History of modern ART

What is modern art? Although the term can be confusing and leads many people to equate modern art with contemporary art, the The truth is that modern art spans a period of time from the 1950s to the mid-1800s. twentieth century. Approximately 100 years in which some of the most important artistic movements in the history of universal art took place.

In this lesson of unPROFESOR.com we summarize the modern art history and we will dwell on aspects such as its emergence, its characteristics, the artistic movements that took place during these years, as well as the main artists, in addition to knowing what the main differences are with contemporary art. A summary of everything you need to know about modern art and its history.

To know the history of modern art it is important to understand how and when it was born. In addition to covering a chronological period that goes from 1850 to 1950, modern art is considered to start from the hand of the impressionist movement and the influence of figures like Edouart Manet and ends with the emergence of the pop art.

Throughout those hundred years arose a great variety of avant-garde and rupturist artistic movements with the canons of classical art, especially as far as figuration is concerned. Among the artistic movements that are included within modern art are impressionism, expressionism, cubism, futurism, fauvism or surrealism, among others.

But what was the origin of modern art? Modern art is associated with a series of transformations associated with the profound economic, political, social and cultural changes derived from the industrial revolution experienced in Europe at the end of the 19th century. A new historical context that also favored the appearance of a new type of artist. An artist who stops working on commission and under the orders of patrons and institutions to develop his own projects, capturing his own ideas, experiences and tastes.

One of these early modern artists it was Manet. An impressionist painter who left academicism aside and began to use a different technique, providing a more modern and personal vision of reality. In addition, the Impressionists such as Manet were the first artists to leave the circuit marked by the Academy of Fine Arts, refusing to exhibit together with academic artists and go out from the studio to the street and the countryside to represent reality under the effects of natural light from the day.

This new way of creating and thinking so innovative and different was called modernity, also counting on the support of writers of the time such as Baudelaire or Zola, with the artists themselves joining them in writing art manifestos in which they defended the principles of their art movement.

This opposition to the western classical artistic tradition other characteristics that define what modern art meant are also added. Thus, between main characteristics of modern art the following stand out:

• are introduced innovations in all areas, from themes to materials, techniques and processes.
• develops a interest in other cultures, especially Eastern and African cultures, becoming sources of inspiration for both themes and techniques.
• appears a new art trade with new concepts such as dealer or gallery.
• the mighty industrial bourgeoisie take the role of patron replacing the aristocracy and the church and becoming the main client of art.
• Expands the concept of art and art begins to be valued for art's sake, without seeking to convey the official messages of the State or the Church.
• also influence new types of art such as photography or cinema.
• The artistic work also becomes a introspection exercise and the artist lets his emotions surface, distorting reality to show his emotions and feelings.
• This perspective leads to works being objects of different interpretations, motivating the viewer and interacting with him on a more conceptual and creative level.
• Experimentation and innovation lead artists to be much more prolific, creating a larger number of works.
• The appearance of oil paint tubes en the year 1841 it allowed the product to be transported and preserved thanks to its screw cap and thus making it easier for artists to leave the studio and go out to paint outdoors. An invention that revolutionized art and helped the appearance of the first modern painters, the impressionists.
• The innovation and ease of painting provided by tubes of paint, in addition to the political, social and economic convulsions experienced in those 100 years, contributed to the appearance of a wide variety of artistic movements, the so-called avant-garde.
• Art becomes something totally revolutionary Being an instrument of criticism and denunciation of social conventions, inequalities or wars and injustices, among other elements.

To understand the history of modern art it is essential to know the different periods and artistic currents that occurred at this time. During the period of time covered by modern art, art experienced numerous radical changes in terms of styles, techniques and concepts. Some transformations that reflected the political, social and technological changes of the time. Between the main movements and artists that characterized this period, the following stand out.

Impressionism

He Impressionism emerged in France from the second half of the 19th century, its main characteristic being represent light and color of a certain moment of the day, that is, painting outdoors and capturing the optical effects of light, as well as capturing the atmosphere of the moment. Among its main figures are Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet and Edgar Degas. Some artists who broke with all academic conventions and became the first modern artists.

Postimpressionism

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the post-impressioniststhey were taking Impressionism in new directions. Figures like Cezanne. Van Gogh and Gauguin They began to experiment with color and shape, as well as letting their emotions show through and laying the foundations for all subsequent avant-garde movements or “isms”.

fauvism

The fauvesthey were so called because the wild character of him, like beasts that tried to leave those most intense feelings in their paintings. That more subjective and emotional approach led to the use of bolder, more vibrant colors, without concern for accurate, true-to-life representations. Henry Matisse or André Derain are two key figures of Fauvism.

Expressionism

He expressionism is an artistic movement that emerged in Germany and focused especially on the expression of the emotions of the artists. The existential anguish and pessimism that arose after the First World War influenced the appearance of artistic movements focused on capturing fear, unreason, madness and anxiety. The cinema was one of the new forms of art used by expressionism to make its ideas known. In painting, figures such as kandinsky either Kirchner. The distortion of colors and shapes to reflect that existential anguish and the emptiness of industrial society were two of the resources most used by the expressionists.

Cubism

In that bustle of artistic movements and creativity that was Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, and especially Paris, another movement emerged that was destined to revolutionize the world art scene. He cubismcompletely broke with conventions of all kinds and revolutionized pictorial representation by dividing objects and figures into geometric forms and resort to multiple perspectives to represent a single image. Pablo Picasso or George BraquesThey are known as the fathers of cubism.

Dadaism

Dadaistis he absurd and nothing the ultimate challenge to everything established and a challenge to conventions and academicism. The vital anguish of the First World War is at the root of this and other artistic movements critical of reality.

Futurism

He futurism arises in Italy in 1909 with the purpose of renew art and change society. It is about breaking with tradition and exalting the dynamism and movement that machines print in the advance of industrialization. Futurism was a pictorial and literary movement that exalted art and poetry and had its own manifesto.

Surrealism

He surrealismsought to explore the world of dreams and the subconscious Led by artists like Salvador Dali, René Magritte and Max Ernst, Surrealism used striking juxtaposed images and automatic techniques to unleash the imagination and subconscious thought.

In this brief history of modern art also nWe stop for a moment to talk about the differences between modern and contemporary art. It is common for some confusion to be generated between the two terms and tends to designate contemporary art as modern and modern art as contemporary, even though they are two different things.

• Chronologically, modern art comes to an end when contemporary art begins, that is, in the 1960s. both are from different historical periods and obey a very different political, economic and social context.
• Likewise, contemporary artists they focused more on the creative process and the conceptual more than in aesthetics itself, in addition to resorting to many more means of expression or turning any object into art at the same time. decontextualize it and that the artistic creation is not so much in the skills or the artistic talent of the artist as in the concept.