Art is one of the most beautiful things that we have been gifted with so far. There’s always been a huge emphasis on developing art throughout history, what with showing various pieces of artwork in galleries and museums for everyone to see.
Contemporary and modern art have come a long way in just the past century. On my blog you can read all about the most influential artists of our time and how they paved the way for innovations in these artwork categories.
What is Modern Art?
Modern Art is sometimes called the “art of the twentieth century.” It has been marked by exciting new styles, inventive interpretations of reality and fresh concepts. This art originated in Europe, but today it can be seen all over the world.
Modern art is the art from the 19th century on. It differs from traditional art in that it revolves around different themes and perspectives, such as formalism and popular culture. A key distinguishing factor of modern art is its process. Unlike other styles such as impressionism, “true front-lit darks” in a painting are not allowed to be toned down with lighting or color; this technique allows the canvas to resemble a photograph “truthfully”. The artist can only use pure colors which are similar to their natural state (but likely brighter). The final layer that is applied before the piece is completed must have clear boundaries that distinguishes between the different shapes present in order for the work to be considered a finished product; these boundaries are usually done using specific techniques such as outlining or adding pencil shading.
The leading figures of modern art
Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque invented Cubism. Gustav Klimt moved away from linear perspective to use free (spiraling) lines mostly out, Japanese style. Wassily Kandinsky made four basic forms of geometric shapes and was the pioneer of abstract art.
In the early 20th century, some of the most important and influential artists in modern art emerged.
- The French painter, Henri Matisse
- The Soviet artist, Wassily Kandinsky,
- Austrian painter Gustav Klimt
- German painter and printmaker, Paul Gauguin
Who is Picasso?
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter who worked in many mediums with his most famous pieces, the Cubist paintings. He wanted his art to tell a story, which be seen by different people, and have them interpret it their own way.
Pablo Picasso’s mastery of drawing and painting is unrivaled. He was born in Málaga, Andalucía, in 1881. When he was a child, he would copy the patterns for embroiders and other craftsmen at his mother’s convents. Even as a young boy, it was clear that Picasso had an extraordinary talent that could not be denied.
The most famous paintings by Picasso are the French Faun (1907) and Young Ladies of Avignon (1907).
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp, the French and American artist, is one of the most influential figures in the world of modern art. He left behind significant sculptures, paintings, and collages. One of his most famous works is Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2).
Along with fellow War Artists of the First World War, the legacy of Marcel Duchamp is among the most interesting in contemporary art. Duchamp used his connection to other artists as a weapon against art itself–challenging its boundaries and pervasive culture. The excitement over his eventual forays into commodities, or ready-mades, was felt by many important artists such as Tristan Tzara, who shared Dadaist sentiments of abolishing artistic creativity in the wake of mass production during wartime.
As Duchamp claimed, artists were radically rethinking the trajectory of their future careers and contexualizing commercial developments like design within their own lessons and practices.
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí was a Spanish artist and has been called the “father of surrealism”. He is best known for creating Salvador Dalí’s paintings, as well as designing costumes, sets and stage productions that were enjoyed by the upper class at the time. Being influenced by such things as Plato’s theory of Forms, Christian imagery, and the Catalan language, Dalí’s aesthetic was colourful, dramatic and full of fanciful details.
Salvador Dalí is considered to be one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. He’s also well-known for his eccentric behavior, obsession with Freudian psychology, and extreme artwork. For example, his “persistence of memory” painting features a soft melting clock.
Jean Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist that was a key figure in the 1980s worldwide Neo-expressionist movement. He often used stark colors, bold scale, and graffiti art again urban surroundings to create powerful messages to society. An example of his work is his iconic painting “The Destruction of Tenement with Daniel Hill.”
Jean Michel Basquiat was a contemporary artist widely recognized for his mixed-media drawings, signature scribbles, and use of vibrant colors. He often used African-American ethnic as subjects in his portraits of the disenfranchised in America. In 1982, he held an exhibition in Galerie André Kertész which contained juxtaposed materials such as bird skeletons and typical commodities on store shelves. The show received accolades from art critics where artwork dating back to 1976 was showcased.
Andy Warhol
One of the artists that spoke to postmodernism and media culture was Andy Warhol. Who became known for his paintings but more importantly, his work in film, music and the methods he used in commercial advertising where Warhol would screen one image many times while using it as a silk screen, thus making many great multiple images. One of his most famous series of works was called “Death and Disaster”.
Warhol’s contributions to modern art were with his experiments with different types of images and materials. Though he originally started with paintings, he would eventually come up with a way to produce an image by filming it and photograhing the still frame. He often merged the masses of magazines that he had leftover after one shoot into a single piece. These “magazine collages” show magazine piles morphing into faces, or images of Marilyn Monroe as she walks away on a New York sidewalk.
Conclusion
The idea of avant-garde art was developed in France around 1863. It was led by artists who strived to make art that would break with the confines and conventions of both traditional art and contemporary academic rules. Some key figures of modern art include Georgios Jakobides, El Greco, Salvador Dali, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Piet Mondrian.
In conclusion, these four painters really helped to shape the world of modern art in their own way. They were all important figures that had a huge impact on their devoted viewers through the power of their artwork.
