Art History Styles and Periods Flashcards

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the major periods and styles of art history from Pre-Historic times to the Post-Modern era.

Pre-Historic

Existed around 15,000 BC before writing; known for cave paintings of animals with great vitality and movement, as well as small, portable sculpture including Paleolithic (Nomadic) and Neolithic (Agricultural) types.

Ancient Near East

Spanning 3500 to 500 BC, this period featured the use of bronze, small statues, Ziggurats, and carved reliefs that were either violent or calm and humble. It marks the narrative beginnings of civilization.

Egyptian

Art from 3500 to 500 BC characterized by great monuments like Pyramid tombs, painted tombs, huge statues, and small delicate works. It utilized stiff body conventions like the twisted torso, symbolism, and hierarchical scale.

Greek

Dating to the 5th century BC, it focused on Beauty, Harmony, and Order with an idealized view of man. Known for temples, theatres, and the beginning of "Western Culture" through "Art for Art's sake."

Roman

Dated 2nd century BC to 4th century AD, it is similar to Greek art but more realistic and narrative. Romans were innovators in architecture.

Christian (West)

Beginning in the 3rd century AD, this style focuses on themes from the Bible used for teaching, with few nudes and a move from realism toward symbolic form.

Byzantine (East)

Spanning the 6th to 15th century, it retains Greek harmony and uses themes from the Bible. Characteristic for mosaics and a lack of depth illusion.

Medieval (Romanesque)

A 12th-century period featuring heavy architecture, round "Roman" arches, and a nervous, excited style with stiff, often twisted figures.

Medieval (Gothic)

Spanning the 13th-14th century, this French style spread through Europe, featuring cathedrals like Notre Dame, flying buttresses, pointed arches, stained glass, and a move toward realism.

Italian Renaissance

Occurring in the 14th-16th century, it was a "re-birth" of Greco-Roman ideals. It combined Humanism and Biblical themes, depicting man as a noble, perfect creature.

Northern Renaissance

Dating 14th-16th century and encompassing Dutch, Flemish, and German art. It moved toward greater realism and emotion and was influenced by the Protestant Reformation.

Baroque

A 17th-century style that took the realism of the Renaissance and added more movement, drama, energy, light, and passion.

Rococo

An 18th-century style of the aristocracy that was highly ornamental, busy, light-hearted, and rich, often featuring cherubs and pink, fluffy clouds.

Neo-Classicism

A 19th-century style characterized by a severely linear, precise, and calm classical look. It was the style of the French and American Revolutions.

Romanticism

A 19th-century style focusing on highly emotive, horrific, or sublime imagery often connected to the psyche or literature, emphasizing nature over man.

Realism

A 19th-century style focusing on current events, the modern world, landscapes, still lifes, and genre scenes.

Impressionism

A 19th-century movement capturing the effects of light on surfaces with loose brushwork to create a "impression" of nature and the middle-class.

Post-Impressionism

Art Nouveau

A 19th-century style featuring decorative, floral designs, sensual rhythms, and arabesque lines.

Fauvism

A French form of Expressionism from 1905 led by Matisse, characterized by intense color and flattened space with little linear perspective.

German Expressionism

Features fauve-like color and acerbic, angst-filled emotions. Key groups include Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter, with artists like Kirchner, Kandinsky, and Beckmann.

Cubism

Beginning in 1907 and led by Picasso, it features faceted, broken forms showing many sides at once, with African and Oceanic influences.

International Architectural Style

A style from the 1920’s – 1970’s characterized by clean, sleek architecture with no decoration.

Dada

A 1916 movement described as anti-art and anti-rationalism, focusing on ideas. Leaders included Tristan Tzara and Marcel Duchamp.

Surrealism

A 1924 movement focused on the subconscious, dreams, and chance. Influenced by Freud and Jung; Leaders included Andre Breton, Dali, and Miro.

Action Painting

A process-oriented wing of Abstract Expressionism (1940s-50s) featuring personal, expressive imagery; artists included Gorky, de Kooning, and Pollock.

Color-Field Painting

An Abstract Expressionist style using saturated color applied flatly or stained into the canvas, associated with Rothko and Frankenthaler.

Pop Art

A 1960s style using commercial art elements as fine art; leaders included Warhol, Johns, and Oldenburg.

Op Art

An abstract art movement from the 1960s focusing on optical effects.

Minimalism

A stylistic term taking hold in the 1960s (originated around 1910) involving totally abstract art with very few forms, sometimes associated with Gestalt Psychology.

Performance Art

A style from the 1970’s – present where art is created through actions; associated with Beuys and Anderson.

Earthworks

Large projects from the 1970’s – present involving actual landscapes and many people; includes work by Christo, Smithson, and Holt.

Conceptual Art

An idea-oriented art movement from the 1970’s – present associated with Kosuth.

Perceptual Art

Art from the 1970’s – present that changes the way one perceives space or form, associated with Irwin and Turrell.

Post-Modernism

A movement from the 1970’s – present characterized by the eclectic use of past styles.