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Art of Europe

Pierre Mignard, Clio, muse of heroic poetry and history, 17th century

The art of Europe encompasses the history of visual

art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as

mobile rock, and cave painting art, and was

characteristic of the period between the Paleolithic and

the Iron Age.[1]

Written histories of European art often begin with the

art of the Ancient Middle East, and the Ancient Aegean

civilisations, dating from the 3rd millennium BC.

Parallel with these significant cultures, art of one form

or another existed all over Europe, wherever there were

people, leaving signs such as carvings, decorated

artifacts and huge standing stones. However a

consistent pattern of artistic development withinEurope becomes clear only with the art of Ancient

Greece, adopted and transformed by Rome and carried;

with the Empire, across much of Europe, North Africa

and the Middle East.

The influence of the art of the Classical period waxed

and waned throughout the next two thousand years,

seeming to slip into a distant memory in parts of the

Medieval period, to re-emerge in the Renaissance, suffer a period of what some early art historians viewed as

"decay" during the Baroque period,[2] to reappear in a refined form in Neo-Classicism and to be reborn in

Post-Modernism.

Before 1800s, the Christian church was a major influence upon European art, the commissions of the Church,

architectural, painterly and sculptural, providing the major source of work for artists. The history of the Church was

very much reflected in the history of art, during this period. In the same period of time there was renewed interest in

heroes and heroines, tales of mythological gods and goddesses, great wars, and bizarre creatures which were not

connected to religion.[3]

Secularism has influenced European art since the Classical period, while most art of the last 200 years has been

produced without reference to religion and often with no particular ideology at all. On the other hand, European art

has often been influenced by politics of one kind or another, of the state, of the patron and of the artist.

European art is arranged into a number of stylistic periods, which, historically, overlap each other as different styles

flourished in different areas. Broadly the periods are, Classical, Byzantine, Medieval, Gothic Renaissance, Baroque,

Rococo, Neoclassical, Modern and Postmodern.[4]

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Prehistoric art

European prehistoric art is an important part of the European cultural heritage. [5] Prehistoric art history is usually

divided into four main periods: Stone age, Neolithic, Bronze age, and Iron age. Most of the remaining artifacts of 

this period are small sculptures and cave paintings.

Venus of Willendorf.

Much surviving prehistoric art is small portable sculptures,

with a small group of female Venus figurines such as theVenus of Willendorf (24,000 – 22,000 BC) found across

central Europe;[6] the 30 cm tall Lion man of the

Hohlenstein Stadel of about 30,000 BCE has hardly any

pieces that can be related to it. The Swimming Reindeer of 

about 11,000 BCE is one of the finest of a number of 

Magdalenian carvings in bone or antler of animals in the art

of the Upper Paleolithic, though they are outnumbered by

engraved pieces, which are sometimes classified as

sculpture.[7] With the beginning of the Mesolithic in Europe

figurative sculpture greatly reduced,[8] and remained a less

common element in art than relief decoration of practical

objects until the Roman period, despite some works such as

the Gundestrup cauldron from the European Iron Age and

the Bronze Age Trundholm sun chariot.[9]

The oldest European cave art dates back 40,800, and can be found in the El Castillo Cave in Spain.[10] Other cave

painting sites include Lascaux, Cave of Altamira, Grotte de Cussac, Pech Merle, Cave of Niaux, Chauvet Cave,

Font-de-Gaume, Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England, (Cave etchings and bas-reliefs discovered in 2003), and

Magura [1], Belogradchik, Bulgaria.[11] Rock painting was also performed on cliff faces, but fewer of those have

survived because of erosion. One well-known example is the rock paintings of Astuvansalmi in the Saimaa area of Finland. When Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola first encountered the Magdalenian paintings of the Altamira cave,

Cantabria, Spain in 1879, the academics of the time considered them hoaxes. Recent reappraisals and numerous

additional discoveries have since demonstrated their authenticity, while at the same time stimulating interest in the

artistry of Upper Palaeolithic peoples. Cave paintings, undertaken with only the most rudimentary tools, can also

furnish valuable insight into the culture and beliefs of that era.

The Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin represents a very different style, with the human figure the main

focus, often seen in large groups, with battles, dancing and hunting all represented, as well as other activities and

details such as clothing. The figures are generally rather sketchily depicted in thin paint, with the relationships

between the groups of humans and animals more carefully depicted than individual figures. Other less numerous

groups of rock art, many engraved rather than painted, show similar characteristics. The Iberian examples are

believed to date from a long period perhaps covering the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic and early Neolithic.

Prehistoric Celtic art comes from much of Iron Age Europe and survives mainly in the form of elite metalwork

skillfully decorated with complex, elegant and mostly abstract designs, often using curving and spiral forms. There

are human heads and some fully represented animals, but full-length human figures at any size are so rare that their

absence may represent a religious taboo. As the Romans conquered Celtic territories, it almost entirely vanishes, but

the style continued in limited use in the British Isles, and with the coming of Christianity revived there in the Insular

style of the Early Middle Ages.

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Ancient Classical art

Minoan Ceramic Art

The western side of the Parthenon on the Acropolis of 

Athens.

The Minoan culture is regarded as the oldest civilization in

Europe.[12] The Minoan culture existed in Crete and consisted of 

four periods: Prepalatial, Protopalatial, Neopalatial, and the

Postpalatial period between 3650 BC and 1100 BC. Not much of 

the art remained from the Prepalatial times, and most of artefactsstill existing today are Cycladic statuettes and pottery fragments.

The most prosperous period of the Cretan civilization was

Neopalatial period and most of the artefacts are from this era. A

large number of artefacts from the Protopalatial can be seen today

in Cretan museums. Pottery  – most popular in the Protopalatial

period (1900-1700 BC)  –  was characterized by thin walled

vessels, subtle, symmetrical shapes, elegant spouts, and

decorations, and dynamic lines. Dark and light values were often

contrasted in Minoan pottery. The spontaneity and fluidity of the

Protopalatial period later were transformed to a more stylized form

of art with dissociation of naturalism in the Neopalatial period.

The palaces served as organizational, commercial, artistic,

worshipping, and agricultural centres in the Cretan civilization.

Cretan palaces were built without defensive walls and exhibited a

central courtyard which was embraced by a number of buildings.

The central courtyard served as the main meeting place of the

people. The palaces had throne rooms, cult chambers, and theatres

where people could gather at special events. Columns and

staircases were part of the artistic expression and it is believed that

they served as metaphorical elements.

The Minoan palaces are richly painted with paintings. Minoan

painting was unique in that it used wet fresco techniques; it was

characterized by small waists, fluidity, and vitality of the figures

and was seasoned with elasticity, spontaneity, vitality, and

high-contrasting colours.

Not much of the sculpture survived from the Minoan civilization.

The best known example of sculptures is the Snake Goddess

figurine. The sculpture depicts a goddess or a high priestess holding a snake in both hands, dressed in traditional

Minoan attire, cloth covering the whole body and leaving the breasts exposed. Exquisite metal work was also a

characteristic of the Minoan art. Minoan metal masters worked with imported gold and copper and mastered

techniques of wax casting, embossing, gilding, nielo, and granulation.[13]

Ancient Greece had great painters, great sculptors, and great architects. The Parthenon is an example of their

architecture that has lasted to modern days. Greek marble sculpture is often

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Bust of "Mondragone" Antinous, c. 130 AD

described as the highest form of Classical art. Painting on the

pottery of Ancient Greece and ceramics gives a particularly

informative glimpse into the way society in Ancient Greece

functioned. Black-figure vase painting and Red-figure vase

painting gives many surviving examples of what Greek painting

was. Some famous Greek painters on wooden panels who arementioned in texts are Apelles, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, however no

examples of Ancient Greek panel painting survive, only written

descriptions by their contemporaries or by later Romans. Zeuxis

lived in 5-6 BC and was said to be the first to use sfumato.

According to Pliny the Elder, the realism of his paintings was such

that birds tried to eat the painted grapes. Apelles is described as

the greatest painter of Antiquity for perfect technique in drawing,

brilliant color and modeling.

Roman art was influenced by Greece and can in part be taken as a

descendant of ancient Greek painting and sculpture, but was also

strongly influenced by the more local Etruscan art of Italy. Roman

sculpture, is primarily portraiture derived from the upper classes of 

society as well as depictions of the gods. However, Roman painting does have important unique characteristics.

Among surviving Roman paintings are wall paintings, many from villas in Campania, in Southern Italy, especially at

Pompeii and Herculaneum. Such painting can be grouped into 4 main "styles" or periods [14] and may contain the first

examples of trompe-l'oeil, pseudo-perspective, and pure landscape.[15]

Mummy portrait of a

young girl, 2nd century

AD, Louvre.

Almost the only painted portraits surviving from the Ancient world are a large number of 

coffin-portraits of bust form found in the Late Antique cemetery of Al-Fayum. They give

an idea of the quality that the finest ancient work must have had. A very small number of miniatures from Late Antique illustrated books also survive, and a rather larger number

of copies of them from the Early Medieval period. Early Christian art grew out of Roman

popular, and later Imperial, art and adapted its iconography from these sources.

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Medieval

Saint Matthew from the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Most surviving art from the Medieval period was religious in

focus, often funded by the Church, powerful ecclesiastical

individuals such as bishops, communal groups such as abbeys, or

wealthy secular patrons. Many had specific liturgical functions  —

processional crosses and altarpieces, for example.

One of the central questions about Medieval art concerns its lack

of realism. A great deal of knowledge of perspective in art and

understanding of the human figure was lost with the fall of Rome.

But realism was not the primary concern of Medieval artists. They

were simply trying to send a religious message, a task which

demands clear iconic images instead of precisely rendered ones.

Time Period: 6th century to 15th century

Byzantine

Byzantine art overlaps with or merges with what we call Early Christian art until the

iconoclasm period of 730-843 when the vast majority of artwork with figures was

destroyed; so little remains that today any discovery sheds new understanding. After 843

until 1453 there is a clear Byzantine art tradition. It is often the finest art of the Middle

Ages in terms of quality of material and workmanship, with production centered on

Constantinople. Byzantine art's crowning achievement were the monumental frescos and

mosaics inside domed churches, most of which have not survived due to natural disasters

and the appropriation of churches to mosques.

Early Medieval Art

Migration period art is a general term for the art of the "barbarian" peoples who moved

in to formerly Roman territories. Celtic art in the 7th and 8th centuries saw a fusion with

Germanic traditions through contact with the Anglo-Saxons creating what is called theHiberno-Saxon style or Insular art, which was to be highly influential on the rest of the

Middle Ages. Merovingian art describes the art of the Franks before about 800, when

Carolingian art combined insular influences with a self-conscious classical revival,

developing into Ottonian art. Anglo-Saxon art is the art of England after the Insular

period. Illuminated manuscripts contain nearly all the surviving painting of the period,

but architecture, metalwork and small carved work in wood or ivory were also important

media.

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Romanesque

Romanesque art refers to the period from about 1000 to the rise of Gothic art in the 12th

century. This was a period of increasing prosperity, and the first to see a coherent style

used across Europe, from Scandinavia to Switzerland. Romanesque art is vigorous and

direct, was originally brightly coloured, and is often very sophisticated. Stained glass and

enamel on metalwork became important media, and larger sculptures in the rounddeveloped, although high relief was the principal technique. Its architecture is dominated

by thick walls, and round-headed windows and arches, with much carved decoration.

Gothic

Gothic art is a variable term depending on the craft, place and time. The term originated

with Gothic architecture in 1140, but Gothic painting did not appear until around 1200

(this date has many qualifications), when it diverged from Romanesque style. Gothic

sculpture was born in France in 1144 with the renovation of the Abbey Church of S.Denis and spread throughout Europe, by the 13th century it had become the international

style, replacing Romanesque. International Gothic describes Gothic art from about 1360

to 1430, after which Gothic art merges into Renaissance art at different times in different

places. During this period forms such as painting, in fresco and on panel, become newly

important, and the end of the period includes new media such as prints.

Renaissance

The Renaissance is characterized by a focus on the arts of Ancient Greece and Rome, which led to many changes in

both the technical aspects of painting and sculpture, as well as to their subject matter. It began in Italy, a country rich

in Roman heritage as well as material prosperity to fund artists. During the Renaissance, painters began to enhance

the realism of  their work by using new techniques in perspective, thus representing three dimensions more

authentically. Artists also began to use new techniques in the manipulation of light and darkness, such as the tone

contrast evident in many of Titian's portraits and the development of sfumato and chiaroscuro by Leonardo da Vinci.

Sculptors, too, began to rediscover many ancient techniques such as contrapposto. Following with the humanist spirit

of the age, art became more secular in subject matter, depicting ancient mythology in addition to Christian themes.

This genre of art is often referred to as Renaissance Classicism. In the North, the most important Renaissance

innovation was the widespread use of oil paints, which allowed for greater colour and intensity.

From Gothic to the Renaissance

During the late 13th century and early 14th century, much of the painting in Italy was Byzantine in Character,

notably that of Duccio of Siena and Cimabue of Florence, while Pietro Cavallini in Rome was more Gothic in style.

In 1290 Giotto began painting in a manner that was less traditional and more based upon observation of nature. His

famous cycle at the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, is seen as the beginnings of a Renaissance style.

Other painters of the 14th century were carried the Gothic style to great elaboration and detail. Notable among these

painters are Simone Martini and Gentile da Fabriano.

In the Netherlands, the technique of painting in oils rather than tempera, led itself to a form of elaboration that was

not dependent upon the application of gold leaf and embossing, but upon the minute depiction of the natural world.

The art of painting textures with great realism evolved at this time. Dutch painters such as Jan van Eyck and Hugo

van der Goes were to have great influence on Late Gothic and Early Renaissance painting.

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Early Renaissance

The ideas of the Renaissance first emerged in the city-state of Florence, Italy. The sculptor Donatello returned to

classical techniques such as contrapposto and classical subjects like the unsupported nude — his second sculpture of 

David was the first free-standing bronze nude created in Europe since the Roman Empire. The sculptor and architect

Brunelleschi studied the architectural ideas of ancient Roman buildings for inspiration. Masaccio perfected elements

like composition, individual expression, and human form to paint frescoes, especially those in the Brancacci Chapel,of surprising elegance, drama, and emotion.

A remarkable number of these major artists worked on different portions of the Florence Cathedral. Brunelleschi's

dome for the cathedral was one of the first truly revolutionary architectural innovations since the Gothic flying

buttress. Donatello created many of its sculptures. Giotto and Lorenzo Ghiberti also contributed to the cathedral.

High Renaissance

High Renaissance artists include such figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raffaello Sanzio.

The 15th-century artistic developments in Italy (for example, the interest in perspectival systems, in depicting

anatomy, and in classical cultures) matured during the 16th century, accounting for the designations“

EarlyRenaissance” for the 15th century and “High Renaissance” for the 16th century. Although no singular style

characterizes the High Renaissance, the art of those most closely associated with this Period —Leonardo da Vinci,

Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian —exhibits an astounding mastery, both technical and aesthetic. High Renaissance

artists created works of such authority that generations of later artists relied on these artworks for instruction. These

exemplary artistic creations further elevated the prestige of artists. Artists could claim divine inspiration, thereby

raising visual art to a status formerly given only to poetry. Thus, painters, sculptors, and architects came into their

own, successfully claiming for their work a high position among the fine arts. In a sense, 16th- century masters

created a new profession with its own rights of expression and its own venerable character. .

Northern art up to the RenaissanceEarly Netherlandish painting developed (but did not strictly invent) the technique of oil painting to allow greater

control in painting minute detail with realism - Jan van Eyck (1366 – 1441) was the a figure in the movement from

illuminated manuscripts to panel paintings.

Hieronymus Bosch (1450?-1516), a Dutch painter, is another important figure in the Northern Renaissance. In his

paintings, he used religious themes, but combined them with grotesque fantasies, colourful imagery, and peasant folk

legends. His paintings often reflect the confusion and anguish associated with the end of the Middle Ages.

Albrecht Dürer introduced Italian Renaissance style to Germany at the end of the 15th century, and dominated

German Renaissance art.

Time Period:• Italian Renaissance — Late 14th century to Early 16th century

• Northern Renaissance — 16th century

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Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo

- Baroque art was characterised by strongly religious and political themes; common

characteristics included rich colours with a strong light and dark contrast. Paintings were elaborate, emotional and

dramatic in nature. - Rococo art was characterised by lighter, often jocular themes;

common characteristics included pale, creamy colours. Paintings were more ornate than the Baroque, and usually

feminine, playful and light-hearted in nature. In European art, Renaissance Classicism spawned two different

movements — Mannerism and the Baroque. Mannerism, a reaction against the idealist perfection of Classicism,employed distortion of light and spatial frameworks in order to emphasize the emotional content of a painting and

the emotions of the painter. The work of El Greco is a particularly clear example of Mannerism in painting during

the late 16th, early 17th centuries. Northern Mannerism took longer to develop, and was largely a movement of the

last half of the 16th century. Baroque art took the representationalism of the Renaissance to new heights,

emphasizing detail, movement, lighting, and drama in their search for beauty. Perhaps the best known Baroque

painters are Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, and Diego Velázquez. A rather different art developed out

of northern realist traditions in 17th century Dutch Golden Age painting, which had very little religious art, and little

history painting, instead playing a crucial part in developing secular genres such as still life, genre paintings of 

everyday scenes, and landscape painting. While the Baroque nature of Rembrandt's art is clear, the label is less use

for Vermeer and many other Dutch artists. Flemish Baroque painting shared a part in this trend, while alsocontinuing to produce the traditional categories.Baroque art is often seen as part of the Counter-Reformation — the artistic element of the revival of spiritual life in

the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally, the emphasis that Baroque art placed on grandeur is seen as Absolutist in

nature. Religious and political themes were widely explored within the Baroque artistic context, and both paintings

and sculptures were characterised by a strong element of drama, emotion and theatricality. Famous Baroque artists

include Caravaggio or Rubens.[16] Baroque art was particularly ornate and elaborate in nature, often using rich, warm

colours with dark undertones. Pomp and grandeur were important elements of the Baroque artistic movement in

general, as can be seen when Louis XIV said, "I am grandeur incarnate"; many Baroque artists served kings who

tried to realize this goal. Baroque art in many ways was similar to Renaissance art; as a matter of fact, the term was

initially used derogatively as a way of describing post-Renaissance art and architecture which was gaudy,over-sentimental and of poor taste.[16] Baroque art can be seen as a more elaborate and dramatic re-adaptation of late

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Renaissance art. By the 18th century, however, Baroque art was falling out of fashion as many deemed it too austere

and dramatic, and it developed into the Rococo, which emerged in France. Rococo art was even more elaborate than

the Baroque, but it was less serious and more playful.[17] Whilst the Baroque used rich, strong colours, Rococo used

pale, creamier shades. The artistic movement no longer placed an emphasis on politics and religion, focusing instead

on lighter themes such as romance, celebration, and appreciation of nature. Rococo art also contrasted the Baroque

as it often refused symmetry in favor of asymmetrical designs. The 18th century style flourished for a short while;

nevertheless, it soon fell out of favor, being seen by many as a gaudy and superficial movement emphasizing

aesthetics over meaning. Neoclassicism in many ways developed as a counter movement of the Rococo, the impetus

being a sense of disgust directed towards the latter's florid qualities.

Time Period:

• Mannerism — 16th century

• Baroque — early 17th century to mid-early 18th century

• Rococo — Mid-18th century

Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Academism and Realism

Neoclassical art was characterised by an emphasis on

simplicity, order and idealism. It was inspired by

different classical themes.

Throughout the 18th century, a counter movement opposing the

Rococo sprang up in different parts of Europe, commonly known

as Neoclassicism. It despised the perceived superficiality and

frivolity of Rococo art, and desired for a return to the simplicity,

order and 'purism' of classical antiquity, especially ancient Greece

and Rome. The movement was in part also influenced by the

Renaissance, which itself was strongly influenced by classical art.

Neoclassicism was the artistic component of the intellectual

movement known as the Enlightenment; the Enlightenment was

idealistic, and put its emphasis on objectivity, reason and empiricaltruth. Neoclassicism had become widespread in Europe throughout

the 18th century, especially in the United Kingdom, which saw

great works of Neoclassical architecture spring up during this

period; Neoclassicism's fascination with classical antiquity can be

seen in the popularity of the Grand Tour during this decade, where

wealthy aristocrats travelled to the ancient ruins of Italy and

Greece. Nevertheless, a defining moment for Neoclassicism came during the French Revolution in the late 18th

century; in France, Rococo art was replaced with the preferred Neoclassical art, which was seen as more serious than

the former movement. In many ways, Neoclassicism can be seen as a political movement as well as an artistic and

cultural one.[18]

Neoclassical art places an emphasis on order, symmetry and classical simplicity; common themes inNeoclassical art include courage and war, as were commonly explored in ancient Greek and Roman art. Ingres,

Canova, and Jacques-Louis David are among the best-known neoclassicists.[19]

Just as Mannerism rejected Classicism, so did Romanticism reject the ideas of the Enlightenment and the aesthetic of 

the Neoclassicists. Romanticism rejected the highly objective and ordered nature of Neoclassicism, and opted for a

more individual and emotional approach to the arts.[20] Romanticism placed an emphasis on nature, especially when

aiming to portray the power and beauty of the natural world, and emotions, and sought a highly personal approach to

art. Romantic art was about individual feelings, not common themes, such as in Neoclassicism; in such a way,

Romantic art often used colours in order to express feelings and emotion.[20] Similarly to Neoclassicism, Romantic

art took much of its inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman art and mythology, yet, unlike Neoclassical, thisinspiration was primarily used as a way to create symbolism and imagery. Romantic art also takes much of its

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aesthetic qualities from medievalism and Gothicism, as well as mythology and folklore. Among the greatest

Romantic artists were Eugène Delacroix, Francisco Goya, J.M.W. Turner, John Constable, Caspar David Friedrich,

Thomas Cole, and William Blake.[19]

Most artists attempted to take a centrist approach which adopted different features of Neoclassicist and Romanticist

styles, in order to synthesize them. The different attempts took place within the French Academy, and collectively

are called Academic art. Adolphe William Bouguereau is considered a chief example of this stream of art.In the early 19th century the face of Europe, however, became radically altered by industrialization. Poverty, squalor,

and desperation were to be the fate of the new working class created by the "revolution". In response to these

changes going on in society, the movement of Realism emerged. Realism sought to accurately portray the conditions

and hardships of the poor in the hopes of changing society. In contrast with Romanticism, which was essentially

optimistic about mankind, Realism offered a stark vision of poverty and despair. Similarly, while Romanticism

glorified nature, Realism portrayed life in the depths of an urban wasteland. Like Romanticism, Realism was a

literary as well as an artistic movement. The great Realist painters include Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin, Gustave

Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Camille Corot, Honoré Daumier, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas (both considered as

Impressionists), and Thomas Eakins, among others.

The response of architecture to industrialisation, in stark contrast to the other arts, was to veer towards historicism.Although the railway stations built during this period are often considered the truest reflections of its spirit – they are

sometimes called "the cathedrals of the age"  – the main movements in architecture during the Industrial Age were

revivals of styles from the distant past, such as the Gothic Revival. Related movements were the Pre-Raphaelite

Brotherhood, who attempted to return art to its state of "purity" prior to Raphael, and the Arts and Crafts Movement,

which reacted against the impersonality of mass-produced goods and advocated a return to medieval craftsmanship.

Time Period:

• Neoclassicism — mid-early 18th century to early 19th century

• Romanticism — late 18th century to mid-19th century

• Realism —

19th century

Modern art

Impressionism was known for its usage of light and

movement in its paintings.

Out of the naturalist ethic of Realism grew a major artistic

movement, Impressionism. The Impressionists pioneered the use

of light in painting as they attempted to capture light as seen from

the human eye. Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet,

Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, were all involved in

the Impressionist movement. As a direct outgrowth of 

Impressionism came the development of Post-Impressionism. Paul

Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat are the

best known Post-Impressionists.

Following the Impressionists and the Post-Impressionists came

Fauvism, often considered the first "modern" genre of art. Just as

the Impressionists revolutionized light, so did the fauvists rethink

color, painting their canvases in bright, wild hues. After the

Fauvists, modern art began to develop in all its forms, ranging

from Expressionism, concerned with evoking emotion through objective works of art, to Cubism, the art of 

transposing a three-dimensional reality onto a flat canvas, to Abstract art. These new art forms pushed the limits of 

traditional notions of "art" and corresponded to the similar rapid changes that were taking place in human society,technology, and thought.

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Surrealism is often classified as a form of Modern Art. However, the Surrealists themselves have objected to the

study of surrealism as an era in art history, claiming that it oversimplifies the complexity of the movement (which

they say is not an artistic movement), misrepresents the relationship of surrealism to aesthetics, and falsely

characterizes ongoing surrealism as a finished, historically encapsulated era. Other forms of Modern art (some of 

which border on Contemporary art) include:

•• Abstract expressionism•• Art Deco

•• Art Nouveau

•• Bauhaus

•• Color Field painting

•• Conceptual Art

•• Constructivism

•• Cubism

•• Dada

•• Der Blaue Reiter

•• De Stijl•• Die Brücke

•• Body Art

•• Expressionism

•• Fauvism

•• Fluxus

•• Futurism

•• Happening

•• Surrealism

•• Lettrisme

•• Lyrical Abstraction•• Land Art

•• Minimalism

•• Naive art

•• Op art

•• Performance art

•• Photorealism

•• Pop art

•• Suprematism

•• Video art

Time Period: First half of the 20th century

Contemporary art and Postmodern art

Modern art foreshadowed several characteristics of what would later be definied as postmodern art; as a matter of 

fact, several modern art movements can often be classified as both modern and postmodern, such as pop art.

Postmodern art, for instance, places a strong emphasis on irony, parody and humour in general; modern art started to

develop a more ironic approach to art which would later advance in a postmodern context. Postmodern art sees the

blurring between the high and fine arts with low-end and commercial art; modern art started to experiment with this

blurring.[20] Recent developments in art have been characterised by a significant expansion of what can now deemed

to be art, in terms of materials, media, activity and concept. Conceptual art in particular has had a wide influence.This started literally as the replacement of concept for a made object, one of the intentions of which was to refute the

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Art of Europe 12

commodification of art. However, it now usually refers to an artwork where there is an object, but the main claim for

the work is made for the thought process that has informed it. The aspect of commercialism has returned to the work.

There has also been an increase in art referring to previous movements and artists, and gaining validity from that

reference.

Postmodernism in art, which has grown since the 1960s, differs from Modernism in as much as Modern art

movements were primarily focused on their own activities and values, while Postmodernism uses the whole range of previous movements as a reference point. This has by definition generated a relativistic outlook, accompanied by

irony and a certain disbelief in values, as each can be seen to be replaced by another. Another result of this has been

the growth of commercialism and celebrity. Postmodern art has questioned common rules and guidelines of what is

regarded as 'fine art', merging low art with the fine arts until none is fully distinguishable.[21][22] Before the advent of 

postmodernism, the fine arts were characterised by a form of aesthetic quality, elegance, craftsmanship, finesse and

intellectual stimulation which was intended to appeal to the elite or educated classes; this distinguished high art from

low art, which, in turn, was seen as tacky, kitsch, easily made and lacking in much or any intellectual stimulation, art

which was intended to appeal to the masses. Postmodern art blurred these distinctions, bringing a strong element of 

kitsch, commercialism and campness into contemporary fine art;[20] what is nowadays seen as fine art may have

been seen as low art before postmodernism revolutionised the concept of what high or fine art truly is. [20] Onaddition, the postmodern nature of contemporary art leaves a lot of space for individualism within the art scene; for

instance, postmodern art often takes inspiration from past artistic movements, such as Gothic or Baroque art, and

both juxtaposes and recycles styles from these past periods in a different context. [20]

Some surrealists in particular Joan Miró, who called for the "murder of painting" (In numerous interviews dating

from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods and his desire to "kill",

"murder", or "rape" them in favor of more contemporary means of expression).[23] have denounced or attempted to

"supersede" painting, and there have also been other anti-painting trends among artistic movements, such as that of 

Dada and conceptual art. The trend away from painting in the late 20th century has been countered by various

movements, for example the continuation of Minimal Art, Lyrical Abstraction, Pop Art, Op Art, New Realism,

Photorealism, Neo Geo, Neo-expressionism, and Stuckism and various other important and influential painterly

directions.

References

[1] Oosterbeek, Luíz. "European Prehistoric Art" (http:/   /  www. europreart. net/  ). Europeart . . Retrieved 4 December 2012.

[2] Banister Fletcher excluded nearly all Baroque buildings from his mammoth tome A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method . The

publishers eventually rectified this.

[3] "Art of Europe" (http:/   /  www. slam. org/  european/  intro. html). Saint Louis Art Museum. Slam. . Retrieved 4 December 2012.

[4] "Art of Europe" (http:/   /  www. slam. org/  european/  intro. html). Saint Louis Art Museum. Slam. . Retrieved 4 December 2012.

[5] Oosterbeek, Luíz. "European Prehistoric Art" (http:/   /  www. europreart. net/  prese. htm). Europeart . . Retrieved 4 December 2012.

[6][6] Sandars, 8-16, 29-31[7] Hahn, Joachim, "Prehistoric Europe, §II: Palaeolithic 3. Portable art" in Oxford Art Online, accessed August 24, 2012; Sandars, 37-40

[8][8] Sandars, 75-80

[9][9] Sandars, 253-257, 183-185

[10] Kwong, Matt. "Oldest cave-man art in Europe dates back 40,800 years" (http:/   /  www. cbc. ca/  news/  technology/  story/  2012/  06/  14/ 

cave-paintings-europe. html). CBC News. . Retrieved 4 December 2012.

[11] Gunther, Michael. "Art of Prehistoric Europe" (http:/   /  www. art-and-archaeology. com/  timelines/  europe/  prehistoric. html). . Retrieved 4

December 2012.

[12] Chaniotis, Angelos. "Ancient Crete" (http:/   /  www. oxfordbibliographies. com/  view/  document/  obo-9780195389661/ 

obo-9780195389661-0071.  xml;jsessionid=B732A8D81DF46C77A25A3DA2625360A9). Oxford Bibliographies. Oxford University Press. .

Retrieved 2 January 2013.

[13] "Minoan art" (http:/   /  www. ancient-greece. org/  art/  minoan-art. html). Greek art . Ancient-Greece.org. . Retrieved 2 January 2013.

[14] Roman Painting (http:/   /  www. art-and-archaeology. com/  roman/  painting. html)

[15] Roman Wall Painting (http:/   /  www. accd. edu/  sac/  vat/  arthistory/  arts1303/  Rome4.  htm)[16] http:/   /  www. arthistory-famousartists-paintings. com/  BaroqueArt. html

[17] http:/   /  www. bc. edu/  bc_org/  avp/  cas/  his/  CoreArt/  art/  ancien. html

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Art of Europe 13

[18] http:/   /  www. artsz.org/  neoclassicism-art/ 

[19] James J. Sheehan, "Art and Its Publics, c. 1800," United and Diversity in European Culture c. 1800, ed. Tim Blanning and Hagen Schulze

(New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 5-18.

[20] http:/   /  www. cla. purdue. edu/  english/  theory/  postmodernism/  modules/  introduction. html

[21] Ideas About Art , Desmond, Kathleen K. (http:/   /  books.  google. co. uk/  books?id=iP4sA3kwcFsC& dq=ideas+ about+ art&

source=gbs_navlinks_s) John Wiley & Sons, 2011, p.148

[22] International postmodernism: theory and literary practice, Bertens, Hans (http:/   /  books.  google. co. uk/  books?id=n_Eqx2Gr1vUC&

dq=international+ postmodernism:+ theory+ and+ literary+ practice& source=gbs_navlinks_s), Routledge, 1997, p.236[23] M. Rowell, Joan Mirό: Selected Writings and Interviews (London: Thames & Hudson, 1987) pp. 114-116.

• Sandars, Nancy K., Prehistoric Art in Europe, Penguin (Pelican, now Yale, History of Art), 1968 (nb 1st edn.;

early datings now superseded)

External links

• Web Gallery of Art (http:/   /  www.wga. hu)

• Postmodernism (http:/   /  www. colorado. edu/  English/  courses/  ENGL2012Klages/  pomo. html)

• European artists community (http:/   /  www. euartist. com/  portal)

• Panopticon Virtual Art Gallery (http:/   /  www. aiwaz. net/  panopticon)

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Article Sources and Contributors 14

Article Sources and ContributorsArt of Europe  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=540983668 Contributors: 16@r, 1717, A Nobody, Abecedare, Ablewisuk, Alansohn, Alex S, Amandajm, Animum,Apeloverage, Artiquities, BakaElf, Beetstra, Benea, BigEyedFish, Blupping, Brandmeister, Brian0918, Brianshapiro, Bus stop, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Canvasguru, Cglinux, CharlesMatthews, Chris the speller, Clicketyclack, Closedmouth, Cmdrjameson, Colonies Chris, Criticality synonymous with art, Cuchullain, Cureden, D.h, DVD R W, Danraz, Demi, Elwikipedista,Ensign beedrill, Etacar11, Euchiasmus, Ewlyahoocom, Ewulp, Faradayplank, Feezo, Fisss, FonsScientiae, Forlornandshorn, Fortdj33, Fredrik, Gaf.arq, GenQuest, Grafen, Ham, Helmoony,Hmains, Hyacinth, Ian Pitchford, Irish Pearl, JNW, Jahsonic, James317a, Jamoche, JeBonSer, JoannaSerah, Johnbod, Joy, Jpbowen, Jreferee, Jza84, Kaal, KeepItClean, Kereem69u, Ktsquare,Kusunose, Leatherbear, Lights, LilHelpa, LingVictor, Lithoderm, MER-C, Mandarax, Marek69, Marlene Duval, Martarius, Master shepherd, Methcub, Meuerwin, Michael Hardy, Modernist,

Mogism, Moostyrio, NawlinWiki, Neddyseagoon, Nickdc, O.Koslowski, Oatmeal batman, Ohnoitsjamie, Olivier, Perl, Persian Poet Gal, Peterlewis, Piccadilly, Postdlf, Prof saxx, Raven in Orbit,Research Method, Rex Germanus, RexNL, Rjwilmsi, Roke, SD5, Sailko, Salamurai, Sfdan, Solipsist, Sophitus, Sowff, Sparkit, StAnselm, Sterry2607, The Rambling Man, TheSun,Thehelpfulone, Theologiae, Theshibboleth, TimBentley, Tyrenius, Uriah923, WRK, Wetman, Who, Wik, Woohookitty, Zachiroth, Zoicon5, 153 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Pierre Mignard 001.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pierre_Mignard_001.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: Auntof6, Bibi Saint-Pol, Boo-Boo Baroo,Bukk, Diomede, Emijrp, Jacklee, Mattes, VIGNERON, 2 anonymous edits

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