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Period: 400 to Jan 1, 1400
Medieval
Medieval art was not as flashy as some of its predecessors. Only a small portion of medieval art was painting or monumental sculpture, and it varies wildly depending on what time it comes from as well as its culture of origin and purpose. That said, a large amount of medieval art was religious. This represents medieval society because the church was an unquestioned and nearly absolute power for hundreds of years. Other pieces of art depicted animals or geometric shapes. -
Period: Jan 1, 1300 to
Renaissance
Renaaissance art consisted of expanding subject matter. Artists no longer limited themselves to Christian media. Greek myths and other secular topics became the norm. On a wider scale, the entire Renaissance movement was an abandonment of old ideals and an era in which people from all walks of life tried new things. -
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Baroque
Baroque art was grand, colorful, bright, and extravagant. This movement was backed by the Catholic Church in response to the Protestant Reformation. They did this in order to win public favor again. This explains the religious subject matter and the emotion conveyed in every piece. Baroque art is sensational, promoting the Christian church. -
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Rococo
Rococo art was flashy, fancy, and delicate. It was particularly popular among the ruling class of France. It is a prime example of the excess of the French aristocracy and monarchy in the days leading up to the French Revolution. -
Period: to
Romanticism
Romanticism glorified the individual, the past, and nature. In a time when a man could make a name for himself through hard work and persistence alone, the focus on the power of the individual lined up perfectly. This era also saw progress in the fields of science, especially studies of natural history such as zoology and geology, explaining the other two components. -
Period: to
Impressionism
Impressionism is characterized by small brushes of color and its focus on the use of light and movement. Images depicted by impressionist aartist were generally realistic scenes of modern life, and were generally set outdoors. With study of psychology occurring concurrently, the focus on thoughts and feelings was not without context. -
Period: to
Expressionism
Expressionism is, etymologically speaking, the inverse of impressionism. Whereas impressionism was the artist impression of an exoerience, expressionism was more internal, a representation of the artist's psyche. In a time of new emerging ideologies, such as Nietzsche's and Freud's. By this time, it was easy to present your ideas to the world, and expressionism was just that. -
Period: to
Cubism
Cubist artwork consists of objects broken up into abstract pieces. As one of the first abstract forms of art, Cubist artworks were left open to interpretation. Much like everything else, as reporting and public opinion began to shape the world more than ever before in this time period.