-
Realism
1848-1900. Celebrating working class and peasants. European democratic revolutions of 1848 -
Impressionism
1865-1885. Capturing fleeting effects of natural light. Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871); Unification of Germany (1871) -
Post-Impressionism
1885-1910. A soft revolt against Impressionism. Belle Époque (late-19th-century Golden Age); Japan defeats Russia (1905) -
Fauvism and Expressionism
1900-1935. Harsh colors and flat surfaces (Fauvism); emotion distorting form. Boxer Rebellion in China (1900); World War (1914–1918). -
Cubism, Futurism, Supremativism, Constructivism, De Stijl
1905-1920. Pre– and Post–World War 1 art experiments: new forms to express modern life. Russian Revolution (1917); American women franchised (1920) -
Dada and Surrealism
1917-1950. Ridiculous art; painting dreams and exploring the unconscious. Disillusionment after World War I; The Great Depression (1929–1938); World War II (1939–1945) and Nazi horrors; atomic bombs dropped on Japan (1945) -
Abstract Expressionism
1940s-1950s. Post–World War II: pure abstraction and expression without form; popular art absorbs consumerism. Cold War and Vietnam War (U.S. enters 1965); U.S.S.R. suppresses Hungarian revolt (1956) Czechoslovakian revolt (1968) -
Postmodernism and Deconstructivism
1970- Present. Art without a center and reworking and mixing past styles. Nuclear freeze movement; Cold War fizzles; Communism collapses in Eastern Europe and U.S.S.R. (1989–1991)
