Stylistic Art Periods or Movements

from the past to the present

G R O U P II
Ancient Period (prior to 800 BC)

Ancient art is geographically

categorized, encompassing
Mesopotamian, Celtic, Egyptian,
African, Asian, and Pre-Columbian
art, which typically has a distinct
look and purpose due to the
secluded nature of these cultures.
Classical Greek/Roman Period (800BC – 400AD)

Classical art of Greek and

Roman empires emphasized
beauty, virtue, harmony,
religious themes, human form,
and golden ratio proportions,
encompassing paintings,
mosaics, vases, sculptures, and
architecture.
Medieval Period (400 – 1350)

Medieval art, primarily

religious and mythologic, was
created for the Catholic
church, encompassing
paintings, mosaics,
architecture, tapestries, and
illuminated manuscripts
Medieval art is usually broken into
several phases:
G R O U P II
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Early Christian (100-500) Artists used

Roman media and style while giving new
Christian meaning to pagan symbols.

Migration (300-900) Germanic tribes settle in

the collapsed Roman empire and bring their
style of decorative weapons, tools, and jewelry

Byzantine (313-1453) Artists depicted flat,

emotionless mythological and religious themes
as seen in their art.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Insular (600-900) Celtic Medieval art from

the British Isles is called Insular Art and is
known for stylized figures and abstract
geometric patterns.
Romanesque (963-1120) The prosperous time
led to optimistic, stylized, religious art that told
Biblical stories to people.
Gothic (1120-1400) Byzantine, Romanesque,
and Islamic roots led to elaborate art with
straighter lines but natural, classical
proportions, attempting to bring heaven to
earth.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Renaissance Period (1350 – 1600) Renaissance

period artists used realistic linear perspective and
Classical ideals to realistically depict nature and
beauty. The Renaissance period is broken into
several movements:

Early Renaissance (1401-1490) Contrasting to the

Medieval art, Early Renaissance art was much more
realistic and more individualistic. Artists had
knowledge of a wide range of subjects and painted a
variety of subject matter- not just religious scenes
with the newly explained linear perspective.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

High Renaissance (1490 -1527) Continued

knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, including
science, helped artists depict accurately
foreshortened humans with emotion and expression.
Artists focused on ideals of beauty and achieving
perfect composition

Northern Renaissance (1430-1580) This art,

influenced by the Protestant ideas, was more humble
than other Renaissance art, but still very realistic.
Genre paintings, which showed everyday life, and
printmaking became popular.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

The Venetian School (1470-1580) This art was

similar to High Renaissance art, but more colorful
and joyous.

Mannerism / Late Renaissance: (1530s – early

1600s) This was a movement at the end of the
Renaissance period when artists represented their
emotions and imagination with visual dissonance
and instability. This art usually included distorted
and twisted figures and used unnatural colors and
light sources.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Baroque Period (1600 – 1750) An art period with

highly ornate embellished depictions of important
events including royalty or religious stories. Artists
focused on using deep colors, lots of details,
asymmetry, movement, drama, symbols and high
contrast of light and dark. This period is often
associated with the Catholic Counter-Reformation
since it pushed back against the plainness of
Protestant art.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Rococo / Late Baroque (1702-1780) This art

movement within the Baroque period was even
more extravagant than regular Baroque. Artists
used a theatrical level of drama with elaborate
details and focused on the lifestyle of the
aristocrats.

Neoclassicism / Neoclassical Period (1750 –

1800) A return to Greek and Roman ideas of
logic and reason
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Romantic Period (1800 – 1850)

Romanticism: an art period where artists
honored nature, individualism, intuition,
and emotion. The movement was an
idyllic and dramatic reaction to the artists’
dislike of the Neo-Classical movement,
the Industrial Revolution, and the Age of
Enlightenment.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Realistic Period (1850 – 1900 or 1940s)

Realism: an art period where artists tried
to represent their subjects truthfully and
accurately. The movement was a reaction
against Romanticism and the Industrial
Revolution and focused on everyday life,
even the unpleasant parts of life.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Arts and Crafts movement (1860-1920)

This anti-industrial movement, borrowed
elements from the Medieval and Romantic
periods, as it stood for social reform,
believing the arts could affect society. It
focused on utility and quality of design
and was predominantly seen in furniture
and architecture.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

American Regionalism (1930s-

1940s) The Realistic art movement,
influenced by the Great Depression,
depicted rural American Midwest and
Deep South with conservative, idyllic
scenes, appealing to Americans
unfamiliar with Modern art and its rise.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Modern Period- chaotic (1850 or

1900 – 1960s) Modernism, a belief in
progress and idealism, focuses on
techniques and processes, with diverse
movements and a messy art timeline,
unlike previous periods with unifying
characteristics.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Impressionism: (1872-1892)
Impressionism is an art movement and
style of painting that focuses on
capturing the feeling or experience of
an ordinary subject on the spot (not
later in an art studio). The art included
bold colors to depict light, visible brush
strokes, and, when viewed up close, an
out-of-focus appearance.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Post-Impressionism (1886-1905) Post-

Impressionism emerged as a reaction to
Impressionism's natural depiction of
light and color, focusing on
abstractionism and creating art that
reflects the artist's mind and soul,
incorporating patterns and symbolism.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Symbolism (1886-1910) Symbolism was

an art movement where artists focused on
subjectively and individualistically
representing ideas and emotions (not the
natural world) in their art. The artwork
varied widely in how it appeared, but the
content was typically mystical,
passionate, erotic, fear-based, or morbid.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Art Nouveau (1890-1910) Art Nouveau was an

art movement influenced by Japanese art and Arts
and Crafts. It was very ornate and frequently
featured exotic plants. It was called Tiffany style
in the US.

Expressionism: (1905-1933) Expressionism was

an art movement centered in Germany where the
artist distorts reality in order to express emotion.
They were inspired by Post Impressionist and
Symbolist painters.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Fauvism (1904-1910) Fauvism was an art

movement named Les Fauves, which in French
means “the wild beasts,” because of their
extremely distorted figures and unnaturally
vivid colors. The fauvists were very interested
in scientific color theory and the context of
color. Their art was sometimes abstract

Cubism: (1907-1922) Cubism was an art

movement that viewed the subject from multiple
angles and portrayed it using geometric shapes,
resulting in abstract art.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Dadaism (1916-1924) Dada was an art

movement where artists focused on
making satirical or unpleasant art in an
effort to shock the complacent middle
class into asking themselves hard
questions about materialism, war, and
society. It was largely in reaction to the
horrors of WWI and was associated
with anti-capitalism and the far left.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Surrealism (1924-1966) Surrealism

was an art movement that grew out of
the Dada movement where artists,
influenced by Sigmund Freud and Karl
Marx, aimed to channel their
unconscious mind to reveal pure
imagination without the restraints of
reason, morals, or aesthetics. The art
from this movement is often strange
and illogical but includes precisely
painted everyday objects.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Abstract Expressionism (1943-1965)

Abstract Expressionism, a Surrealist art
movement originating in New York,
influenced by leftist politics and
America's anxiety, featured artists like
Action Painters and Color Field
Painting, transforming New York into
the world's art center, resembling Paris.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Contemporary Period (1960s – current)

The Contemporary Period's art is still
evolving, with terms like "contemporary"
and "post-modern" being defined by art
historians. There's disagreement on what
constitutes each, but several art movement
titles fall within this time frame.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Post-Modern (1960s – current)

Postmodernism is an art movement
resembling the Modern Period's utopian
ideals, characterized by cynicism and
rejection of universal truth. It embraces
contradictory meaning, anti-authoritarian
themes, and irony, often breaking down
classes or undermining authenticity.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Pop Art: (1955- 1979) Pop Art is an art

movement where iconic or everyday items
were celebrated by making them the focal
point.

Op Art (1960s) Op Art was a movement

that used lines, space, repetition, and
sometimes color to achieve the illusion of
depth and movement.
Medieval art is usually broken into several phases:

Conceptual Art (1960s) Conceptual art is

an art movement that holds the idea of the
work of art is more important than the
creation of the work of art, therefore, the
art doesn’t have to be physically created to
be valuable. The theory also holds that and
aesthetics, expression, skill and
marketability of a work of art are
irrelevant.
THANK YOU
G R O U P II