Arts

Most forms of artistic expression from this time relied on natural pigments and stone carvings to depict objects, animals, and rituals that were characteristics of each civilization.

Prehistoric Art

Most of the surviving art from this period was produced by advanced civilizations that had an established written language, like those Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and China.

Ancient Art

The artistic medium of these works varied depending on the culture that produced it, but most served similar purposes: to tell stories, decorate everyday objects, display religious, and symbolic imagery, and convey social status.

Ancient Art

Much of the art from this time focused on the church. It became popular to decorate the margins of books with scenes from the Bible and classical mythology.

Medieval Art

The style of art from this period is characterized by a focus on nature and the individual. Anatomical accuracy is a feature found throughout art from this time

Renaissance Art

• This is a kind of subset of the Renaissance period characterized by a more stylized representation of the human form.

• Long arms and legs, small heads, and exaggerated details are characteristic of the style.

Mannerism

This period in art is characterized by extremely ornate and decadent decorations and detail, not just paintings but also in sculpture and architecture, sometimes to the point of being suffocating. In the spirit, more details equals better art.

Baroque

It was a softer variety of the decadent Baroque style. Lightness and elegance characterized the style, with a more subtle use of colors compared to the more intense Baroque style.

Rococo

This era of art was a return to the ideals set forth by the classical Greek civilization.This translated to a renewed interest in the classical ideals of harmony, simplicity (relative to the extremely ornate Baroque style), and proportion.

Neoclassicism

Similar to its musical counterpart, the art from this period focused on passion, emotion, and sensation rather than intellect and reason. It marked a rejection of the classical ideals and substituted a focus on individual expression in their place.

Romanticism

• As the name suggests, artists from this period rejected the philosophies of the Romantic era and instead focused on realistic depictions of their subject matter.

• The subject of this artwork was often real life, and the goal was to render a scene as accurately as possible, like taking a photograph.

• French for "New Art", Art Nouveau was an attempt to create an artistic style free from the influences of those that came before.

• It encompassed not just paintings but also print media and architecture graphic design, and even jewelry.

Art Nouveau

• They wanted to capture the immediate impression of a chose scene.

• In a way, they rejected the goals of the realist movement and instead focused on using their paints to give their works a hazy, dreamlike quality where singular objects are recognizable only by barest details.

Impressionism