Art History Timeline

By Jill Frappier
  • 15,000 BCE

    Cave Art

    Cave Art
    Ancient style, charcoal and dirt were used on the walls of caves
  • 1000 BCE

    Dipylon Vase

    Dipylon Vase
    Egyptian style, founded by Jerusalem, made with papyrus
  • 400 BCE

    Acropolis Grecian Urns

    Acropolis Grecian Urns
    Greek style, during the time of Greek's Golden Age and Alexander the Great
  • 200 BCE

    Nike of Samothrace

    Nike of Samothrace
    Roman style, Chinese invented the paper during the time, Rome dominates near east
  • 100 BCE

    Pompeii Wall Art

    Pompeii Wall Art
    Roman style, during the peak of the Roman Empire
  • 50 BCE

    Fayum Mummy Portraits

    Fayum Mummy Portraits
    Continued until about 250 CE
  • 400

    Pantheon

    Pantheon
    Byzantine style, Rome falls at this time
  • 500

    Medieval Art

    Medieval Art
    Panel painting, Orthodox icon painting, and mosaic art flouring during this time
  • 600

    Lindisfarne Gospels

    Lindisfarne Gospels
    Byzantine style, paper making introduced from China,
  • 800

    Carolingian Art

    Carolingian Art
    Charlemagne builds famous Palatine Chapel in Aachen
  • 1000

    Bayeux Tapestry

    Bayeux Tapestry
    Romanesque style, paper first manufactured in Europe Tempera, Normans invade England at this time
  • 1000

    Ottonian Art

    Ottonian Art
  • 1250

    Chartres Master Builder, Giotto, Lorenzetti

    Chartres Master Builder, Giotto, Lorenzetti
    Gothic style, was the revival of paint-making, happened during the Magna Carta
  • 1400

    Botticelli de Vinci, Piero, Lippi

    Botticelli de Vinci, Piero, Lippi
    Early Renaissance Style, oil paint and pastels were used, printing press was introduced, Columbus reached the Americas, and the Holy Roman Empire de Medici rules Florence during this time
  • 1500

    Michaelangelo, Raphael, Arcimboldo, Bruegel, Titan

    Michaelangelo, Raphael, Arcimboldo, Bruegel, Titan
    High Renaissance, Northern Renaissance style, first use of canvas, Elizabeth I Magellan circles the globe at this time
  • 1503

    Mona Lisa

    Mona Lisa
    Leonardo paints the Mona Lisa, one of the greatest Renaissance paintings

  • Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin, Leyster

    Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin, Leyster
    Baroque style, modern pencil was invented at this time and the British colonized America

  • Boucher, Watteau, Hogarth

    Boucher, Watteau, Hogarth
    Rococo style, steam engine was invented and Franklin experimented with electricity at this time

  • Fragonard, David

    Fragonard, David
    Neoclassism style, during the time of the American and French Revolution

  • Louvre Museum

    Louvre Museum
    Opening of the Louvre Museum, one of the greatest art museums

  • Goya, Ingres, Constable

    Goya, Ingres, Constable
    Romanticism and Realism styles, photography and watercolor was introduced during this time, this was during the time of the Louisiana Purchase

  • Louis Daguerre

    Louis Daguerre
    The first photo is taken

  • Bierstadt

    Bierstadt
    Pre-Raphaelites style, tube paints and fountain pen was introduced at this time

  • Cassatt, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Morisot, Seurat

    Cassatt, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Morisot, Seurat
    Impressionism, Post-Impressionism style, ballpoint pen was introduced at this time along with the telephone, lightbulb, and automobile

  • Hartley Macdonald-Wright, Dali, Lange

    Hartley Macdonald-Wright, Dali, Lange
    Abstraction, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism styles, acrylic paint and crayons were introduced at this time, also during this time the airplane was invented along with the theory of Relativity, World War I and the Great Depression took place

  • Albers, Pallock de Kooning, Rothko, Stella, Warhol

    Albers, Pallock de Kooning, Rothko, Stella, Warhol
    Abstract Expressionism style, Pop art and Op art become popular, Vietnam War and Apollo landing on the moon took place at this time