What kind of painting is there - types, features, characteristic features of different styles
World art is very diverse. Over the years, many trends have developed in artistic culture - they differ in techniques, methods, and methods. Masters try to create the most authentic image of the world, capture a fleeting moment, and evoke empathy in the viewer. Acquaintance with their creations develops a person's aesthetic outlook and sense of beauty, helps to develop one's opinion about fashion trends, and elevates the soul. That is why our online store ukrburshtyn.com has prepared this article for you, which describes painting styles with examples of paintings.
Neoclassicism - back to antiquity
This trend prevailed in Northern Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Masters who work in a similar style put the art of Ancient Greece and Rome above all else, believing that this period was the time of the greatest flourishing of culture. However, the subject of their paintings was mainly historical and theological - the artists immortalized scenes from the lives of saints, and episodes from the Old and New Testaments. Such paintings were supposed to instill high morals in the audience, to instill in them social values.
Artists belonging to this style demonstrate virtuosic mastery of the brush, the ability to convey the play of light and shadow, and knowledge of proportions and arithmetic ratios. To make sure of this, it is worth looking at the works of Jacques-Louis David, Raphael, Pietro Gonzaga, and Jean-Baptiste Regno. But improvisation and self-expression were not welcome - you could only create on traditional themes. This led to academicism and repetition among artists.
Romanticism - emotions as a source of knowledge
In the 18th century the Age of Enlightenment reached its peak. It was the discoveries made then that formed the basis of modern science. However, not everyone was to the liking of scientific and technical progress - and as a reaction to it, the trend of romanticism arose.
His supporters (Karl Bryullov, Eugene Delacroix, William Turner) idealized nature, believing that it is much more perfect and durable than any human creation. Another source of inspiration for them was imagination - artists immortalized the world of fantasies, dreams and beautiful visions, as well as legends, tales and magical stories.
Realism is the beauty of the surrounding world
Paintings made with this technique first appeared in France in the second half of the 19th century. In each country, this style received its own unique name - yes, in Russia it was known as "the movement", in Australia - as the "Heidelberg School", and the Americans dubbed this style the "garbage bucket school".
Realist artists tried to create the most accurate, objective, and unbiased canvases without any decorations or explanations. They often immortalized people at work, landscapes, urban architecture. The most famous representatives of the genre are I. Repin, A. Savrasov, I. Shishkin, Edward May, Eduard Manet.
Impressionism - movement, air, and light
This genre originated in the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. French painters were the first to write in this manner, but soon it spread throughout the world. The name of the style comes from one of the most famous works - the painting "Impressions. Sunrise" by Claude Monet.
Impressionist masters - Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro - mostly worked not in the studio, but in the plein air (outdoors). They developed innovative techniques of painting that allowed to show the real world as naturally as possible, preserve shadows and halftones, ripples on the water and sun glare in the picture. So, it was these artists who first used the technique of open composition, which creates the impression of movement, and also began to write with thin, light strokes - this allowed to catch changes in lighting and demonstrate the elusive passage of time.
Expressionism - emotions and deep meaning
This movement, which arose in Austria and Germany in the first decades of the 20th century, seemed to deny all the painting styles that existed before it. Artists depicted subjective reality, their experiences and feelings, deliberately distorting the colors, shapes and proportions of the picture. Until now, masters immortalized reality on canvas, while expressionists tried to reproduce symbolic structures that exist only in their minds.
Due to the fact that this direction was formed in the era of destructive wars, the characteristic motifs of the paintings are torment, human cruelty, pain and suffering. The most prominent representatives of this genre are Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh, August Macke and Marianna Veryovkina.
Symbolism - myths, dreams and fairy tales
This direction arose as a reaction to extremely dry and unbiased realism. Masters working in this manner were guided only by their own imagination and dreams, imbued each canvas with mysterious signs and hints. In addition, they widely used mythical motifs.
The works of Arthur Davis, M.A. Vrubel, George Watts, and V. Vasnetsov are vivid examples of such paintings.
Modernism - art and philosophy
Not only the works of artists, poets and writers are hidden under this name - this is how the entire cultural discourse of the 19th - the first half of the 20th centuries can be characterized. May 15, 1863 is considered the official birth date of the style. It was then that the "Salon of the Wretched" opened - an exhibition that exhibited canvases rejected by the Parisian censorship.
Working in a similar manner, the masters tried to approve new, non-traditional forms and methods, rethink the canons, make their canvases more schematic and abstract - it was believed that in this way they would more fully reflect the inner freedom and special vision of the world characteristic of the author. In addition, artists often used unusual materials - for example, Gustav Klimt created his works from gold leaf. Other famous modernist artists were Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and Wassily Kandinsky.
Cubism is a multifaceted abstraction
This direction of art appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. in France. Its name is associated with the remark of Henri Matisse, said to him when he saw J. Braque's painting: "What cubes!" (from the French "bizarreries cubiques").
Distinctive features of this style are the use of simple forms and the desire to present any objects as a set of geometric shapes. Like other avant-garde artistic styles in painting, cubism emphasized the feelings and mood of the master, trying to evoke a strong emotional response in the viewer.
Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Fernand Leger, and Paul Cézanne worked in this genre. By the way, Picasso is the most popular cubist artist. For example, his canvas "Algerian Women" was purchased in 2015 for $179.3 million, and the work "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" - for $106.5 million.
Surrealism - psychology in painting
In the early 1920s, interest in the human psyche intensified. The works of Z. Freud, K. Jung, V. Wundt described the amazing laws of consciousness, memory, and thinking. They influenced painting as well - it was under the influence of the ideas of great scientists that such a trend as surrealism arose. It is characterized by such features as an unexpected and illogical combination of various objects, allusions, collage, chaos and unpredictability.
Surrealist artists (Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, René Magritte) tried to remove everyday objects from their usual context, create an image outside the form, combine different realities.
Pop art - challenge and outrage
This direction is one of the most extraordinary and strange currents in world art. Works made in this manner can be found both at exhibitions and galleries, and in commercials, comics and posters. And the famous artist Andy Worgol even designed a label for Campbell's tomato soup! However, this did not harm his career - in 2013, the painting "Silver Car Crash (Double Crash)" was sold for $105.4 million. Masters who work in this genre ironically ridicule vulgarity, banality and stupidity, expose the vices of society - mass consumption, apathy, mindless fascination with technology. Among them - Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami.
And our online store will gladly offer you amber panels that demonstrate all styles of painting. The list of genres in which our masters work is very large - which means that you will be able to choose a unique and high-quality work that will suit you personally!