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ART QUEST (from the book by Lonnie Pelletier) |
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PART 8 - ONE HUNDRED YEARS
IN THE EVOLUTION |
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Links are at the bottom of
the page |
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CHRONOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY ART Classical Art Neo-Classicism Romanticism Neo-Romanticism, Neo-Humanistic The Barbizon School 1830 Pre-Raphaelites 1848 The Realists 1855 Naturalism Academic Painting The 1870’s Impressionism 1874 Mannerism The 1880’s Neo-Impressionism 1885 Divisionism or Pointillism Symbolism Post-Impressionism The 1890’s Expressionism Cloisonnism Symbolism The Nabis Art Nouveau, Les Vigt (in Belgium), Sezessionists Jugendstil (in Germany), Stile Liberty (in Italy) 1900 to 1910 Camden Town Group, London Group Fauvism Die Brücke (The Bridge) Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivism) Cubism Analytical Cubism Synthetic Cubism The 1910’s Der Blaue Reiter 1911 Futurism Vorticism (in England) Orphic Cubism (Orphism) 1913 Suprematism Simultaneism 1916 Hybrids of Collage The Found Object (A Ready-Made) Metaphysical Painting, Pittura Metafisica (in Italy) Dada The 1920’s The Group of Seven Constructivism Neo-Plasticism Purism Geometric Abstraction De Styl (in Holland) The Bauhaus Group (in Germany) Surrealism 1924 Abstract Surrealism or Action Painting Socialistic Realism The 1930’s Fantastic Art Pure Abstraction (Non-representational, Non-figurative, Non-objective) Abstract Expressionism The 1940’s Hard Edge Painting The 1950’s Optical Art (Op Art, Metapolymorphic Painting) Tachism The 1960’s Pop Art (New Realism) Gagart Psychedelic Art Synchromism Primitivism Throughout history every
artist has been moved by the beauty of line, texture and colour, with each special
relationship for their own sake and not by what they represent. Almost all the art movements
of the last one hundred years relate to this generalized
description. (1) the reduction of natural colour to primary colour, (2) the reduction of colour to flatness and (3) the enclosure of colour as rectangular or circular planes with resolved rhythmic unity. By its nature this book (and this even more condensed web version) cannot be a detailed explanation of art, and by its objective it can only be a summary. The ultimate goal in writing is always communication – not overdoing the literary gymnastics and, of course, not creating confusion. However, communicating a basis for understanding art seems to require the use of these rather unique “executive summaries” for the reader. For many of the listed art movements substantial Manifestos and formal Theories were published under the signatures or authorship of the artists involved. In these instances, definitions of their art were very structured, and their goals were very precise – so they would not be merged or confused with other, similar movements. Even the artists who were in cooperation with a particular group or school would often need to move onward. Frequently this meant a phase of disagreement, before they could proceed with pursuing their quests for the new and elusive line, texture or colour. Defining a movement with a specific time frame is an unusual proclamation. The interpretation of when a movement existed is calibrated in more that one manner. The artist first pursued or developed the style with his or her approach. There is another time, often set off by as much as a decade - as when the critics may have declared a name to the style. The popularity of the movement may be at a third period. However in most cases, the time I have chosen to designate is aligned to the artist’s quest – whether that pursuit occurred as an individual, or as part of a focused group. The vocabulary used within the art scene was always evolving. It has always included many of its own expressions, which themselves have often evolved to have multiple connotations. For this reason as well, many art movements are not listed. Considering local processes of political thought, as well as regional and cultural differences, it is only the larger writings on history that can offer more detailed description. This then has been a
general road map to help readers enjoy
various styles in painting. It is also
the general map of knowledge that I use
when I look at a blank canvas and must determine
which type of painting I will be
challenged by. It is this smorgasbord of available
styles that confronts the painter each time
he or she prepares to begin a work. And it is
exactly that expansive palette offered by such an
overview, which enhances the artist’s quest. |
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