Art Movements and Key Figures: Impressionism to Performance Art

A set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms, movements, artists, works, and concepts from Impressionism through Performance Art as presented in the notes.

Impressionism

19th-century French art movement (1860s–1880s) that captured light and atmosphere with short, broken brushstrokes and unblended colors; named after Monet's Impression, Sunrise and popularized after critic Louis Leroy's remark.

Impression, Sunrise

1874 painting by Claude Monet that inspired the name of the Impressionist movement.

Louis Leroy

Critic who mocked Monet's Impression, Sunrise as an 'impression' rather than a finished painting, coining the term Impressionism.

en plein air

French for 'in the open air'; painting outdoors to capture natural light and atmosphere.

Plein air painting

Technique of painting outdoors to directly observe natural light and conditions.

Claude Monet

Father of Impressionism; born 1840 Paris, died 1926 in Giverny; sought to represent perception and sensations of light and color rather than detailed realism.

Edgar Degas

Born 1834 in Paris; died 1917 in Paris; 'The Painter of Dancers'; favored modern, everyday scenes (ballet studios, laundries, cafés, racecourses) over mythological or historical subjects.

Berthe Morisot

Born 1841 in Bourges; died 1895 in Paris; only female artist in the founding Société Anonyme; participated in the first Impressionist exhibition (1874) and most shows through 1886; known for loose brushwork and feminine subjects.

Société Anonyme

Founding group of Impressionist painters; Morisot was a notable female member.

Impressionist subjects (Mor isot theme)

Dominant Morisot subjects include mothers and children, women's toilette, domestic interiors, and maids.

Expressionism

Early 20th-century movement from Dresden's Die Brücke (1905–1920) and Munich's Der Blaue Reiter (1911–1914); sought raw emotion and authenticity in art.

Die Brücke

The Bridge; Dresden-based group (founded 1905) aiming to express raw emotion and primal experience.

Der Blaue Reiter

The Blue Rider; Munich-based group (founded 1911) including Kandinsky, Marc, later joined by Klee, Macke, Münter; active until WWI.

Edvard Munch

Norwegian painter (1863–1944); commonly called the Father of Expressionism; themes shaped by trauma, sickness, death, and anxiety.

The Scream

1893 iconic painting by Edvard Munch, characterized by swirling forms and intense emotional expression.

Cubism

Early 20th-century movement popularized by Picasso and Braque; began with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907); named after critics’ remark that forms resembled cubes.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

Picasso's 1907 transitional work widely considered a precursor to Cubism, influenced by African and Iberian sculpture.

Analytical Cubism

Phase (c.1908–1912) of Cubism focused on fragmented forms and multiple viewpoints with a monochrome palette.

Synthetic Cubism

Cubism phase beginning around 1912; introduced collage and papier-collé with brighter colors and simpler shapes.

Pablo Picasso

Born 1881 in Málaga; died 1973 in Mougins; co-pioneer of Cubism with Braque; Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) as a Cubist precursor; Still Life with Chair Caning (1912) and Three Musicians (1921) as Synthetic Cubist works.

Georges Braque

Born 1882 in Argenteuil; died 1963 in Paris; early Fauvism; collaborated with Picasso to develop Cubism; Houses at L'Estaque (1908); invented papier collé (1912) key to Synthetic Cubism.

papier collé

Technique of embedding actual paper fragments into paintings; crucial to the development of Synthetic Cubism.

Surrealism

Avant-garde movement officially founded in 1924 with André Breton's Surrealist Manifesto; aims to reconcile dream and reality, influenced by Freud and Dadaism; spanned 1920s–1950s.

André Breton

French poet/theorist who authored the Surrealist Manifesto (1924) and led the Surrealist movement.

Salvador Dalí

Spanish Surrealist painter (1904–1989); influenced by metaphysical painting and Freudian psychoanalysis; joined Surrealists by 1929; known for meticulous technique and dreamlike scenes.

metaphysical painting

A style associated with Giorgio de Chirico influencing Dalí; features eerie, dreamlike juxtapositions and enigmatic spaces.

Performance Art

20th-century movement that emerged in the 1960s–70s as a radical departure from traditional art forms; rooted in Conceptual Art and linked to Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism; challenged institutions and norms.

Marina Abramović

Born 1946 in Belgrade; Serbian performance artist who uses her body as the medium in durational works; notable pieces include Rhythm 10 (1973) and Rhythm 0 (1974).

Rhythm 10

1973 performance by Abramović in which she cut her fingers with knives as part of the piece.

Rhythm 0

1974 performance where Abramović offered 72 objects to the audience, including a gun; demonstrated the relationship between performer and audience.