HISTORY OF THE ART

ANCIENT ART (30,000 B.C.E. to 400 A.D.)

Many different styles of art were created over this long period. They include
those of prehistory (Paleolithic, Neolithic, the Bronze Age, etc.) to the ancient
civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the nomadic tribes. It also includes the
work found in classical civilizations like the Greeks and Celts as well as that of the
early Chinese dynasties and the civilizations of the Americas.

The artwork of this time is as varied as the cultures that created it. What ties
them together is their purpose.

MEDIEVAL TO EARLY RENAISSANCE (400 and 1400 A.D.)

Some people still refer the millennium as the "Dark Ages." The art of this
period can be considered relatively "dark" as well. Some depicted rather grotesque
or otherwise brutal scenes while others were focused on formalized religion. Yet,
the majority are not what we would call cheery.

RENAISSANCE TO EARLY MODERN ART (1400 through 1880)

Much of the notable art created during the Renaissance was Italian. It began
with the famous 15th century artists like Brunelleschi and Donatello, who led to
the work of Botticelli and Alberti. When the High Renaissance took over in the next
century, we saw the work of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

By the 1700s, Western Art followed a series of styles. These movements

included Rococo and Neo-Classicism, followed by Romanticism, Realism,
and Impressionism as well as many lesser-known styles.

In China, the Ming and Qing Dynasties took place during this period and
Japan saw the Momoyama and Edo Periods. This was also the time of the Aztec
and Inca in the Americas who had their own distinct art.

MODERN ART (1880 to 1970)

The Impressionists opened the floodgates on new paths to take and

individual artists such as Picasso and Duchamp were themselves responsible for
creating multiple movements.

The last two decades of the 1800s were filled with movements like
Cloisonnism, Japonism, Neo-Impressionism, Symbolism, Expressionism, and
Fauvism. There were also a number of schools and groups like The Glasgow Boys
and the Heidelberg School, The Band Noire (Nubians) and The Ten American
Painters.

CONTEMPORARY ART (1970’s up to the present)

There is a growing list of -isms in the art world. The 70s saw Post-
Modernism and Ugly Realism along with a surge in Feminist Art, Neo-
Conceptualism, and Neo-Expressionism. The 80s were filled with Neo-Geo,
Multiculturalism, and the Graffiti Movement, as well as BritArt and Neo-Pop.

Great Lyre from the "King's Grave" (detail: front panel) (Mesopotamian, ca. 2650-2550 B.C.). Shell and bitumen. ©
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Workshop of Giotto di Bondone (Italian, ca. 1266/76-1337). Two Apostles, 1325-37. Tempera on panel. 42.5 x 32 cm
(16 3/4 x 12 9/16 in.). © Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice

Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632-1675). The Milkmaid, ca. 1658. Oil on canvas. 17 7/8 x 16 1/8 in. (45.5 x 41 cm). SK-A-
2344. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Fernand Léger (French, 1881-1955). The Mechanic, 1920. Oil on canvas. 45 5/8 x 35 in. (115.9 x 88.9 cm). Purchased
1966. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. © 2009 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Ellsworth Kelly (American, b. 1923). Blue Yellow Red IV, 1972. Oil on three canvas panels. 43 x 42 in. overall (109.2 x
106.7 cm). The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection, Los Angeles / © Ellsworth Kelly