cans 1962 Synthetic polymer paint on thirty-two canvases, Each canvas 20 x 16" (50.8 x 40.6 cm), by Andy Warhol, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Modern art is a general term used for most of the artistic work reckoned anywhere from the early 17th century until the present time.[1] (Recent art production is often called Contemporary art or Postmodern art). Modern art refers to the new approach to art which placed emphasis on representing emotions, themes, and various abstractions. Artists experimented with new ways of seeing, with fresh ideas about the nature of materials and functions of art, often moving further toward abstraction.

The notion of modern art is closely related to Modernism.

Contents

[edit] History of Modern art

[edit] Roots in the 19th century

By the late 19th century, several movements which were to be influential in modern art had begun to emerge: Impressionism and post-Impressionism, as well as Symbolism.

Influences upon these movements were varied: from exposure to Eastern decorative arts, particularly Japanese printmaking, to the colouristic innovations of Turner and Delacroix, to a search for more depiction of common life, as found in the work of painters such as Jean-François Millet. At the time, the generally held belief was that art should be accurate in its depiction of objects, but that it should be aimed at expressing the ideal, or the domestic.[citation needed] Thus the most successful painters of the day worked either through commissions, or through large public exhibitions of their own work. There were official, government-sponsored painters' unions, while governments regularly held public exhibitions of new fine and decorative arts.

Thus, breaking with idealization and depiction were not merely artistic statements, but decisions with social and economic results.[citation needed]

These movements did not necessarily identify themselves as being associated with progress, or with artistic freedom, but instead argued, in the style of the times, that they represented universal values and reality.[citation needed] The Impressionists[weasel words] argued that people do not see objects, but only the light which they reflect, and therefore painters should paint in natural light rather than in studios, and should capture the effects of light in their work.

Impressionist artists formed a group to promote their work, which, despite internal tensions, was able to mount exhibitions.[citation needed] The style was adopted by artists in different nations, in preference to a "national" style. These factors established the view that it was a "movement". These traits — establishment of a working method integral to the art, establishment of a movement or visible active core of support, and international adoption — would be repeated by artistic movements in the Modern period in art.[citation needed]

[edit] Early 20th Century

Among the movements which flowered in the first decade of the 20th century were Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, and Futurism.

World War I brought an end to this phase, but indicated the beginning of a number of anti-art movements, such as Dada and the work of Marcel Duchamp, and of Surrealism. Also, artist groups like de Stijl and Bauhaus were seminal in the development of new ideas about the interrelation of the arts, architecture, design and art education.[citation needed]

Modern art was introduced to the United States with the Armory Show in 1913, and through European artists who moved to the U.S. during World War I.

[edit] After World War II

It was only after World War II, though, that the U.S. became the focal point of new artistic movements.[citation needed] The 1950s and 1960s saw the emergence of Abstract Expressionism, Color field painting, Pop art, Op art, Hard-edge painting, Minimal art, Lyrical Abstraction, Postminimalism and various other movements; in the late 1960s and the 1970s, Land art, Performance art, Conceptual art and Photorealism among other movements emerged.

Around that period, a number of artists and architects started rejecting the idea of "the modern" and created typically Postmodern works.[citation needed]

Starting from the post-World War II period, fewer artists used painting as their primary medium[citation needed]; instead, larger installations and performances became widespread. Since the 1970s, new media art has become a category in itself, with a growing number of artists experimenting with technological means such as video art.[citation needed]

[edit] Art movements and artist groups

(Roughly chronological with representative artists listed.)

Modern art

[edit] 19th century

[edit] Early 20th century (before WWI)

[edit] WWI to WWII

[edit] After WWII


[edit] Important Modern art exhibitions and museums

For a comprehensive list see Museums of modern art.

[edit] Belgium

[edit] Ecuador

[edit] France

[edit] Germany

[edit] Italy

[edit] Mexico

[edit] Netherlands

[edit] Spain

[edit] Sweden

[edit] U.K.

[edit] U.S.A.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Arnason 2003, Cahoone 2003, Childs 2000, Kolocotroni, Goldman, and Taxidou 1998, Frascina and Harrison 1982, Hunter, Jacobus, and Wheeler 2004, Dempsey 2002.

[edit] References

  • Arnason, H. H. 2003. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography. Fourth Edition, rev. by Marla F. Prather, after the third edition, revised by Daniel Wheeler. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., and Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-8109-3439-6 ISBN 0131833138
  • Cahoone, Lawrence E. 2003. From Modernism to Postmodernism: An Anthology. Second edition. Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies 2. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.
  • Crouch, Christopher. 2000. Modernism in Art Design and Architecture. New York: St. Martins Press. ISBN 0312218303 (cloth) ISBN 031221832X (pbk)
  • Childs, Peter. 2000. Modernism. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-19647-7 (cloth) ISBN 0-415-19648-5 (pbk)
  • Dempsey, Amy. 2002. Art in the Modern Era: A Guide to Schools and Movements. New York: Harry A. Abrams. ISBN 0810941724
  • Frascina, Francis, and Charles Harrison (eds.) 1982. Modern Art and Modernism: A Critical Anthology. Published in association with The Open University. London: Harper and Row, Ltd. Reprinted, London: Paul Chapman Publishing, Ltd.
  • Hunter, Sam, John Jacobus, and Daniel Wheeler. 2004. Modern Art. Revised and Updated 3rd Edition. New York: The Vendome Press [Pearson/Prentice Hall]. ISBN 0-13-189565-6 (cloth) 0-13-150519-X (pbk)
  • Kolocotroni, Vassiliki, Jane Goldman, and Olga Taxidou (eds.). 1998. Modernism: An Anthology of Sources and Documents. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-45073-2 (cloth) ISBN 0-226-45074-0 (pbk)
  • Mueller-Yao, Marguerite. 1985. Der Einfluss der Kunst der chinesischen Kalligraphie auf die westliche informelle Malerei, Koeln, Koenig, ISBN 3-88375-051-4 (pbk)

[edit] External links

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International Gothic - Renaissance (Early) (14th) · Mannerism (16th) · Baroque (17th) · Rococo - Neoclassicism - Romanticism (18th)
19th century
20th century
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