Within this tapestry of artistic expression, certain art styles have risen to the forefront, not only captivating the imagination of their contemporaries but also leaving an indelible mark on the course of human culture. These art styles, through their revolutionary approaches and innovative techniques, have truly changed the world. So, let’s see more about each art style that impacted the world the most.

Impressionism

In the mid-19th century, the art world witnessed a seismic shift as a group of artists embarked on a journey to capture fleeting moments and transient impressions rather than rigidly defined scenes. This departure from the established norms of academic art marked the birth of Impressionism – a movement that not only changed the way art was created but also revolutionised the way it was perceived.

Defying Convention

Impressionism challenged the traditional standards of art in several ways. The movement was characterised by focusing on capturing the effects of light and colour on everyday scenes. Artists like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro sought to depict the play of light and its transformative impact on landscapes, scenes of leisure, and even mundane subjects.

The Brushstroke Revolution

The hallmark of Impressionism was its distinct brushwork. Artists abandoned the smooth, blended strokes of academic art in favour of broken, visible brushstrokes. These brushstrokes not only conveyed movement and immediacy but also allowed viewers to engage with the paintings on a more visceral level.

Capturing the Moment

Impressionists were captivated by the transient nature of light and atmosphere. Their works often appeared spontaneous and unfinished, capturing a specific moment in time. The Impressionists sought to evoke the sensation of a passing moment—the shimmering reflections on water, the dappled sunlight filtering through leaves, or the hazy effects of mist and fog.

Beyond the Canvas

The impact of Impressionism extended beyond the confines of the art world. It laid the foundation for a more liberated approach to artistic expression, encouraging artists to seek inspiration in the ordinary and the ephemeral. Furthermore, Impressionism challenged the notion that art should be a mere representation of reality. Instead, it encouraged viewers to engage with the artwork actively, allowing their perceptions to shape the final experience.

Cubism

As the 20th century dawned, a radical new art style emerged that shattered traditional notions of representation and perspective. Cubism, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, embarked on a journey to deconstruct reality itself, paving the way for a fundamental shift in artistic thought and practice.

• Breaking down reality:Cubism is characterised by its revolutionary approach to depicting subjects in art. Rejecting the single-point perspective that had dominated Western art for centuries, Cubist artists presented objects from multiple angles simultaneously.
• The birth of abstraction: One of the most transformative aspects of Cubism was its gradual shift towards abstraction. As artists dissected forms into geometric shapes and facets, the representation of reality became secondary to the exploration of form and structure. This departure from literal representation laid the groundwork for the abstract art that would follow.
• Analytic and Synthetic Cubism: Cubism went through two distinct phases: Analytic and Synthetic Cubism. Analytic Cubism, the early phase, focused on breaking down forms into facets and analysing their structure. Artists used monochromatic palettes to emphasise the complexities of the subject.
• Influence on modern thought:Cubism’s influence extended beyond the canvas. The concept of depicting multiple viewpoints simultaneously resonated with the evolving perspectives of the 20th century, which were influenced by the rise of psychology, relativity, and a changing worldview.

How Cubism Affected Art Styles

Surrealism

In the realm of art, the mind’s deepest recesses and the interplay between reality and dreams found expression through Surrealism. This revolutionary art style, led by artists like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst, delved into the enigmatic realm of the subconscious, redefining the boundaries of artistic representation and inviting viewers to explore the extraordinary within the ordinary.

1. Exploring the unconscious: Surrealism sought to tap into the vast reservoirs of the unconscious mind, where dreams, desires, and fears reside. By merging the conscious and unconscious realms, Surrealist artists created a visual language that defied logical explanation. This blend of reality and fantasy aimed to evoke emotions, provoke thought, and challenge the viewer’s understanding of reality.
2. Transcending reality: The Surrealists employed a variety of techniques to manifest the illogical and the fantastical. Techniques such as automatism and frottage allowed for spontaneous creation, bypassing conscious control and enabling direct access to the subconscious. This resulted in artworks that often featured unexpected juxtapositions, distorted forms, and dreamlike landscapes.
3. Surrealist manifesto: The movement was encapsulated in André Breton’s 1924 Surrealist Manifesto, which outlined the principles of Surrealism. This manifesto emphasised the importance of unleashing the unconscious mind, rejecting societal norms, and embracing the irrational. Surrealist art aimed to shock, inspire, and provoke, with its creators aspiring to tap into the essence of the human experience.

How Surrealism Impacted Art Styles

Conclusion

The history of art is a journey through a tapestry woven with innovation, rebellion, and transformation. From Impressionism’s ability to capture fleeting moments to Cubism’s breaking down of reality, from Surrealism’s delve into the subconscious to Abstract Expressionism’s daring expressions and the bold statements of Pop Art, these revolutionary styles have distinctly shaped the world of art.

These art movements stand as a testament to the power of creativity to challenge norms, provoke thought, and change the world. They transcended canvas and studio walls, leaving an indelible mark on culture, perception, and the very essence of what it means to be human. As artists pushed the boundaries of representation, form, and emotion, they revealed new dimensions of the human experience, sparking dialogues that transcended time and space.

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At present, these functions of art have not changed. At the same time, there is an increasing digitalization of this area of human activity and the impact of high technologies on producing the final product. In this review, you will be able to learn more about the main trends in the field of art as well as the prospects for its development in the future.

Main Features of Modern Art

In our era, art has not stopped its development and continues to amaze us with new trends, techniques, and masterpieces. Below, you can get an insight into the current challenges and opportunities modern artists face.

Reflection of society

Surely you have heard the well-known expression that art mirrors society and reflects all its negative and positive features. As you know, artists are not isolated creators, as one might at first glance. The masterpieces they create are the result of their interaction with the surrounding world in all its manifestations.

Artists often engage in a dialogue with issues that concern humanity as a whole and with problems and cultural atmospheres by describing events, commenting on aspects of political life, reflecting global events, and so on. Examples of this can be found regardless of the type of regional culture. For example, if we look at the African or Pacific regions, then unlike global Western culture, their people use such methods as special masks, totems, and so on. But it does not change the essence of art.

Despite the fact that the connection between “art” and “society” has always been clear, in recent times, it has been specially strengthened. With the help of photographs and videos, it has become possible to make art more visible: capture events at the moment, document them, expose facts, and so on.

Dependence on technological development

The interaction between art and society mentioned above is rather complicated. Sometimes traditional approaches are not enough to express all their aspects and colors. Therefore, artists pay attention to all possible methods and visual means available.

For many people, it is not obvious that any paintings, sculptures, various materials, etc., are no more than a direct result of the development of society. This concept affects not only drawing but all forms of art in general. If we take a short course in history, we can see examples of this feature in the visual arts.

As you know, the first tube for paint was invented approximately in the middle of the 19th century. It encouraged artists to paint outdoors. As a result, about twenty years later, the art world saw the rise of impressionism. Could this genre develop and become so popular without this seemingly small invention? Probably not.

However, in the future, the situation has reached a completely new level. Every year the interaction between technological progress and artistic creativity becomes more and more visible. New methods of work become available to artists and the materials they use to create masterpieces: various kinds of polymers, plastics, new metal alloys, and so on. It significantly expands the possibilities now limited only by the flight of the author’s fantasies.

Among the artistic techniques that have revolutionized art, it is worth noting, first of all, video, various types of photography, 3D printing technology, computer programs, and so on. In the era of encryption, it is the last option on the list that plays a decisive role. The world has been covered by a revolution of artificial intelligence that creates unique pictures with the help of special algorithms and minimal outside influence.

Globalization issues

Globalization is no longer a subject of controversy since this trend has been clearly identified and has been gaining momentum for several decades. In practice, this means easier access to various types of cultures, economies, industries, and information resources on a global scale.

Initially, it was a feature of exclusively Western culture or elements adopted and assimilated into it. In the future, there is a high probability of a change in the course of this process. As a result, we will see an increase in the attention of non-Western artists to all the same non-Western symbols. We can already observe some features of this princess. If you look at works by Moroccan artists who actively use, for example, the themes and culture of the bazaar.

The Criticism of the Future of Art

The situation with art is rather heterogeneous. While some development perspectives are quite obvious, there are outright dissonances with which we should deal. For example, for a long time, art has been a rather confidential environment with a limited number of dedicated vigilantes. At the same time, there is currently a lively debate about the “huge global circus” in which the big brands, billionaires, and so on have their place and play the rules.

On the other hand, some support globalization as a certain “portal” for more people to enter the arts and make it more accessible. In today’s society, many perceive art as part of the entertainment industry. So, for example, a huge number of museums that have appeared recently become rather tourist objects whose only purpose is to attract visitors and earn money. From this point of view, they can be compared with big shopping centers. Expensive brands also decided to boost their cooperation with artists in order to show that their product is not only of high quality but also has some deep, philosophical meaning.

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Famous antique sculptures
Antique sculptures are the most famous. We see their image everywhere, including in everyday life.

“Venus of Milos.”
There is probably no more recognizable sculpture than that of the “Venus of Milos”. Many institutions have decorated their halls with copies of her. Neither the date of creation, nor the author is unknown.

Scientists have defined the time of creation only approximately. In their opinion, Venus was sculpted in the year one hundred and thirty B.C. Today it is on display in the Louvre.

“David”.
The author of the bronze “David” is the sculptor Danatello. His work is a full-length sculpture standing without support on anything. According to the author’s idea, a smiling naked David is looking at the head of Goliath, which he has just cut off. Michelangelo’s sculpture of David is familiar to anyone who went to art school

The date of this sculpture is one thousand four hundred and forty years old. “David” is on display at the Florentine National Museum.

“Discobol.”
Another of the most famous antique sculptures is “Discobol.” The author originally cast the sculpture in bronze. The date of creation is approximately four hundred and fiftieth year B.C. Later there were several copies, but already made of marble.

The author is believed to be Myron. The original sculpture has been lost. Only copies made from the original in ancient Rome have survived.

The most famous statues of the gods
Statues of the gods can be found in almost every country. Somewhere they are of standard size and are displayed in museums, somewhere just huge and are a landmark of the city.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer
The huge statue of Christ the Redeemer stands in Rio de Genheiro and is one of the main national landmarks. Every year it attracts more than two million visitors.

The statue is a sacred symbol of Brazil. The figure of Christ stands seven hundred meters above sea level. Its height is 28 meters. The sculpture was erected in 1931 with donations from the people and the church.

Statue of Buddha
Maitreya Among the largest statues in the world is the statue of Buddha Maitreya in China. This record-breaking statue is carved right into the rock. Its height is seventy-one meters.

It is known that work on it began in the seventy-thirteenth year and lasted 90 years. Numerous tourists who come to China, tend to see the statue of God, which for about a thousand years was considered the highest in the world.

Statue of Shiva
The modern statue of the god Shiva appeared in the twenty-first century in Nepal. Its construction took seven years. Shiva, forty-three and a half meters high, is the tallest statue of the god Shiva in the world. Tourist interest in it is understandable.

Other recognizable statues
The art of sculpture is several thousand years old. Over the years, sculptors have created a wide variety of works. Some sculptures are real landmarks.

Moai
There are eight hundred and fifty monolithic stone statues on Easter Island. What is surprising is that they are all turned toward the center of the island. Some of them are over six meters long and weigh twenty tons.

One expedition found a giant unfinished statue there. It weighs about two hundred and seventy tons and is twenty meters high.

“The Peeing Boy.”
We don’t know exactly when did the Peeing Man appeared in Brussels, or who its creator was. This miniature fountain statue is made of bronze: a naked boy peeing into a pool. It has been suggested that the statue dates back to the fifteenth century.

The bronze boy has been stolen many times. Copies have appeared in his place. From time to time the statue is dressed in different costumes, depending on a memorable date or holiday.

The Big Sphinx
The most ancient sculpture preserved at Giza is the Great Sphinx, lying on the banks of the Nile. It is a monolithic work of art. The Sphinx is carved out of lime rock.

Between its outstretched paws was once a sanctuary. The face of the lion statue bears a portrait resemblance to one of the Egyptian pharaohs. The Egyptian pyramids themselves are also a sight to behold.

The most famous sculpture in the world
The most replicated, most recognizable sculpture in the world is The Thinker. This famous sculpture is shown in Paris. Its author – Rodin. Rodin’s Thinker, perhaps the most recognizable sculpture in the world Rodin in the one thousand eight hundred and eightieth year, received a large commission. The work was to be called “Gates of Hell”.

The author was supposed to create several sculptures to be installed at the entrance to the museum. This project remained unfinished, however, a number of sculptures Rodin decided to make large. Thanks to this the world saw the “Thinker”. The genius master managed to accurately convey the deep thought process of the man sitting on the stone.

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As it happens, these paintings have transcended the boundaries of painting itself, becoming an integral part of the cultural heritage of humanity in general. They exist as an objective reality – like the Sun or the Moon, and it is impossible to imagine our life without them.

So, the most famous paintings in the world!

1. Birth of Venus – Sandro Botticelli
   Birth of Venus by Botticelli – the most famous paintings in the world
   Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (presumably 1485), which is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, is not only one of the most famous, but also one of the most sensual works of world pictorial art. The painting was painted for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, who owned the Villa Castello in 1486. Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici was a cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Duke of Florence.

Among Botticelli’s exceptional innovations, perhaps the most important was the use of canvas, rather than board, for a work of such large size (172.5 x 278.5 cm).

The artist added a minimal amount of fat to the pigments, so that the canvas remained strong and supple for a long time and the paint did not crack. In addition, research found that Botticelli applied a protective layer of egg yolk to the painting, so that The Birth of Venus was well preserved.

2. Mona Lisa – Leonardo da Vinci
   Yes, we can’t do without Leonardo and at least a couple or three of his works – who would doubt it! And the most famous of all his works is, of course, the Mona Lisa, or Gioconda! Da Vinci is said to have begun painting the picture in 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy, and it took him as long as 4 years to complete it, despite the small size of the piece. However, no clear information about exactly when the painting was completed has been preserved.

Although the Louvre – the world’s largest art museum and historical monument that displays the original Mona Lisa – says that the Mona Lisa was painted between 1503 and 1506, some historians and Leonardo experts say that the painting could not have been painted before 1513. This question, however, remains open.

It is believed that the woman depicted in the painting is an Italian noblewoman named Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. The painting was commissioned for their new home and in honor of the birth of their second son Andrea.

3. The Last Supper – Leonardo da Vinci
   “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most respected, most studied, and most reproduced paintings our world has ever seen. Books, movies, paintings, music, and conspiracy theories have been dedicated to it. Over the course of its existence, The Last Supper has become surrounded by as many speculations and legends as its creator, the ingenious “orchestral man Leonardo da Vinci”.

One way or another, it would seem that everything should be known about Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. However, we think, still there are interesting facts about this masterpiece, which you don’t know. About them, we’ll talk. So, interesting facts about the painting “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci!

4. Sistine Madonna – Rafael Santi
   “The Sistine Madonna” (Italian: Madonna Sistina) is a painting by Raphael that has been in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden since 1754. It belongs to the universally recognized pinnacles of the High Renaissance and is rightly considered one of the most famous paintings in the world. Huge in size (265 × 196 cm, so designated in the catalog of the Dresden gallery), the canvas was created by Raphael for the altar of the church of the monastery of St. Sixtus II in Piacenza, commissioned by Pope Julius II.

What is very unusual for the beginning of the XVI century, the material was not a board, and the canvas. This may indicate that the canvas was planned to be used as a banner (if only the choice of material is not explained by the large size of the work).

In the 18th century a legend spread (not confirmed by historical documents) that Julius II commissioned a canvas from Raphael for his tomb, and that the model for the Madonna was Raphael’s beloved Fornarina, for St. Sixtus by Pope Julius himself (nephew of Sixtus IV), and for St. Barbara by his niece Giulia Orsini. Proponents of the theory that the canvas was created for the papal tomb emphasize that the acorns on the riza of Sixtus II clearly refer to these two popes of the della Rovere family (rovere means “oak”).

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Anyone, even the most distant from art, has probably heard of such a movement in painting as Impressionism, either on the right or on the left – because it is impossible not to hear about it.

It is the most avant-garde breakthrough in 19th-century fine art, a real revolution, which, as it happens, was named after this very small (48 x 63 cm) and, at first glance, completely unsightly painting by Monet, whose title in the original is as follows: Impression, soleil levant.

Today the word “Impressionism” has long ago acquired a cult status. Once you mention it, your imagination, enveloped in a romantic haze – much like the picture Impression by Claude Monet – instantly conjures up a merry and carefree crowd of French artists, who wasted their time in revelry-houses, befriended prostitutes, did not have a single soum to their name – but painted admirable canvases that subverted the boring academic nonsense which in the 19th century they still called painting.

They continued, understandably, out of inertia, since there was no painting left: only a dead craft, public recognition, moneys and the fear of violating, at least by half a step, the framework set by their predecessors and approved by the public.

Monet, Manet, Sissel or Degas had none of this: no money, no recognition and still less fear. Only those who had something to lose were afraid. As true revolutionaries in art, these young people, pathologically unwilling to become part of a system which they consciously rejected and betrayed, stubbornly tried to blaze their own trail in art – and, having aggressively opposed tradition, they could hardly count on a warm reception.

The “reception” was not a warm one. The verdict of the public and their peers was unequivocal: a talentless piece of art and junk. Junk. Garbage – using categories closer to our time. Today the word “impressionism” smells like absinthe, genius and Paris, but in those days, when everything began, it reeked of a sewage pit. The word “impressionism,” by the way, was invented as a swear word – to stick to the historical truth.

Louis Le Roy, not the most talented French playwright and journalist, invented the offensive term. On April 25, 1874, the satirical magazine Le Charivari, with which Leroy collaborated, published his article on the first exhibition of “those very Frenchmen” – Monet, Degas, Pissarro, Renoir and three dozen other “young subversives.

The scathing critic could not even have imagined that he would go down in the history of art, not because of his talentless plays or feuilletons, but solely because of the “scolding” he had invented. Those whom he tried to insult did not, contrary to expectations, disavow the new name and accepted the insult as a reward, calling themselves Impressionists from then on.

It is clear that the painting “Impression. Rising Sun, which found itself in the epicenter of the negative attention, got the most damage. Is it a painting? You’ve got to be kidding me-even wallpaper looks better! At the very least, this ugly gray smear can be called a sketch, but certainly not a painting! So anyone who buys paints and a brush can immediately call himself a painter of genius – since he doesn’t need to learn how to paint!

Claude Monet knew how to draw. And he was also fortunate to have a completely impenetrable protective shell, from which any criticism bounced off like cherry pips from a tank. In a sense, Claude Monet was a tank – the heavy-weight, stubborn son of a grocer in Havre, who was pursuing his goal: to paint as he saw fit – too hard and too long for any critics to make him doubt the rightness of his chosen path.

It was not that Monet disliked critics – he did not take them into account at all. For that matter, he also considered all humans in general to be rather dubious experiments of nature – and therefore he preferred not to occupy the space of his works with them – with rare exceptions. Much more he liked less animated things – water lilies, for example, or the port of his native Havre, depicted by him in the painting “Impression. The Rising Sun.”

It took a mere trifle for Monet to truly discover the beauty of this place: to grow up, try his luck in Paris, live in England, then in Holland, then return for a while to the city where it all began – and see it with new eyes. And not just to see, but to capture. And to capture not reality, but the impression of reality that emerged in his personal perception. This is the whole point, and the whole revolution, of which Monet himself, of course, was aware at the time of painting-but perhaps not to the fullest extent.

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