1. In a Nutshell
Modern Art Timeline c.1870 - 1975
Artists, Movements and Styles in Modern Art
http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/timelines/modern_art_timeline.htm
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

2. Impressionism
c.1870-1890
Claude Monet
1840-1926
Impressionism is the name given to a colorful
style of painting in France at the end of the
19th century.
The Impressionists searched for a more exact
analysis of the effects of colour and light in
nature. They sought to capture the atmosphere
of a particular time of day or the effects of
different weather conditions.
They often worked outdoors and applied their
paint in small brightly coloured strokes which
meant sacrificing much of the outline and
detail of their subject.
Impressionism abandoned the conventional
idea that the shadow of an object was made up
from its colour with some brown or black
added.
2010 | Ms Denise Chung
Rouen Cathedral - in full sunlight
1893/4
Louvre, Paris

3. Impressionism
c.1870-1890
Claude Monet
1840-1926
Instead, the Impressionists enriched their
colours with the idea that a shadow is broken
up with dashes of its complementary colour.
Among the most important Impressionist
painters were Claude Monet,
Pierre Auguste Renoir,Edgar Degas,
Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisleyand
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec.
Overview lecture on Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
2010 | Ms Denise Chung
Impression Sunrise (oil on canvas, 1872)
Musée Marmottan, Paris

4. The Impressionists
(BBC Drama)
The Impressionists is a 3 part factual drama
from the BBC, which reconstructs the origins
of the Impressionist art movement.
See it on Youtube!
Episode 1:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
Episode 2:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
Episode 3:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5a | Part 5b
| Part 6
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

5. Post Impressionism
c.1885-1905
Vincent Van Gogh
1853-90
The Post Impressionists were a few
independent artists at the end of the 19th
century who rebelled against the limitations of
Impressionism to develop a range of personal
styles that influenced the development of art in
the 20th century. The major artists associated
with Post Impressionism were Paul Cézanne,
Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and
Georges Seurat.
Cézanne was an important influence on Picasso
and Braque in their development of Cubism.
Van Gogh's vigorous and vibrant painting
technique was one of the touchstones of both
Fauvism and Expressionism, while Gauguin's
symbolic color and
Seurat's pointillist technique were an
inspiration to Les Fauves.
Understand post-impressionism with information from an art historian, critic and curator in this free video on art.
Café Terrace at Night, 1888
Kröller-Müller Museum
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

6. Fauvism
c.1905-10
Henri Matisse
1869-1954
Fauvism was a joyful style of painting that
delighted in using outrageously bold colours. It
was developed in France at the beginning of
the 20th century by Henri Matisse and
André Derain.
The artists who painted in this style were
known as 'Les Fauves' (the wild beasts), a title
that came from a sarcastic remark in a review
by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles.
Les Fauves believed that colour should be used
at its highest pitch to express the artist's
feelings about a subject, rather than simply to
describe what it looks like.
Fauvist paintings have two main
characteristics: extremely simplified drawing
and intensely exaggerated colour. They were a
major influence on the German Expressionists.
2010 | Ms Denise Chung
The Open Window, Collioure, 1905
The National Gallery of Art, Washington

7. Cubism
c.1907-15
Pablo Picasso
1881-1973
Cubism was invented around 1907 in Paris by
Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. It was the
first abstract style of modern art.
Cubist paintings ignore the traditions of
perspective drawing and show you many views
of a subject at one time.
The Cubists believed that the traditions of
Western art had become exhausted and to
revitalize their work, they drew on the
expressive energy of art from other cultures,
particularly African art.
There are two distinct phases of the Cubist
style: Analytical Cubism (pre 1912) and
Synthetic Cubism(post 1912).
2010 | Ms Denise Chung
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Oil on Canvas
(244 x 234 cm)
Museum of Modern Art, New York

8. Cubism
c.1907-15
Pablo Picasso
1881-1973
Cubism influenced many other styles of
modern art including Expressionism, Futurism,
Orphism, Vorticism, Suprematism,
Constructivism and De Styjl.
Other notable artists associated with Cubism
were Juan Gris, Fernand Leger, Robert
Delaunay, Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger,
Louis Marcoussis and Marie Laurencin.
Ambroise Vollard, 1915
Pushkin Museum of Fine Art
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

9. German Expressionism
c.1905-25
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
1880-1938
German Expressionism is a style of art that is
charged with an emotional or spiritual vision of
the world. The expressive paintings of
Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch
influenced the German Expressionists.
Expressionism was a militant spirit. The
German Expressionists saw themselves as
revolutionary shock troops with art as their
weapon.
They wanted to liberate themselves from the
repressive right-wing social and political
establishment in pre WW1 Germany, but they
were also desperate to free their art from the
shackles of French painting which had
monopolised modern art since Impressionism.
Chief Educator Barbara Brown from Milwaukee Art Museum explains what German Expressionism is about.
The Red Tower at Halle, 1915
Folkwang Museum, Essen
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

10. German Expressionism
c.1905-25
Wassily Kandinsky
1866 - 1944
They also drew their inspiration from German
Gothic and 'primitive art'. The Expressionists
were divided into two factions: Die Brücke
and Der Blaue Reiter.
Die Brücke (The Bridge) was an artistic
community of young artists in Dresden who
aimed to overthrow the conservative traditions
of German art.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff were two of its founding
members. Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider)
was a group of artists whose publications and
exhibitions sought to find a common creative
ground between the various Expressionist art
forms. Kandinsky, Marc and Macke were
among its founding members.
2010 | Ms Denise Chung
"Der Blaue Reiter" (The Blue Rider), painted 1903

11. Abstract Art
c.1907 onwards
Georges Braque
1882-1963
Abstract art is a generic term that describes two
different methods of abstraction: 'semi
abstraction' and 'pure abstraction'. The word
'abstract' means to withdraw part of something
in order to consider it separately. In Abstract art
that 'something' is one or more of the visual
elements of a subject: its line, shape, tone,
pattern, texture, or form.
Semi-Abstraction is where the image still has
one foot in representational art, (see Cubism
and Futurism). It uses a type of stylisation
where the artist selects, develops and refines
specific visual elements (eg. line, color and
shape) in order to create a poetic reconstruction
or simplified essence of the original subject.
Violin and Pitcher, 1910 (detail)
Kunstmuseum, Basel
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

12. Abstract Art
c.1907 onwards
Kazimir Malevich
1879-1935
Pure Abstraction is where the artist uses
visual elements independently as the actual
subject of the work itself. (see Suprematism,
De Styjl and Minimalism).
Although elements of abstraction are present
in earlier artworks, the roots of modern
abstract art are to be found in Cubism.
Among other important abstract styles that
developed in the 20th century are Orphism,
Rayonism, Constructivism, Tachisme,
Abstract Expressionism, and Op Art.
Suprematism, 1915
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

13. Futurism
c.1909-1914
Giacomo Balla
1871-1959
Futurism was a revolutionary Italian movement
that celebrated modernity. The Futurist vision
was outlined in a series of manifestos that
attacked the long tradition of Italian art in
favour of a new avant-garde.
They glorified industrialization, technology,
and transport along with the speed, noise and
energy of urban life. The Futurists adopted the
visual vocabulary of Cubism to express their
ideas - but with a slight twist.
In a Cubist painting the artist records selected
details of a subject as he moves around it,
whereas in a Futurist painting the subject itself
seems to move around the artist.
The Rhythm of the Violinist (detail), 1912
Estorick Collection, London
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

14. Futurism
c.1909-1914
Umberto Boccioni
1882–1916
The effect of this is that Futurist paintings
appear more dynamic than their Cubist
counterparts.
Futurism was founded in 1909 by the poet
Filippo Tommas Marinetti and embraced the
arts in their widest sense.
The main artists associated with the movement
were Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla and
Gino Severini.
The Futurist Manifesto
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

15. De Styjl
c.1917-1931
Piet Mondrian
1872-1944
De Styjl was a Dutch 'style' of pure abstraction
developed by Piet Mondrian, Theo Van
Doesburg and Bart van der Leck.
Mondrian was the outstanding artist of the
group.
He was a deeply spiritual man who was intent
on developing a universal visual language that
was free from any hint of the nationalism that
led to the Great War.
Mondrian gradually refined the elements of his
art to a grid of lines and primary colors which
he configured in a series of compositions that
explored his universal principles of harmony.
He saw the elements of line and color as
possessing counteracting cosmic forces.
Composition with White and Yellow, 1935-42
Christies, New York
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

16. De Styjl
c.1917-1931
Piet Mondrian
1872-1944
Vertical lines embodied the direction and
energy of the sun's rays which were countered
by horizontal lines relating to the earth's
movement around it.
He saw primary colors through the same
cosmic tinted spectacles: yellow radiated the
sun's energy; blue receded as infinite space and
red materialized as blue and yellow met.
Mondrian's style which he also called 'NeoPlasticism' was inspired by the Theosophical
beliefs of the mathematician and philosopher,
M.H.J. Schoenmaekers.
Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red
Currently held as part of the Tate Collection
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

17. Dada
c.1916-1922
Raoul Hausmann
1886-1971
Dada was not a style of art like Fauvism or
Cubism. It was a form of artistic anarchy born
out of disgust for the social, political and
cultural establishment of the time which it held
responsible for Europe's descent into World
War.
Dadaism was an ‘anti art’ stance as it was
intent on destroying the artistic values of the
past. The aim of Dada was to create a climate
in which art was alive to the moment and not
paralysed by the corrupted traditions of the
established order.
Dada’s weapons in the war against the art
establishment were confrontation and
provocation.
Tatlin at Home, 1920
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

18. Dada
c.1916-1922
Marcel Duchamp
1887-1968
They confronted the artistic establishment with
the irrationality of their collages and
assemblages and provoked conservative
complacency with outrageous actions at their
exhibitions and meetings.
The movement started in Zurich and spread as
far as New York. Marcel Duchamp, Raoul
Hausmann, Jean Arp and Kurt Schwitters were
among the best of the Dada artists.
Photograph of Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain".
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

19. Surrealism
c.1924-1939
René Magritte
1898-1967
Surrealism was the positive outcome from
Dada's negativity.
Its aim as outlined in the First Surrealist
Manifesto of 1924, was to liberate the artist's
imagination by tapping into the unconscious
mind to discover a 'superior' reality - a surreality.
To achieve this the Surrealists drew upon the
images of dreams, the unpredictable effects
from combining disassociated images, and the
technique of 'pure psychic automatism', a
spontaneous form of drawing without the
conscious control of the mind.
Time Transfixed, 1938
Art Institute of Chicago
2010 | Ms Denise Chung

20. Surrealism
c.1924-1939
Salvador Dalí
1904-1989
The look of Surrealist art was inspired by the
irrational juxtaposition of images in Dada
collages, the dreamlike art of Giorgio de
Chirico, and both 'primitive' and 'outsider' art.
The most influential of the Surrealist artists
were Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Salvador Dali and
René Magritte.
The movement broke up at the outbreak of war
in 1939 when several of the Surrealists left
Europe for New York where they had a
formative influence on the development of
Abstract Expressionism.
2010 | Ms Denise Chung
The Persistence of Memory
1931. Oil on canvas, 9 1/2 x 13" (24.1 x 33 cm).

21. Modern Masters
(BBC Documentary)
Unfortunately, only one episode, on Salvador
Dali, can be found online.
Salvador Dali:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
Modern Masters is a four-part television series
detailing the life and work of four giants of 20th
century art: Henri Matisse; Pablo Picasso;
Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol. During the
course of the series, presenter and
journalist, Alastair Sooke, explores why these
artists are considered so important and examines
how their influence can still be seen in our world
today.
2010 | Ms Denise Chung