Art

History
TimelinE—
A Guide to Western Art
Movements
The history of art is overwhelmingly dense. Scholars, artists, and
historians have spent lifetimes studying, discovering, and
preserving art throughout history. In this article, we’re going to
narrow out focus on one facet of the art history timeline — art
movements in the Western world.

And while there are undoubtedly more art movements left off this
list, we’ll be diving into some of the most influential movements
in art history. From Prehistoric art all the way to Contemporary
art, let’s take a look at how art, artists, and the approach to
creating art have evolved over time.

PREHISTORIC ART (~40,000 — 4,000 B.C.)

Before the genesis of written language, prehistoric cultures
utilized artistic means of communication and documentation of
the world around them. Artistic works such as cave paintings,
rock carvings, stone arrangements, and engraved pictorial
imagery date back to the Paleolithic era and Old Stone Age.

These Prehistoric artworks often depicted cultural events such as

rituals or depictions of the environment such as animals and
landscapes. Natural materials such as stone were common in
prehistoric sculptures and engravings. Pigments from natural
materials were often used to create illustrations in cave paintings
and the Paleolithic cave paintings in Lascaux in France.

ANCIENT ART: (30,000 B.C. — A.D. 400)

Ancient Art initially occurred parallel to much of Prehistoric art.
Ancient art, however, was a product of civilizations that were
advancing at a faster pace such as in Mesopotamia, Greece,
Egypt, and Mesoamerica. With the creation of written language in
much of these civilizations, religions, social structures, and
storytelling became more prevalent.

Human beings utilized artistic methods to communicate and

express these concepts. The influence of these artworks on later
artists cannot be underscored. From Renaissance artists to even
Cubist artists, Ancient artwork has been a source of inspiration for
centuries to come

MEDIEVAL (A.D. 500 — A.D. 1400)

After the fall of the Roman Empire, economic strife led to what is
now known as The Middle Ages. During this time, art focused
predominantly around the hardship that those victims of the
Roman Empire fallout endured. Simultaneously, the early
Christian Church sought the use of valuable materials to form
artworks that conveyed religious meaning. Medieval art is a
culmination of these two historical events occurring in parallel.

THE GOTHIC ERA (1100S — 1500S)

Gothic art is a style of painting, architecture, and sculpture that
began in Paris the middle of the 12th century and showed up
throughout Europe all the way into the 1500s. The architectural
style’s definitive feature is the pointed arch, while the definitive
feature of Gothic painting and sculpture is naturalism. Some
famous Gothic artists include Giotto, Konrad Witz, and Duccio di
Buoninsegna.

RENAISSANCE (1300S — 1600S)

Over the course of roughly 300 years, artists throughout Europe
reconnected to the concepts, styles, and subjects of ancient
Rome and ancient Greece. It is a cornerstone of Western culture
and history, let alone art.

During the Renaissance, art in all its forms was looked at as a

means to better society as a whole.

Philosophy and art went hand in hand according to the vision of

Renaissance titans such as Lorenzo de Medici who was a primary
patron of iconic Renaissance artists such as Da Vinci, Botticelli,
and Michelangelo.

At the heart of the Renaissance was a philosophy of using the

humanities to better the lives of individuals rather than as a
means of outward status.

What was produced during the Renaissance holds so much

prestige today not only because of the beauty in the works’
physical form, but the intent behind these works from various
visionaries.

BAROQUE (1600 — 1750)

Stylistically, Baroque artists were diverse and lacked singular
distinction. What is common in Baroque art, however, is thematic

Representation of grandeur and human divinity. Baroque art

favored human subjects such as royalty or religious leaders
portrayed in divine ways. Some of the most notable Baroque
artists like Caravaggio and Rembrandt utilized deep contrast of
shadow and light to create striking drama.

NEOCLASSICISM (1750 — 1850)

During the early to mid 1700s, archaeological discoveries of
ancient Greece and Rome sparked a lure toward artworks of the
past. Influenced deeply by Classicism, Neoclassicism was the
resurgence of the classical style of Roman and Greek art in the
late-18th to early-19th by artists around the globe.

ROMANTICISM (1780 — 1850)

In stark contrast to the rather unemotional Neoclassical
artworks, Romanticism found value in passions and deeply
emotional subject matter within art. At its core is not a style, but
a way of thinking. One that values sensitivity and intense emotion
within a fulfilling life.

Artists such as Francisco Goya, Henry Fuseli, and William Blake

discarded the neat order and rationality of Neoclassicism. Rather,
their artistic curiosities led them to sensation and feeling. This is
why many artworks of Romanticism have drawn inspiration from
nature and internal psychology. The influence of Romanticism on
modern arts such as music and cinema that thrive on human
emotion cannot be understated.

REALISM (1848 — 1900)

Up until the emergence of what came to be known as Realism,
art primarily focused on the subjects of mythology, history,
religion, and emotionally charged drama. The mundanity of
everyday life was oversought. That is until the movement of
Realism.

Artists like Gustave Courbet sought to depict the everyday scenes

of normal people. These subjects were not commissioned or
dictated by royalty or institution, but rather inspired by the real
world as it presented itself.

IMPRESSIONISM (1865 — 1885)

While Impressionism borrows from Realism as far as focusing on
everyday subject matter, it distinguishes itself in style.
Impressionism focuses on initial sensations and impressions an
artist has of a scene and basing their work off of this rather than
what reality presents.

Because of this, Impressionist work often displays quick brush

strokes with an almost sketch-like style. Subjects and
environments are less defined by parameters, but rather by color
and energetic brush strokes.

As an artist almost synonymous with the Impressionist art

movement, Claude Monet talks of his work saying, “Now I really
feel the landscape. I can be bold and include every tone of pink
and blue: it's enchanting, it's delicious.”

POST-IMPRESSIONISM (1885 — 1910)

Toward the late 1800s, artists independently began desiring more
self-expression within their work. A desire to express inward
emotion and individual perception rather than what is simply
presented to them by the outside world.

The artists and work that emerged during this time were a
product of what is now known as Post-Impressionism. Iconic
artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Georges
Seurat were some of the more prolific artists to come out of the
Post-Impression movement.
EXPRESSIONISM (1905 — 1920)
Expressionism is an art type, style, and movement that
emphasizes subjective feeling in its works. This contrasts with
other painting styles of the late 19th century that put an
emphasis on objectivity and realism. Expressionism art, therefore,
was both a rejection and reaction of more realist styles. It was
also a reaction of the changing world these early 20th century
artists were witnessing

CUBISM (1907 — 1914)

Cubism is an influential art style defined by its revolutionary
method of depicting three-dimensional reality through
geometrical shapes on a two-dimensional canvas.

The term “Cubism” was coined by Louis Vauxcelles, a 20th

century art critic. When writing a critique of artist Georges
Braque’s landscape work, Vauxcelles identified geometric shapes
and referred to them as “cubes.”

Cubist artists depict a subject by utilizing geometrical shapes and

forms from varying perspectives of the subject. In practice, form,
and observation, cubism is a means of discovering the true
essence of a subject rather than a surface level perspective.

DADAISM (1912 — 1923)

Dadaism is an art movement that emerged in 1916 in Zurich,
Switzerland, and lasted until the mid 1920s. It veered from nearly
every norm in the art world at the time and for this reason
became attached to avante-garde art. Pure Dada rebuffs reason,
logic, and rationality in favor of chance. The movement is
explicitly political, representing extreme leftist views, primarily
anarchism.

BAUHAUS (1920 — 1925)

The Bauhaus, named after a German expression meaning “house
of construction,” is a German artistic movement which lasted
from 1919-1933. It was founded in Weimar, Germany by German
architect Walter Gropius.

Its goal was to merge all artistic mediums into one unified
approach, that of combining an individual’s artistry with mass
production and function. Bauhaus design is often abstract,
angular, and geometric, with little ornamentation.

SURREALISM (1917 — 1950)

Surrealism has given artists free reign over their collective
subconscious. The end result has been some of the most daring
and provocative works the world has ever seen.

Surrealism is an art movement that was founded by Andre Breton

in 1924, and outlined in his book The Surrealist Manifesto.
Surrealism as a technique relies on the juxtaposition of symbols,
images, or actions to create a world outside of reality, a super-
reality. Some of the most iconic Surrealist artists to emerge from
the movement were Salvador Dalí, Andre Breton and Max Ernst.

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM (1940 — 1950S)

Abstract Expressionism is an artistic movement that emerged in
the 1940s and 1950s that focuses on a shared curiosity in the
utilization of abstraction as a means to express and/or elicit
emotion through artistic works.
In the post-World War II era, American painters primarily based
in New York, sometimes referred to as the New York School,
began using various techniques and demonstrating diverse styles
to express their emotions and attitudes in a completely abstracted
way.

One of the more influential art movements on Abstract

Expressionism was in fact Surrealism. Abstract Expressionists
pulled from the Surrealists the idea that art is born out of the
subconscious mind in a spontaneous manner.

POP ART (1950S — 1960S)

In a stark turn from the work of Abstract Expressionism, artists
from the U.S. and England began creating graphically styled
illustrations full of bright colors often with underlying political
commentary.

This evolved into the Pop Art movement. While many pop artists
used the medium as a social critique, some found that it was
ironically evolving into an endorsement of the very systems it is
“critiquing.”

Some subjects like capitalism and war were at the core of famous
Pop artists like Andy Warhol. Warhol when talking on the idea of
Pop art has reaffirmed this mentality saying, “An artist is
someone who produces things that people don’t need to have but
that he – for some reason – thinks it would be a good idea to
give them.”

MINIMALISM (1960S — 1970S)

Minimalism emerged in the mid-twentieth century art movement
largely as a response to both Pop art and Abstract Expressionism
that came before it. It is characterized by its simplicity in concept
and design.

Minimalists believed simplicity was to strip away any forced

meaning or expression, a belief that very much contrasts that of
the Abstract Expressionists. For minimalists, Simplicity in art
meant creating art to be its own identity, not what we impress
upon it.

CONCEPTUAL ART (1960S — 1970S)

Conceptual art is a form of art in which the concept is paramount
to the visual or sensory components of the finished artwork. This
type of art emphasizes the importance of an idea or concept over
technique and aesthetic, largely used to express the abstract.

It emerged as a movement in the early 1960s reaching into the

mid-1970s. Conceptual art can look or be nearly anything the
artist decides. Unlike other forms of art, it is not defined by
physical forms, but rather the foundation of a concept that serves
as the engine of creating art.

CONTEMPORARY ART (1970S — PRESENT)

To put it simply, contemporary art is art that’s made in the
current era which is usually cited as 1970 to present day. Not to
be confused with Modern Art which is defined by style and
concept, contemporary art is defined by the time period in which
a work of art was created. Because of this, examples of
contemporary art are always evolving and changing.
The Lascaux Cave Paintings
Jesus Christ Mosaic in Istanbul, Turkey
Florence Cathedral