The History of Art - Class Notes

Neoclassicism: 1750-1820  

Hieronymus Bosch

• The church dominated.
• People in power used art as a scaremongering tactic so to keep themselves in power.
• People had low literacy skills, were uneducated and were not aware of science.
• Images usually had heaven and hell scenes.
• It was said that if you purchased these paintings, you were guaranteed a place in heaven - something that only the rich were able to do.

Romanticism: 1800-1850

Cheney Harriet

• Paintings were exaggerated, not real. Poems and literature were written in line with these paintings. - William Blake.
• World became more educated.
• Less belief/fear of the church.

Realism: 1850-1880

Jean-Francois Millet - The Gleaners 1857

• Subjects appear as they do in every day life (truthfully).
• Often reflected the changes bought by the industrial and commercial revolutions.
• More generally realist art revealed a truth, that may have emphasised the 'ugly'.

Impressionism: 1860-1920

Claude Monet - Twilight Venice'

• Emphasis on light and colour.
• A different way of seeing.
• Open composition
• Portrayed the overall visual effects instead of detail.

Modernism: 1860/Present 

Photo by - Darren Bradley

• Modernism was formed by people who believed the original forms of art, literature, architecture etc were becoming extinct in the new economic and social world. 
• Modernism rejects the ideology of realism.
• Modernism utilises bold geometric shapes. 

Art Nouveau: 1890-1910

Theophile Steinlen 1896

• New art
• Focused on decorative art (furniture etc)
• Bauhaus 1919-1953 Influential school that combined crafts and fine art.

Post Modernism: 1960/Present

HR Giger

• Rejects Modernism.
• Influenced Architecture.
• Interested in the person as apposed to the object.