Post-impressionism
Post-Impressionism, also known as Synthetism, is a French art movement that began in the late nineteen century. “It is almost absurd to call it PostImpressionism for two reasons: because it diverged so strongly away from its predecessors - Impressionists, with all the admiration and due respect paid, and because "Post-Impressionism" started in early '80s while impressionism was still gaining speed.� One could argue it hardly is a movement, keeping in one's mind all the diversity and brightness of artistic individuality it embraced. Struggle to regain solidity of color and form unites it more than anything, that's where the Synthetism as a name comes in. These artists showed a greater concern for expression, structure and form than did the Impressionist artists.
Title: Seated Dancer in Pink Tights. (1890) Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901). Technique: Oil and ink on cardboard. Location: Unknown. Dimensions: 52.3 x 46.5 cm.
The painting is composed of a ballerina in her dancing hear that is composed of a white-greyish camisole, a petticoat, ballet slippers and pink tights. She has her hair in a lose ponytail and her legs are open and is in a slouchy position. She is looking at someone thing cannot be seen in the painting. The background was unfinished by the painter. There is no apparent movement. She is in a still position as if she始s taking a break from her dancing class which would explain her posture; lazy, manly as opposed to what ballerina should present herself as: feminine and elegant. The colors that compose the artwork are very realistic. The pink of the tights adds a touch of fantasy, feminity and playfulness. The atmosphere reflects the dancer始s mood. She seems tired and interestingly enough, the painting is unfinished. Is there a link between the two? The painting seems calm however the red lines in the background add some dynamism and perhaps masculinity. It is composed mainly of organic shapes apart from the red lines in the background which creates a contrast between the background and the foreground; a contrast between strong primary colors and soft pastel colors.
Title: Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh. (1887) Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901). Technique: Pastel on cardboard. Location: Unknown. Dimensions: 54 x 45 cm.
The painting depicts (composition) the painter Vincent Van Gogh sitting at a table at a bar or perhaps a café, gazing at something that cannot be seen in the painting. He is wearing a white button up with a brown blazer with red undertones. In the background there is a long table (or perhaps to small tables) and a window. Even though this a portrait, the obvious pastel strokes makes the painting a little bit dynamic (movement). The artwork is composed mainly of yellow, red, orange, blue and green. Toulouse-Lautrec manages to make it look quite realist despite the unrealistic colors he chose for this painting. The paintingʼs mood is quit calm however the colors and the strokes creates a subtle effect of movement. As said earlier, the strokes are very obvious as the view is completely aware of them. This technique blurs the details and leaves only what is important to see. Even Van Goghʼs face isnʼt very detailed yet the view can perfectly recognize him.
Title: In Bed the Kiss. (1892) Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901). Technique: Pastel on cardboard. Location: Unknown. Dimensions: 54 x 45 cm.
In the painting In Bed the Kiss, Toulouse-Lautrec paints two characters who seem to be two women placed in a bed next to each other. They appear to be in a resful position. One has both of her arms crossed above her head while the other one has her head cradled in her own arm. Both womenĘźs arms are touching each other, but only slightly. The arm of the woman on the right is supporting the arm of the woman on the left. They are in an unperturbed and peaceful position. The scene appears quite natural because the pose is relaxing, nurturing and innocently intimate. The paintings is composed of colors that seem washed out, there is no striking colors, however everything seems to blend in like the couple in the bed.
Fauvism
Coming from the French word fauve, meaning "wild animals," Fauvism rejected traditional painting and sculpture ideals and emphasized modern concepts, notably machines and motion. Inspired by the late impressionist works of Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh who pushed the boundaries with their bold color choices, the movement took this idea a step further to include simplified design. The first Fauvist exhibition occurred in 1905.Pointillism and Post-impressionist inspired the development of the Fauvist movement. More specifically, Fauvistʼs work was derived from primitive and tribal art; also Paul Gauguinʼs color choice and style. Although the movement was short-lived, it had a profound influence on the development of the Expressionists. The name Fauvism was taken from the French word the "fauves," meaning the wild beasts. This title was appropriate because of their use of uncontrolled, abrasive, and intense colors. The Fauves held their most significant exhibition at the Paris Salon dʼAutumne in 1905, paving the way for Modernist movements. The primary focus of the Fauvist movement is non-naturalistic and vibrant color. In addition to Gauguinʼs influence, Vincent Van Goghʼs palette was inspirational to the Fauves. Their aim was to express emotion through color choice. Fauvism died out after 1908, when the group went separate ways, many turning to cubism.
Title: The Green Line: Portrait of Madame Matisse. (1905) Artist: Henri Matisse (December 21 1869 – November 3 1954). Technique: Oil and tempera on canvas. Location: Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Copenhagen. Dimensions: 40.5 x 32.5 cm (15 7/8 x 12 7/8 in). The composition of the work consists of a portrait of Madame Matisse in the foreground and a background divided into several distinct areas of color. The division in the background is apparent in the apposition of the mauve, orange and blue green, with the foreground divided mainly by the green strip itself, which runs down the middle of Madam Matisseʟs face and separates the painting along a vertical line. The background and foreground, however, are almost completely flat, so that they seem to become part of each other, and Madame Matisse seems to become somewhat of a portrait within a portrait. The space in the portrait is more or less two dimensional, with only a slight hint of depth illustrated by a dark area of shading above Madame Matisseʟs left shoulder.. Color, along with the subject of Madame Matisse, is the focus and most important element of the work. These colors are primarily bright, striking colors such as orange, red,
yellow, mauve and bright green accompanied by the use of a cooler, calmer bluegreen and black. The combination of these colors is non-naturalistic and provides a contrast that is readily apparent to the eye. There is no real light source in the work. However, both sides of Madame Matisse始s face seem to be illuminated by the use of warm. The dark, shaded area behind her and over her left shoulder is confusing because it also suggests a light source in front of her and to the right, yet there is no shading on her face to accompany it. Lines and shapes play an important role in this work because they work together to create balance. This is achieved through the use of both geometric and organic shapes, with the organic representing the figure of the woman and the geometric establishing the background and its division of color. The lines in the work are both dominant outlines on her shoulders, hair, and left neckline, and blurred lines like the details on her clothes and the contour of her right cheek and chin.
Title: Vase with Flowers. (1907) Artist: Henri Matisse (December 21 1869 – November 3 1954). Technique: Oil on canvas. Location: Hermitage, Saint Petersburg. Dimensions: 74 x 61.
The composition of this painting consist of a vase filled with a multitude of various flowers on what appears to be a raspberry red table and a door/winder in the background. The vase has artwork on itself similar to china porcelain and is located at the very corner of the table. As it is a still life, the painting has no movement however the colors –vivid, give life, energy and vitality to the painting. The porcelain vase in place in the center of the painting and is very detailed compared to the rest of it. The colors found in the painting are extremely vibrant and colorful and reflect perfectly what the Fauvist movement was about. The mood that the still life exudes is calm but also playfulness and femininity as well (flowers and the strong presence of several shades of pinks).
Futurism Is an Italian school of painting, sculpture, and literature that flourished from 1909, when Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's first manifesto of futurism appeared, until the end of World War I. Carlo CarrĂ , Gino Severini, and Giacomo Balla were the leading painters and Umberto Boccioni the chief sculptor of the group. The architect Antonio Sant' Elia also belonged to this school. The futurists strove to portray the dynamic character of 20th-century life; their works glorified danger, war, and the machine age, attacked academies, museums, and other establishment bastions, and, in theory at least, favored the growth of fascism. The group had a major Paris exhibition in 1912 that showed the relationship of their work to cubism. Their approach to the rendering of movement by simultaneously representing several aspects of forms in motion influenced many painters, including Duchamp and Delaunay. Futurist principles and techniques strongly influenced Russian constructivism.
Title: Speeding Automobile (Automobile in Corsa) (1912). Artist: Giacomo Balla (1871–1958). Technique: Oil on wood. Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York. Dimensions: 55.8 x 68.9 cm.
The painting is composed of various shapes juxtaposed on top of one another and next each other. The overwhelming amount of lines and geometrical shapes going is every direction creates a sort of chaos, but the fact that those lines are straight and seem perpendicular creates a certain order. The main colors found in the painting are green, black, white, red, yellow and blue. However, the white is used to create light and the dark, to create shadow. Together they create depth, a 3D effect.
Title: Form-Spirit Transformation (1918). Artist: Giacomo Balla. (1871–1958) Technique: Oil on canvas. Location: Balla Collection, Rome, Italy. Dimensions: 51.1 x 65.5 cm.
The painting is composed a various geometrical shapes and certain abstract ones mostly in the background. The lines create a visual path that enables the eye to move within the piece and thus create movement. The colors found in the artwork are mainly neon and pastel colors creating a very futurist dream-like scene. The painting inspires mystery and euphoria
Cubism
Cubism started in 1908 and lasted through the 1920s. It was an innovative art movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. In Cubism, artists began to look at subjects in new ways in an effort to depict threedimensions on a flat canvas. They would break up the subject into many different shapes and then repaint it from different angles. Cubism paved the way for many different modern movements of art in the 20th century. There were two main types of Cubism: analytical cubism where artists would study (or analyze) the subject and break it up into different blocks. They would look at the blocks from different angles. Then they would reconstruct the subject, painting the blocks from various viewpoints. The second type of cubism was called Synthetic cubism: it Cubism introduced the idea of adding in other materials in a collage. Artists would use colored paper, newspapers, and other materials to represent the different blocks of the subject. This stage also introduced brighter colors and a lighter mood to the art.
Title: Violin and Sheet-Music on Table (Petit Oiseau) (1913) Artist: Georges Braque ((13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963)) Technique: Oil and charcoal on canvas Location: Private Collection Dimensions: 73 x 54 cm
Violin on Sheet-Music on Table is one of those titles that describe exactly what is found in the artwork. However, the objects portrayed appear to have been dissembled and reassembled in the most abstract of ways. There is no visible separation between the foreground and the background: they are one. The strokes of charcoal create movement as well as the non-aligned pieces of wood. The colors are very neutral: brown, dark grey, black, beige and white. Braqueʼs goal was to create dynamism with the objects and not the colors. As the piece is about music, it appears very playful and energetic –filled with movement. Some shapes are more organic (the violin) and others are more geometric (those chopped pieced of wood). They create a beautiful contrast between textures and shapes.
Title: Violin and Palette (1909). Artist: Georges Braque (13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963). Technique: Oil on canvas. Location: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Dimensions: 36 1/8 x 16 7/8 inches (91.7 x 42.8 cm) Objects are still recognizable in the paintings, but are fractured into multiple pieces, as is the surrounding space with which they fuse in. The composition is set into motion as the eye moves from one surface of a plane to the other. In Violin and Palette, the segmented parts of the violin, the sheets of music, and the artist's palette are vertically arranged, heightening their correspondence to the two-dimensional surface. The colors are very neutral and earthy (mainly composed of shades of browns and greys).
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is the name for the artistic movement that started in Europe around 1890 and lasted until around 1910. It took on many different characteristics in different places, and some of the most famous designers from the era have disparate styles, including Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Josef Hoffmann in Vienna and Carlo Bugatti in Italy. What these designers had in common was an interest in finding a new artistic vocabulary that could best express the modern world. Let's take a look at a few iconic Art Nouveau designs from France and Belgium, where the style was perhaps most cohesive and identifiable. This style of art was characterized by a belief that all of life was art, and as a result, all of life should be treated as an art form. This flew in the face of classic art, which was reserved for the wealthy. This new art philosophy was the art of the people.
Title: Reconstraction of the Fouquet Boutique (1900). Artist: Alphonse Mucha. (24 July 1860- 14 July 1939) Technique: Unknown. Location: MusĂŠe Carnavalet, Paris, France. Dimensions: Unknown
The artwork, which is an architectural piece, is composed of two parts: the front desk (foreground) and the peacock at the back with the illuminated stained glass. The legs of the desk that are direction attached to the base of it appear to have designs of their own. The stained glass seems to be the illustration of a natural scene (trees, plants, etc). There are in fact not one but two peacocks, however one is perched on the tope of the artwork. This scene is a mating scene and the peacock with the spread wings is trying to seduce the one that is on top. The mood is quite light thanks to the colorful stained glass windows.
Abstract
Abstract art is a form of modern and post-modern art that focuses on the power of each individual work to express compositions in a new way. Works in this genre are often non-representational (which means that the artist始s forms may vary from a small degree of inaccurate representation of images to total abstraction with no recognizable imagery). Abstract art includes the movements of Cubism, Neoplasticism, and Abstract Expressionism. With the Cubist works of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, abstract art appeared regularly in the West by the early 1900s. Artists often mirrored changes in science and technology in the twentieth century with abstract art forms.
Metadata: Title: Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue (1927) Artist: Piet Mondrian (March 7, 1872 – February 1, 1944) Technique: Oil on Canvas. Location: unknown. Dimensions: 14 7/8 x 13 ž inches
Dadaism
The Dada art movement, a brief trend in the tumultuous history of 20th century, was and still is a paradox. It was a movement that proclaimed itself to not be a movement. Despite being "anti-art," it produced visual art, literature and performance art that that remains influential today. Situated solidly within the era of modern art and sharing the Modernist attitude of shunning all that had come before it, Dada also serves as an inspiration to Postmodernism and contemporary art. More of a phase in artistic thought than purely an art movement, Dada is best understood in the context of the historical trends of modern art within which it arose. Like Futurism and other modern art movements, Dada both rejected traditional art and took its own ideology to an extreme. However, instead of promoting any particular ethos, Dada was decidedly against having any ethos whatsoever. Borne of the frustrations of artists who had fled to Zurich and New York during World War I, Dada was their answer to the horrors of the bloodiest conflict the world had ever witnessed. Viewing the war as a result of "reason," "objectivity" and other cultural norms, these artists called upon themselves and others to strike back with chaos, whimsy and anarchy through a multitude of manifestos, demonstrations and performances. Duchamp also exemplifies this movement with "Fountain," a urinal with "R
MUTT" inscribed on it. Rejected by the Society of Independent Artists in 1917 for not being art, Duchamp's piece was, like Dada, a bold attempt to question and undermine the previous mores of the art world.
Metadata: Title: Bottle-Rack (1914) Artist: Marcel Duchamp (28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) Technique: Readymade. Location: unknown Dimensions: not recorded