Painting styles

Cubism

A style of art in which the subject matter is portrayed by geometric forms, especially cubes.

Realism

A 19th century artistic movement in which writers and painters sought to show life as it is rather than life as it should be

Post-impressionism

A late nineteenth-century style that relies on the Impressionist use of color and spontaneous brushwork but that employs these elements as expressive devices expression, structure, form, and emotional response.

Surrealism

A movement in art emphasizing the expression of the imagination as realized in dreams and presented without conscious control.

Romantic art

A movement in literature and the fine arts, beginning in the early nineteenth century, that stressed personal emotion, free play of the imagination, and freedom from rules of form.

Aboriginal Dot Painting

A style of painting with dots applied with sticks. Originated in Australia among the native people.

Pointilism

A technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

Photo Realism

Art with meticulous depiction of detail and is nearly photographic in appearance.

Non-objective art

Artwork that is made from pure shapes or forms that do not purposefully refer to the real world - no definitely recognizable subject matter.

Middle ages art

The Roman Catholic Church was the primary patron of the arts, so most work was religious in nature. Paintings were flat with gold leaf.

Abstract art

This work distinctly represents a recognizable subject or figure but is not realistic in some element.

Fantasy Art

a genre of art depicting magical or other supernatural theme, ides, creatures or settings. May have some overlap with science fiction and horror.

Op art

a nonobjective art movement in the US in the 1960s and 1970s that tried to create an impression of movement on the picture surface by means of optical allusion

Baroque

An artistic style of the seventeenth century characterized by complex forms, bold ornamentation (overly decorated), and contrasting elements.

Renaissance

"rebirth"; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome.

Pop art

An American school of the 1950's that imitated the techniques of commercial art (as the soup cans of Andy Warhol) and the styles of popular culture and the mass media.

Abstract Expressionism

An art movement that artists applied paint freely to their huge canvases in an effort to show feelings and emotions rather than realistic subject matter. Artists dribbled and spattered paint onto their paintings?

Impressionism

An artistic movement that sought to capture a momentary feel, or impression, of the piece they were painting.

Pre-historic

All art before written records (Began 2.5 mya, ended around 1000 B.C.)

Modern art

In the 1900s artists began rejecting traditional styles. Artists began to explore with other dimensions of color, line, and shape. Some painters used bold, wide strokes of color and odd distortions. Artists tried to produce works of strong emotion.