Modern Art's Dawn: Impressionism to Avant-garde Movements

Artistic Revolutions: 1870-1914

Around 1870, an artistic current called Impressionism emerged, marking the first in a series of movements that profoundly renewed art between 1870 and 1914.

Impressionism: Capturing Fleeting Moments

• Key Artists: Claude Monet (1840-1920), Édouard Manet (1830-1883), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), and Edgar Degas.
• Core Philosophy: Impressionists were not interested in depicting objective reality, believing that photography could fulfill that role. Instead, they aimed to capture the elusive quality of light in a fleeting moment, such as a sunrise.
• Subject Matter: For Impressionists, the subject matter was often secondary; any scene was deemed worthy of painting. However, they frequently depicted landscapes and scenes of everyday life. They were particularly drawn to landscapes with water, which allowed them to paint light reflections.
• Technique:
  • Largely abandoned studio painting, preferring to work en plein air (outdoors).
  • Characteristic loose brushwork.
  • Absence of preliminary drawing, resulting in vibrant, pure colors applied in small strokes.
• Notable Works:
  • Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise
  • Édouard Manet's Monet Painting in His Studio Boat
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette

Post-Impressionism: Re-emphasizing Structure

While Post-Impressionists built upon the Impressionists' use of light and color, they re-emphasized the importance of drawing and structure.

• Key Artists: Notably Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
• Vincent Van Gogh's Characteristics: Renowned for his landscapes and two distinct characteristics of his paintings: his winding lines and the 'trembling' quality of his brushwork.

The Artistic Avant-garde: Challenging Tradition

The twentieth century ushered in the Artistic Avant-garde. This series of pictorial movements evolved rapidly and, despite their differences, shared a common desire to challenge traditional art. Avant-garde artists were not interested in classical artistic elements like the imitation of reality or the creation of space through perspective. Instead, they sought constant innovation.

Fauvism: Arbitrary Color

• First Avant-garde Movement.
• Characteristic Element: The arbitrary use of color.
• Key Artist: Henri Matisse (1869-1954), known for works like The Green Stripe, was its greatest representative.

Expressionism: Inner Feelings and Distortion

• Use of Color: Also used color arbitrarily.
• Primary Interest: To represent inner feelings and emotions rather than objective reality.
• Technique: Often distorted figures and employed a characteristic zigzag line.
• Key Artist: Edvard Munch (1863-1944), famous for The Scream, was one of its most prominent and radical figures.

Cubism: Multiple Viewpoints and Collage

• Challenge: Challenged the traditional perspective of a single viewpoint.
• Aim: To depict objects from multiple viewpoints simultaneously.
• Significant Contribution: The technique of collage.
• Key Artists: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Georges Braque (1882-1963), known for works like Picasso's Woman with a Guitar, were two prominent representatives.