Art Movements

Art Movement

A style or trend in art followed by many artists during a certain time period

Renaissance (1400–1600)

Art movement meaning “rebirth” that focused on realistic humans, balance, and ideas from ancient Greece and Rome

Michelangelo

Renaissance artist known for works like The Creation of Adam and David

Leonardo da Vinci

Renaissance artist known for Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Vitruvian Man

Raphael

Renaissance artist known for paintings like School of Athens and The Grand Duke’s Madonna

Baroque (1600–1725)

Art movement known for dramatic scenes, rich colors, and very detailed and emotional artworks

Bernini

Baroque artist known for dramatic sculptures like The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

Caravaggio

Baroque painter known for realistic and dramatic lighting in paintings like The Calling of Saint Matthew

Rembrandt

Baroque artist known for detailed portraits and works like The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholas Tulp

Realism (1840–1880)

Art movement that shows real life and everyday people, especially workers and ordinary life

Gustave Courbet

Realist artist known for paintings like The Painter’s Studio and A Burial at Ornans

Honoré Daumier

Realist artist known for political cartoons and social criticism in his artworks

Jean-François Millet

Realist artist known for paintings of farmers and rural life like The Gleaners

Impressionism

Art movement that uses short brush strokes and bright colors to show light and the feeling of a moment

Claude Monet

Impressionist painter known for Sunrise and paintings showing light and nature

Auguste Renoir

Impressionist painter known for colorful paintings of people and daily life like A Bather

Vincent van Gogh

Post-Impressionist artist known for emotional paintings like The Starry Night

Post-Impressionism

Art style that experimented with bold colors, geometric shapes, and distorted forms instead of realistic images

Expressionism (1900)

Art movement that exaggerates colors and shapes to show emotions and inner feelings

Franz Marc

Expressionist artist known for colorful and emotional animal paintings

Pablo Picasso

Influential modern artist connected to Expressionism and Cubism

Henri Matisse

Expressionist artist known for bold colors and strong shapes

Edvard Munch

Expressionist artist known for emotional paintings like The Scream

Neoprimitivism

Style inspired by tribal and indigenous art such as African carvings and island art

Fauvism

Art style that uses very bright, bold colors and distorted shapes

Dadaism

Anti-art movement that rejected traditional art and protested war and society

Surrealism

Art style that shows dreamlike and strange scenes from the subconscious mind

Social Realism

Art style used to show social problems and protest injustice and inequality

Abstractionism

Art that focuses on lines, shapes, and colors instead of realistic objects

Piet Mondrian

Abstract artist known for geometric shapes and primary colors

Wassily Kandinsky

Abstract artist known for colorful paintings made of shapes and lines

Cubism

Art style where objects are broken into geometric shapes and shown from many angles

Futurism

Art movement that shows speed, machines, energy, and modern technology

Mechanical Style

Art style that uses machine-like shapes such as cones, spheres, and cylinders

Nonobjectivism

Abstract art that does not represent real objects and only uses shapes, lines, and colors

Abstract Expressionism

Art movement that focuses on free, spontaneous expression of emotions using abstract forms

Pop Art

Art that uses popular culture images like comics, advertisements, and everyday objects

Optical (Op) Art

Geometric abstract art that creates visual illusions of movement or vibration

Contemporary Art Forms

Modern art styles used in the present time

Installation Art

Artwork arranged in a specific space or environment to create an experience

Performance Art

Art where the artist’s actions or performance become the artwork itself