Modernism Movements Visual Arts

Modernism

Succession of art movements identified with new ways of interpreting and interacting with the modern world by rejecting conventions

Realism

1850-1900

Depicted truthful scenes that rejected romanticism

Gustave Courbet

Pre-Raphaelites

1850-1855

Rich with symbolism and historical significance

Date Gabriel Rossetti

Arts and Crafts Movement

1880-1920

Emphasised high quality, handmade works during industrialisation and mass production

William Morris

Impressionism

1865-1885

Depicted a fleeting moment in time through atmosphere and light

Claude Monet

Australian Impressionism

1880-1900

Focussed on the unique landscape, light and colours of the Australian landscape

Arthur Streeton

Symbolism

1880-1910

Exploration of meaning, mystical, spiritual and romantic expression of art

Gustave Moreau

Post-Impressionism

1885-1905

Unnatural light, colour and brush strokes to produce a deep emotional atmosphere

Vincent Van Gogh

Art Nouveau

1890-1915

Flowing and organic forms grew from nature and the human figure

Gustav Klimt

Fauvism

1905-1910

Rebelled against natural tones, using over-saturated and complementary colours to evoke emotion

Henri Matisse

Expressionism

1905-1935

Distortion of reality to create a subjective response and expression

Wassily Kandinsky

Cubism

1905-1920

Reconstructed forms to geometric, flat shapes

Pablo Picasso

Futurism

1910-1945

Emphasis on speed and the power of the machine to depict a modern life

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Suprematism

1915-1930

Reduced art to its most basic essential form to question the role of art

Kazimir Maldevich

Constructivism

1915-1930

Valued construction over artistry in a Soviet socialist society

Vladimir Tatlin

De Stijl

1915-1930

Pure abstraction and simplicity of art to create geometric shapes with primary colours

Piet Mondrian

Dada

1915-1925

Criticised art and art establishments through irrational artmaking

Marcel Duchamp

Surrealism

1925-1965

Imagery of the subconscious mind without intention of logic or cohesiveness

Salvador Dali

Social Realism

1920-1940

Critique of social injustices, as art was used as a weapon for political agendas

Edward Hopper

Abstract Expressionism

1945-1965

Experimentation of artmaking as an expression of pain associated with the uncertainty of war

Williem De Kooning

Colour Field Painting

1945-1965

Removed any suggestion of illustration or an artist's hand, figure and ground are depicted as one

Mark Rothko

Pop Art

1950-1975

Subtly criticised mass production and consumption through emphasising machine-like qualities of art

Andy Warhol

Neo-Dada

1950-1970

Use of performance, mass media and found objects to shift modern art

Jasper Jonus

Op Art

1955-1965

Use of illusions through minimal colours were produced through mathematics and repetition

Bridget Riley

Postmodernism

1970's

Intentional shift in views, using multidisciplinary practices to immerse audiences in a non-traditional way