History of Western Visual Art

B.C. to 1980

Compiled June 2005Updated June 2008

Note: This information provided in this presentation should not be relied on for

research purposes.

Cave PaintingsBasic depictions of events and hunting places. Communication more than expression.

Grafitto

Scratching and carving into stone often above doorways and exterior walls.

Medieval Art

Often of a religious basis. Laws of the church at the time prohibited the depiction of humans. Paintings were therefore not very accurate. It was considered a sin.

Giotto di Bondone – The Kiss of Judas 1304-6

Portraits don’t look realistic but reflected fashion at the time.

Half shaved heads were the in thing if you didn’t know!

Pisanello – Portrait of a Princess - 1433

Medieval Art - Portraiture

Medieval ArtThe Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry was X metres long and depicted stories relating to the crusades.

The Renaissance

Sandro Botticelli – La Primavera – 1477-8

The Renaissance

Meaning Rebirth; The Renaissance was a time where humans saw themselves as more important than the rest of God’s creatures. A time of enlightenment and new beliefs.

Human proportions were better but not perfect!

Hans Memling - Vanity

Jean Fouquet - Mary and the Child surrounded by Angels 1450

(part of a dyptich)

The Renaissance

Hieronymous Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights (central panel) 1503-4

Not all of the Renaissance should be taken seriously. Artists such as Hieronymous Bosch mocked human society with outlandish scenes such as here in The Garden of Earthly Delights.

The RenaissanceBelieve it or not, this painting, Arnolfini Marriage Portrait, is a wedding certificate. Marriage was often celebrated this way and served to remind the couple of their vows.

The pregnant look of the lady may be misleading, as this was often the fashion of the day. Pregnancy may also be a sign of urgency. Various symbols give cryptic clues as to the details of the subjects; such as the shoes represent the man’s level of nobility. The dog is a sign of obedience and fidelity from the woman.

Jan van Eyck - Arnolfini Marriage Portrait 1434

The Renaissance

Leonardo Da Vinci - The Mona Lisa 1503-5

The Mona Lisa, arguably the most famous and most (protected) of all of the paintings within the Renaissance period despite it’s less than impressive size.

Mystery surrounds who Mona Lisa actually was, some say she was a nobleman’s daughter while others suggest it is Leonardo himself in drag!

The Renaissance

Michelangelo - Sistine ChapelMichelangelo - Sistine Chapel detail

Works were not reserved for canvases only. Master painters like Michelangelo adorned whole walls and ceilings with elaborate heavenly scenes to honour their God.

Baroque

Luca Giordano - The Fall of the Rebel Angels 1666

Baroque Art was seen as a celebration of human life, carried over from the Renaissance.

Baroque was more elaborate than the art of the Renaissance that was by this stage deemed too conservative.

Baroque

Andrea Pozzo - The Triumph of St Ignatius of Loyola 1691-4

Baroque

Diego Velazquez Las Meninas (Ladies in Waiting) 1656

Painters were employed to paint family portraits which involved the artist usually taking residence within the household to make preliminary sketches and paintings. Note the artist painting the artist and family in the background!

This family, like many others had a child with mental disabilities – this was a sign of incest, trying to keep royal blood lines.

Baroque

Rembrandt van Rijn - The Night Watch 1642

One of the more famous artists of this era was an artist called Rembrandt. His use of striking colour against very dark backgrounds were revolutionary for its time and changed the face of painting techniques.

Rococo

Jean-Honor'e Fragonard - The Swing 1767

If the perception of Baroque art was extravagant, Rococo would have just been plain silly in comparison. As the name suggests, Rococo was meant to be over-decorative and over the top.

Decadence was at a new point as Aristocrats sought new ways to out do each other within their painting purchases.

Rococo

‘nuff said!

Francois Boucher L'Odalisque 1744-5

Romanticism

Slightly overlooked in the history of Art, Romanticism toned down the elaborate previous Rococo works in favour of expressing influential moments in human tragedies and struggles in a somewhat celebratory way. Hence the name of Romanticism.

Jacques-Louis David - The Death of Marat 1793

Romanticism

Eugene Delacroix - Liberty Leading the People 1830

Romanticism

William Hogarth - Shortly After the Marriage 1742-6

A favourite past time of artists of any period was making fun of Aristocratic society, their principal clients. Here depicts a scene of newly weds who are oblivious to the world around them, only interested in their own wants.

Note the state of the room (similar to Arnolfini Marriage Portrait?).

Romanticism

Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes- The Third of May 1814

This scene by Goya represented a scene of human despair and desperation, often used as a symbol of military aggression and human struggle.

John Constable - The Leaping Horse 1825

Romanticism

William Blake - Newton 1795

Although the painting may seem ordinary, the subject matter is quite nasty. William Blake painted this scene of Sir Issac Newton conducting scientific scenes at the bottom of the ocean.

Science was quite unpopular during these times, often seeking to prove the non-existence of God.

Romanticism

Sir John Everett Millais - Ophelia 1851-2

Realism

Realism took off from where Romanticism left off. During these times, artists turned to art of the past to represent feeling s of the present. Many themes I this era were of Medieval themes.

Realism

J. W. Waterhouse A Naiad 1893J.W. Waterhouse

Circe Invidiosa 1892

Well known artist of this era was J.W. Waterhouse. His paintings were incredibly detailed and dealt with mythical stories. He and the other Romantic artists were largely overshadowed by further art movements that were about to suddenly take hold.

Australian Realism – The Heidelberg School

…and then disaster struck!!!...

The invention of the camera was a huge loss for artists whose primary source of income was painting portraits of aristocratic society. Artists had to re-invent themselves if they were to survive. This is where the real fun begins!

ImpressionismThrough Impressionism, artists found a way to compete with the popularity of the camera and it was to do what the camera couldn’t; represent colour!

Impressionism caused an uproar when it was first introduced. Seen as lazy painting, the painters were labelled as impression makers rather than painters. This name stuck and was adopted by the Impressionists.

Edouard Manet - Olympia 1863

Edgar Degas - The Laundresses 1884

Impressionism

Not only was the affects of light studied, but more emphasis was given to the lower working classes who the artists among. This was not seen as great subject matter by critics; “Who wants to look at a group of commoners?” This was not the first time however that artists chose to represent the working classes in their works.

The Impressionists experimented with the effects of colour and light often painting the same object over various parts of the day, noting the changes in colour.

Impressionism

Edouard Monet Haystacks 1891

Impressionism

Georges Seurat - Grande Jatte 1859-61

Georges Seurat was able to further explore the effects of light with this Impressionist technique called Pointilism. This technique involved painting many thousands of dots of dissimilar colours to create tone and shade. Example: the use of orange and blue to make the green in the grass.

Impressionism

Paul Gauguin Contes Barbares 1902

A significant impressionist artist was Paul Gauguin who was so interested in the effects of colour that he traveled the world seeking new approaches. So impressed (on pun intended) with the art of the native Polynesians that he employed their colour workings in his pieces. He later returned to the country and spent the rest of his life among the people.

I’m not quite sure what Gauguin (pictured on the left) is pondering whist gazing upon the native women…

Australian Impressionism

Charles Conder A Holiday in Mentone 1888

Post-ImpressionismAlthough often mistaken for an Impressionist artist, Vincent VanGogh generated a movement known as Post Impressionism that pushed colour theory to new limits and opened the door to further art movements that were more interested in the emotional look of VanGogh’s work more than his colour.

Vincent VanGogh - Starry Night 1889

Vincent VanGoghVincent VanGogh was a tragic figure of art. He was rumoured to have never sold a painting in his life, despite his current value. He also cut off an ear and mailed it to a lover in a desperate bid to prove his love…maybe he just wanted to keep an ear on things!

Symbolism

Edvard Munch – The Scream 1893

Symbolist artists, such as Edvard Munch were inspired by the earlier works of artists such as VanGogh. Munch was interested in what emotions colour can create as well as symbolising human emotions, in this case a complete loss of control in The Scream.

Edvard Munch - The Sick Child 1885-6

ExpressionismExpressionists carried the thoughts of the Symbolists even further, not just relying on colours to express their emotions. Images of horror, despair, angst and frustration were common images within the Expressionists.

They used art to vent their frustrations of world events at rhe time such as the World Wars, Nazi occupation, extermination of the Jews, The Great Depression etc.

Franz Marc - The Large Blue Horses 1911

Expressionism

George Grosz – Pillars of Society 1926

Max Beckman - Night 1918-19

Abstraction - CubismAbstraction grew out of Expressionism when artists employed three-dimensional measures (on a two-dimensional plane) to get their measures across. Many famous artists were inspired by this movement. The common though of Cubist artists was the breakdown of all things into squares, circles and triangles – basically we are all made up of cubic shapes!

Georges Braque - Fruit Dish and Cards 1913

Fernand Leger - Woman with a Cat 1921

Raymand Duchamp-Villon - Head of a Horse

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso was arguably the western world’s most influential artist. He had obvious talent at an early age but it was his ability to re-invent his art into different forms that made him the household name he is today.

Pablo Picasso - Weeping Woman 1937

Picasso - Progression

Pablo Picasso – Three Musicians 19XX

Pablo Picasso – The Family of Saltimbanques 1905

Pablo Picasso – XXXX 19XX

Picasso - GuernicaOne of Pablo Picasso’s most powerful pieces of art was titled Guernica. Guernica was Picasso’s response to the Nazi bombing of a Spanish town of the same name, painted in 1937 (under 2 weeks). This painting is hung in the United Nations headquarters, seeking to remind people of the horrific consequences of war.

Pablo Picasso – Guernica 1937

Fauvism

Henri Matisse The Sorrows of the King 1952

Fauvism grew out of Impressionism and gained its influences from Cubism. The most renown artist of the Fauvist movement was Henri Matisse.

DadaismDadaism was also inspired by the Abstract Expressionists and formed around the same time as Cubists. Dadaists mocked current and past art forms and as the name suggests – took themes very lightly, having fun with art! Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray was the most famous artist within this movement.

The Dadaists were one group whose reputations exceeded their abilities!

Man Ray XXXX 19XX

Marcel Duchamp L.H.O.O.Q

Marcel DuchampMarcel Duchamp was Pablo Picasso’s artistic rival and considered by many art critics to be the more superior of the two.

Duchamp considered himself more of a conceptual artist and created work that shocked. His finest example was his urinal sculpture – judged as the most influental piece of Modern art!

…was this when art went down the drain?… Marcel Duchamp Fountain 1917

SurrealismSurrealism was a form of abstraction that did not distort images but distort reality – effectively making the unreal look real – hence the word surreal. Influential artist in this time were Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. Australian artists included Jeffrey Smart and James Gleeson.

Salvador Dali - Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach 1938

Salvador DaliThe most famous Surrealist of all and probably the first professional performance artist. Salvador Dali was art 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! He put a lot of people off art within his actions. Through his outrageous behaviour, he attracted more than his fair share of attention. Luckily for him, his artistic ability lived up to his expectations.

Salvador Dali - Raphaelesque Head

Exploding 1951 Salvador Dali - Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltaire 1940

Salvador Dali

There are many hidden and obscure references within Dali’s work. In this piece, titled The Persistence of Memory is a reminder of time catching up with you. The limp clocks represent his impotence.

Salvador Dali - The Persistence of Memory 1931

Australian Surrealism

Jeffrey Smart – Cahill Expressway

James Gleeson - We Inhabit The Corrosive Littoral Of Habit 1941

Pop Art was drew more inspiration from the Dadaists and Surrealists than Abstraction artists. Pop artists not only made fun of art forms but of popular culture at the time. Famous artists within this movement include Roy Lichtenstein, Paul Hamilton and of course the immortal Andy Warhol.

Pop Art

Roy Lichtenstein – Whaam! 1963

Paul Hamilton - Interior II 1964Roy Lichtenstein - The Melody Haunts My Reverie 1965

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol - Marilyn Monroe 1962 Andy Warhol – Elvis 1964

Andy Warhol – Campbell’s Soup 1987

Andy Warhol introduced the world to its own consumerism with his unique brand of Art. His work reflected the concept of celebrity and everyday images and objects.

Resources

http://www.artlex.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

A Guide to European Painting - Michael Jacobs, Cartwell Books 1980The Usbourne Introduction to Art – Dickins, Rosie & Griffith, Mari, Usborne books 2003

The Visual Arts – Phillips, R.E., Portlet, C., Symonds, M., Jackaranda Press 1972

Icons – 15th Century Paintings – Hagen, Rose-Marie &Rainer Taschen 2001