Modern Art
Definition, Characteristics, History,
Movements.
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Modern Art |
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Modern Art (c.1870-1970)Contents • What is Modern
Art? |
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EVOLUTION OF
FINE ART |
There is no precise definition of the term "Modern Art", although it usually refers to works produced during the approximate period 1870-1970. Typically, modern artists rejected previous Renaissance-based traditions, in favour of new forms of artistic experimentation. They used new materials, new techniques of painting, and developed new theories about how art should reflect the perceived world, and what their functions as artists should be. In addition, entirely new types of art were developed during the period. According to most art critics, Modernism in painting first started with the Frenchman Edouard Manet (1832-83) and the French Impressionists. However, we have decided to include the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as an early forerunner of modernism, for its rejection of traditional academic art forms of the 18th and early 19th century. |
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MOVEMENTS,
PERIODS, ARTISTS |
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MODERNIST PAINTINGS GREATEST ARTISTS |
After the Pre-Raphaelites, the modern era encompasses ground-breaking movements like Art Nouveau, Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop-Art, as well as a host of smaller schools like Pointillism, Der Blaue Reiter, Die Brucke, Bauhaus, Orphism, Social Realism, Futurism, De Stijl, Op-Art, Hard Edge Painting and Feminist art, to name but a few. Modern Art also witnessed the emergence of new media, like photography: see, for instance, History of Photography and 19th century photographers. Other new artforms developed during the modern era include collage and its three-dimensional variant 'assemblage', animation and cinematography, as well as avant-garde art forms like Fluxus and early Conceptual art, as practiced for instance by Yves Klein (1928-62). Modernism in architecture is a more complex notion. The word "modernism" in building design is normally used to describe a particular style which appeared around 1900, courtesy of Behrens, Le Corbusier, Gropius and others. However, in American architecture, one might say that modernism truly began with the advent of high-rise buildings in Chicago and New York during the last decade of the 19th century. This style of supertall Skyscraper architecture rapidly became the dominant form of modern building design during the 20th century. |
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What Was the Main Modernist Trend in the Visual Arts? Not surprisingly, given the time span, Modern Art is characterized by no single trend, although it is fair to say that after Cubism it witnessed a significant rise in non-representational or abstract art, in both painting and sculpture, which was fully explored during the modern era by such abstract art movements as Constructivism, Suprematism, De Stijl, Colour Field, Op-Art, Post Painterly Abstraction, Minimalism and the St Ives School. (For a major collector of early 20th century modernist works, see: Peggy Guggenheim.) Why Did Modern Artists Reject the Past? Basically because they considered that the "official" view of art - represented by the established European Academies - was too backward-looking and no longer relevant to their careers as artists or to the development of their art. The social transformation wrought by the Industrial Revolution had triggered the emergence of new ideas in all areas including fine art, and artists were eager for change. Modernism reflected this new mood and engendered new forms of artistic expression on the grounds that they were more appropriate to modern life. These artforms often reflected a number of political agendas, frequently associated with utopian visions of human society, together with a strong if intermittent belief in progress. Indeed, the history of art in the first two thirds of the 20th century is closely interwined with the politics of the age, as exemplified by the demise of Paris (1940s onwards) as the centre of Western art, and the corresponding rise of New York. What is the Main Characteristic of Modern Art? The century between 1860 and 1960 encompassed so many differing styles (from realistic portraiture to whimsical Dada and Pop-Art) that it is difficult to think of any unifying theme which defined the era. But if there is anything that separates Modern artists from both the earlier traditionalists and later postmodernists, it is their self-belief that art mattered: it had real value. In comparison, their precedessors simply "assumed" that art had value. They didn't even think about it. After all they lived in an era governed by religious meaning. Thus they simply "followed the rules." Those who came after the Modern period (mid-60s onwards), the so-called "postmodernists", largely rejected the idea that art (or life) had any intrinsic value. This is not a defining characteristic of modern art: merely a difference between the periods. When Did Modern Art End? And What Replaced it? Modernism didn't just stop, it faded gradually during the late 1960s - a period which coincided with the rise of mass pop-culture and also with the rise of anti-authoritarian challenges (in social and political areas as well as the arts) to the existing orthodoxies. As Modernism faded, a new general idiom emerged, usually referred to as Postmodernist art. In simple terms, Postmodernist schools advocate a new philosophy of art characterized by a greater focus on medium and style. They emphasize style over substance (eg. not 'what' but 'how'; not 'art for art's sake', but 'style for style's sake'), and place much greater importance on artist-communication with the audience. This new direction is closely intertwined with the spread of TV, video and the Internet, which now exerts a significant influence on the development of popular iconography. Does Modern and Contemporary Art Overlap? Although the 1960s is the basic cut-off point between "Modern" and "Contemporary" art, the world did not become post-modernist overnight. Some movements (eg. Pop-Art, Minimalism) included artists who were more forward-looking, and developed a more postmodernist or contemporary style. The same goes for new forms like Conceptual, Performance, Installation and Video Art, all of which can be classified as either "Modern" or "Contemporary". We happen to consider them under "Contemporary Art" because this is the era during which they were fully explored. |
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Here is a list of Modern art movements, styles or schools, with a very short introduction to each, arranged in a rough chronological order. In some cases, movements have been grouped together for explanatory purposes. • Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood (1848-55) |
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Smaller Modern Art Movements Other minor or splinter contemporary art groups, or styles, listed in rough chronological order, include: Kapists, Japonism, Bande Noire, Les Vingt, Rose + Croix, School of Pont-Aven, Cloisonnism, Les Nabis, Formists, Synchronism, Eat Art, Metaphysical Painting, Elementarism, Muralism, Sau Al Set, Art Non Figuratif, Lyrical Abstraction, Madi, Cobra group, Spatialism, Funk Art, The Calligraphers, Nuagism, Hard Edge Painting, Gutai Group, El Paso Movement (Spain), Grav, Exat 51, Nul, Zero, Gruppo T, Gruppo N, Equipo 57.
The Most Important Modern Artists The period from 1860 to the mid-1960s has witnessed a pantheon of brilliant painters, sculptors, and other modern artists. Here is a short selection of the most famous. Painting Impressionism Movement (flourished 1873-1880) Post-Impressionism Movement (flourished
1880-1900) Primitive/Fantasy Style of Art Modern Realist Style Art Nouveau (Late 19th/early 20th century) Expressionism Movement (flourished 1905-1933) Cubism Movement (flourished 1908-14) Geometric Abstraction Style Art Deco (1920s, 1930s) Surrealism Abstract Expressionists Pop-Art Modern Sculptors Leading exponents of sculpture during the modern era include: Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), Ernst Barlach (1870-1938), Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916), Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), Naum Gabo (1890-1977), Alexander Calder (1898-1976) and Alberto Giacometti (1901-66). Modernist French sculpture was exemplified by Marcel Duchamp's series of "readymades" - mass-produced "found objects". Modern British sculpture was led by Henry Moore (1898-1986), Barbara Hepworth (1903-75) and Ben Nicholson (1894-1982).
Modern Printmaking Modern exponents of printmaking - engraving, etching, lithographics and silkscreen - include: James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), MC Escher (1898-1972), Willem de Kooning (1904-97), Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), Andy Warhol (1928-87). Modern Stained Glass Art Among the top exponents of stained glass art included: Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Joan Miro (1893-1983), Harry Clarke (1889-1931), Sarah Purser (1848-43) and Evie Hone (1894-1955). Modern Photgraphy Modern lens-based art is exemplified by the fine art photography of Man Ray (1890-1976), and the black-and-white landscapes of Ansel Adams (1902-84). |
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What is the Most Expensive Modern Art Painting? Measured by auction sales prices, the world's most valuable painting of the modern era is: Nude, Green Leaves and Bust (1932), painted by Pablo Picasso, which sold in 2010 for $106.5 million at Christie's New York. In second place, is Garçon à la Pipe (1905), painted by Pablo Picasso, which sold in 2004 for $104.2 million at Sotheby's, New York. In third place, is Dora Maar with Cat (1941) also by Picasso, which sold in 2006 for $95.2 million at Sotheby's, New York. Reportedly, however, these world records have been exceeded by three paintings sold privately. (See below) Who are Currently the Top-10 Best Selling Modern Artists? To give you an idea of who are the most valuable artists in today's art market, here are the top 20 prices for paintings sold at public auction. (1) The Scream (1895) Edvard Munch
($119.9 million) (2012)
Where Can You See Outstanding Collections of Modern Art? Here is a selected list of some of the best art museums and galleries whose collections include works by "Modernist" painters and sculptors. Note however, that museums sometimes use the term "Modern Art" in a narrower sense, meaning works by 20th Century artists only. Europe Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum USA Baltimore: Museum of Art |
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• For more details of modern art movements, painters & sculptors, see: Art Encyclopedia.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ART |
