The 6 Most Famous and Influential Art Movements
1. Renaissance，14th-16th Centuries，Originated in Italy
Core
Its core was "humanism." It went against the Middle Ages’ religious idea of giving up pleasures. It encouraged caring about human value and real life. It also pushed for art to be scientific and true to life.
Key Features
The first systematic use of perspective, creating a three-dimensional sense of space.
Emphasis on human anatomy, resulting in realistic character modeling and precise proportions.
Its colors are soft and natural. While its themes are mainly religious, they also include the emotions and scenes of ordinary people.
Representative Figures and Artworks
Leonardo da Vinci: The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper pay attention to light and shadow. They also focus on showing what the characters are thinking and feeling.
Michelangelo: David and the Sistine Chapel ceiling (emphasizing the power and sacredness of the human body).
Raphael: The School of Athens (blending classical philosophy with humanism, with balanced and harmonious composition).
Development History
Early Period (14th century): It started in Florence, Italy. Artists like Giotto moved away from the stiff medieval style and laid the groundwork for realistic art.
High Period (15th-16th centuries): The center moved to Rome. Masters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo appeared, and art skills and ideas reached their peak.
Late Period (late 16th century): It spread to different countries in Europe. It became "Mannerism"—a style that’s more over-the-top and fancy. This helped get ready for Baroque art forms.
2. Impressionism，1960s-1990s, Originated in France
Core
It went against the academic school’s "historical subjects" and "careful realistic style." It encouraged catching the quick changes in light and color, and showing the real feelings of nature and daily life.
Key Features
He used loose, short brushstrokes. He didn’t focus on small details—just on combining and mixing colors (like the early form of art Monet’s "Pointillism").
He often depicts outdoor scenes (such as sunrises, meadows, and riverbanks), emphasizing "plein air sketching."
He painted easy-to-relate-to subjects. These included everyday things like cafes, dances, and walks—not the traditional noble or religious themes.
Representative Figures and Artworks
Monet: Impression, Sunrise: This painting gave the movement its name. It shows fuzzy water in the morning light. Water Lilies series: These paintings are about the light and shadows on water at different times.
Renoir: Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (bright colors show ordinary people’s lively social scene).
Degas: "The Dance Lesson" (excels in capturing dynamic moments, often using detailed compositions).
Development History
Origins (1860s): Young painters like Monet and Renoir had their works rejected by the official Salon. Their art didn’t meet the academic school’s standards.
Breakthrough (1874):The first Impressionist exhibition took place. Art Critics made fun of Impression, Sunrise, but this also marked the movement’s start.
Maturity (1880s): Painters developed a unified style, their works gradually gained recognition, and their influence spread throughout Europe.
Decline (1890s): Core members began to paint in different styles (e.g., Cézanne focused on "structural exploration"). The movement gradually fell apart, but it laid the groundwork for modern art.
3. Fauvism，1905s - 1908s ，Originated in France
Core
It totally breaks traditional color rules. It uses over-the-top, bright, even "wild" colors to show feelings directly. It doesn’t depend on what colors things really are—like painting grass red.
Key Features
Extreme color contrasts—like putting bright yellow next to dark purple—mix with bold, free brushstrokes. They create a strong, eye-catching effect.
The figures are simplified, avoiding realism in favor of the emotional tension created by color.
The subjects are primarily landscapes and portraits, and the images are full of vitality and subjective emotion.
Representative Figures and Artworks
Matisse: Harmony in Red: It uses big areas of red to light up a room inside. It messes up the sense of depth and focuses on how flat the color looks. Woman with a Hat: It uses colors that aren’t real to draw a person.
Derain: "Charing Cross Bridge, London" (using highly saturated colors to depict a cityscape, imbued with wildness).
Development History
Origins (1905): Painters like Matisse and Derain showed their works of art at the Paris Art Exhibition. Art Historians called them the "Fauves"—that’s how the movement got its name.
High Period (1905-1907): Core members worked intensively, developing a distinctive style that promoted the liberation of color and influenced subsequent Cubism and Expressionism.
Dissolution (1908): The movement broke up after just three years. This was because members had different art ideas (e.g., Matisse focused more on "decorativeness," Derain went back to tradition). But it changed the role of color in art forever.
4. Cubism，1907s - 1920s，Originated in France
Core
It abandons the traditional "single-perspective" observation method. Artists first take objects apart into geometric shapes—like squares, triangles, and cylinders. Then they put these shapes back together from many angles. This way, they show the "all-round structure" of the objects.
Key Features
Paintings look broken up, using geometric blocks to show objects (e.g., Picasso’s figures—you can see both their front and side).
Colors are calm, mostly using neutral shades like brown, gray, and black. This stops color from getting in the way of showing the structure.
It has two types. One is "Analytical Cubism"—it takes objects apart and focuses on studying their structure. The other is "Synthetic Cubism"—it uses things like collages and text to build images again.
Representative Figures and Artworks
Picasso: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon: It’s the first important Cubist painting. It uses geometric blocks to rebuild human bodies and breaks old rules for portraits. Guernica: It uses Cubist skills to speak out against terrible things people do in war.
Braque: Guitar: It uses simple geometric blocks to draw the guitar’s structure. It also helps "Breaking-down Cubism" develop.
Development History
Origins (1907): Picasso made Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. He got ideas from African masks and Cézanne’s "Theory of Construction," laying the base for Cubism.
Analytical Cubism (1908-1912): Picasso collaborated with Braque, focusing on deconstructing the structure of objects, resulting in highly abstract paintings.
Synthetic Cubism (1912-1920s): Artists added collages—like pieces of newspaper and cloth—and text. This made paintings richer and influenced later Dadaism and Pop Art.
Decline (after the 1920s): Core members switched to other styles. But Cubism changed how people think about "space" in art, and it was a big turning point for modern art.
5. Surrealism，1924s-1950s，Originated in France
Core
It follows Freud’s "subconscious theory." It studies images from dreams and imaginary things you see that aren’t real. It makes "made-up scenes that don’t exist in real life," and gets rid of the limits of logic and common sense.
Key Features
These paintings are full of weird and strange things—like melting clocks and floating objects. They feel like dreams and don’t follow logic.
They range from realistic depictions of detail (as in Dalí's works) to abstract expressions of emotion (as in Miró's).
The subject matter often deals with subconscious fears, desires, and fantasies, often imbued with mystical or symbolic overtones.
Representative Figures and Artworks
Dalí: The Persistence of Memory: There are melting clocks and a empty, lonely shore. They show how weird time is and the thoughts we have without realizing it. Premonition of Civil War: Twisted human figures let people feel how scary war is.
Magnité: "Man with a Black Hat" (a man's face obscured by an apple explores the contradiction between "seeing" and "being").
Jim Miró: "Carnival of the Harlequin" (using simple symbols and vibrant colors to depict a dreamlike scene).
Development History
Origins (1924): Poet Breton published the "Surrealist Manifesto," formally proposing the movement's principles. Initially focused on literature, it later expanded to include visual art.
Heyday (1930s-1940s): Painters like Dalí and Magritte became well-known. Their works were shown a lot in Europe and the US, and their influence hit its peak.
Decline (post-1950s): After World War II, Abstract Expressionism became popular. Surrealism slowly faded, but it still had a big influence on later pop art and science fiction drawings.
6. Abstract Expressionism，1940s-1960s，Originated in the United States
Core
It completely abandons "specific images." It uses colors, lines, and brushstrokes to show feelings directly—no need for real things. It focuses on the artist’s "actions" and "letting out emotions."
Key Features
Paintings lack a clear theme. Artists only pass on feelings (like anger, calm, anxiety) through colors and how hard they use the brush.
It has two types. One is "action painting"—artists like Pollock focus on "dripping and splashing" while creating. The other is "color field painting"—artists like Rothko use big color blocks to set a mood.
The creative process is free, without preconceived composition, emphasizing "improvisational expression."
Representative Figures and Artworks
Jackson Pollock: "Lavender Mist" (created using dripping, sprinkling, and splashing techniques, the painting is full of movement and tension).
Mark Rothko: Untitled (Red on Red)" (large areas of red piled on top of each other convey a deep, calm feeling).
Development History
Origins (1940s): Influenced by European Surrealism and Cubism, American painters (mostly immigrants or veterans) began exploring abstract styles as a reaction against traditional realism.
Heyday (1950s): Action painting and Color Field painting became mainstream, and New York became the center of modern art. The movement is also known as the "New York School."
Decline (post-1960s): With the rise of Pop Art and Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism gradually faded from the mainstream. However, it established America's position in modern art and promoted the globalization of "abstract art."
About Us
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