Modern Art Movements - Quick Reference

Emerged in the $2^{\text{nd}}$ half of the $19^{\text{th}}$ century in Paris.
Named from Claude Monet's painting "Impression, Soleil Levant" ( $1872$ ).
Not intended to be a clear, complete depiction; captures a fleeting fragment of reality.
Characterized by a transitory impression of color on natural form, light, and shade; uses short strokes of pure color.
Key examples include Monet and Renoir works (e.g., Monet's $1872$ piece; Renoir's $1880$ works).

Built on Impressionism but expanded with bold, new approaches.
Experimented with geometric approaches, fragmentation of objects, distortion; used Unrealistic or non-natural colors.
Notable works: Cézanne’s $1879-1882$ Still Life with Compotier; van Gogh’s $1889$ Starry Night.

Modernist movement originating in Germany in the early $20^{\text{th}}$ century.
Subjective perspective, distortion of form for emotional effect.
Strong colors, exaggerated outlines; not realistic or natural imagery.
Emphasizes imagination and feelings over direct observation.

Incorporates elements from native arts of South Sea Islanders and African wood carvings.

Wild, expressive brushwork and audacious color; simplification of subject matter.
Bold, vibrant colors and visual distortion.
Examples: Matisse, Woman with Hat ( $1905$ ); Blue Window ( $1911$ ).

Depicts illogical subconscious dream worlds; departure from reality.
Emphasizes dream logic and strange juxtapositions.
Notable works include de Chirico (Melancholy and Mystery of a Street, $1914$ ) and Chagall (I and the Village, $1911$ ); Dalí (Persistence of Memory, $1931$ ).

Uses artistic work to protest injustice, inequality, immorality, and human ugliness.
Aims to raise awareness and push for social reform.
Examples: Shahn, Miners' Wives ( $1948$ ); Picasso, Guernica ( $1937$ ).

Developed after Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" ( $1907$ ) through collaboration with Georges Braque.
Uses multiple vantage points to fracture images into geometric forms.
Core idea: reinterpret perception via fragmented geometry.

Geometric forms, clean edges, flat planes, simplified dimensionality.
Aims to render recognizable images (person, animal, place, or thing) in abstraction.
Example: Olga Rozanova, Non-objective ( $1886-1919$ ).

Postwar movement emphasizing spontaneous, non-representational expression.
Pop Art arises in dialogue with Abstract Expressionism, challenging cultural hierarchies.
Pop Art explores popular culture as legitimate art material.
Notable linkage: late $1950s$ emergence of Pop Art as a distinct ethos.

Refers to popular culture and rejects a cultural hierarchy, borrowing from various sources.
Examples include Paolozzi, I Was a Rich Man's Plaything ( $1947$ ).

Optical Art; uses visual effects to create movement or depth from static images.
Example: Victor Vasarely, Duo-2 ( $1967$ ).

Terms to recognize: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Social Realism, Abstractionism, Cubism, Futurism, Mechanical Style (Constructivism), Non-Objectivism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Op Art.
Key linking themes: response to modernity, experimentation with color and form, and the tension between representation and abstraction.