Neoclassicism:
Inspired by western classical art and culture, particularly of Ancient Greece and Rome.
"The Coronation of Napoleon" by Jacques Louid David, 1805
Oil on Canvas
The artist has used precision brush strokes for soft textures and aesthetic, with slow linear brush strokes to add in plenty of detail. Base colours may have been added into the image first, with finer details added on top with a thinner brush.
David created this piece after becoming the official court painter to the new Royal regime of France after Napoleon Bonaparte came to power at the end of the French Revolution (1789-1799). This Revolution will have greatly influenced this piece due to Emporer Napoleon's new reign, and David will have painted this piece to glorify him and his exploits in a radically democratic republic.
The image uses warm colours to express a positive mood of the painting, helping to show viewers that this event was a good decision for France. It was during this point in his life that his work primarily used warm tones.
The artist has used complimentary colours such as reds and golds, and has created texture with the paint to simulate the textures of the fabrics in the clothing, as well as the walls and pillars, giving each its appropriate texture by changing brush strokes and application of paint. His use of light (the direction of which is shown by the shadow of the upper left balcony) is shown in every person and also in the scenery, and David uses simply the variety of tones to give his work shape, instead of creating outlines to depict every detail of the scene. The space of the image is carefully and painstakingly filled which each and every person present at the scene at the time, and Davis has even created depth within the image by fading out the people further away using darker tones of their colours. This gives the impression of the building going further back to reveal more people sat observing the Coronation.
Romanticism:
This movement was partially a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of what was known as the 'Age of Enlightenment'. Beginning in the 18th century, it was known as a set of ideas and philosophy that started in Europe which valued science and fact and rationality over traditional customs and morals. This movement used emotion translated into aesthetics, introducing emotions such as terror and awe in confrontation of the unknown. This art style harnessed imagination as escapism from current problems such as population growth and industrialism (where the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th century plays its part).
"Liberty Leading the People" by Eugène Delacroix
Oil on Canvas
The artist has used a thick brush to apply the media to the canvas background scenery, with a thinner brush creating the figures in the foreground. The shading has been applied smoothly, which suggests that the paint has either gradually been applied in stages or has been watered down to wash out the colour slightly.
The first noticeable thing about this image is the use of very dark, dismal colours in the background of the image with much brighter colours in the centre, especially the two figures with the flag and guns in the light. This piece was inspired by the Parisians marching for liberty, peace and equality, with the positive imagery of a woman and child lit in a golden glow, while climbing over the dark, dingy bodies in the background to obtain their goal of achieving freedom. The space is effectively used to draw attention to the two central figures, and the change in tone helps viewers to percive them in a positive light.
The use of light and shadow provides shape to the people and scenery without the use for outline. Also, the brightness of the blue, white and red of the flag draw attention to it, helping the viewer to understand a little more about the image.
This image also inspired the band Coldplay in creation of the video and song, 'Viva la Vida', using the image as background for their video and cover for the single track.
Realism:
The realist style is fairly self-explanitory, being known as a style based on what a person can physically see, without any idealisation or falseness to portray figures and scenes in a more positive and idealistic light. The idea has appeared in as early as ancient Egyptian times, using realistic proportions for animals in their art, though the human figures were still unrealistic in porportion.
"A Burial at Ornans" by Gustave Courbet, 1850
Similar to the previous techniques, smooth textures have been created in this work using precise linear brush strokes with the paint, looking carefully at the figures he was painting to ensure the colour and textures were as accurate as possible. Base colour could have been applied first, with detail applied on top in a thinner brush.
This painting was created in rememberance of the death of Courbet's great uncle, and was painted in unflattering and accurate realism. It was painted on a very large canvas traditionally used for heroic, glorifying or religious paintings held in higher regard.
The artist has used quite deep colours to show the negative mood of the image, using what little light was present in the image for lighting and shade to help outline the figures in the scene. Due to what's going on in this scene, there isn't much of a range of tone in clothing and scenery, and the background helps to use the upper space of the canvas where the figures in the foreground use the majority of the lower space.
Symbolism:
Symbolism was mostly known as the more 'gothic' side of Romanticism, most inspired by the works of writer Edgar Allen Poe. It veered towards abstraction and was a response to the Realism movement. Symbolist art was known as static and hieratic (related to religion). The movement was more in favour of spirituality and imagination over harsh reality and anti-idealistic views.
"The Death of the Grave Digger" by Carlos Schwabe, 1895
Paint on canvas
Once again the techniques used here will be varying thickness of brushes and linear strokes to ensure smooth texture, with finer brushes for details and shaping of the image.
This image is a huge change from Realism. The use of contrasting colours such as the black of the angel against the white snow, and the brown and grey earth beside the green light in the angel's hands is quite complimentary and imaginative. There is not much use of light and shadow here, using the background instead as a background light on which the foreground characters stand out. The painted characters themselves are created without outline, and the space is used very well with the graveyard fading into the distance behind the dying weeping willow. Everything about this image suggests death, showing that it is a very emotive piece that will have caused controversy in the current time.
Impressionism:
This movements was a huge change from the previous movements of the century. This was a very open art style, with visible workings like brush strokes and application of media, and the emphasis of ever-changing light, showing passage of time in a single still frame. This style used ordinary subjects as points for art, as well as the inclusion of movement and original angles to start the work from.
Artists from this era drew inspiration from artists such as Delacroix. The style really broke the rules of art, allowing the bare raw media to easily be seen by viewers of the art. Also, this era of art saw painters working outdoors, as opposed to the traditional indoor work, which could limit the amount of light artists could get.
"Impression, Sunrise" by Claude Monet, 1872
Oil on canvas
The artist used very large brush strokes with watered down paint for the background colours, with thicker paint and a thinner brush over the base coat to apply the foreground imagery and silhouettes. The application of the sun and its reflection adds the final finish to the image, using watered down paint for the reflection, and thicker paint for the sun itself.
The focal point of this calm, gentle-feeling painting is the bright sun hanging over the scenery. The artist mostly uses cool colours for this water-based scene, with just the sun seeming to shed light over the area. When measured with a photometer, however, it has been discovered that the sun is no brighter than the sky above, and seems to disappear in a grey-scaled version of the image. This is because of the surrounding blues of the sky that helps the bright orange to stand out, whereas the sky is shown in the same colour scheme together across the top of the painting. The darker silhouette in the foreground gives the paler background one depth within the image, suggesting that the painting contains distance within the scenery. Line is very clear in this work, as the brush strokes have been freely applied with no intention of hiding the work of the media and techniques.
Post-Impressionism:
A continuation of Impressionism but without limits, this era of art saw bright, vivid surreal colours used in work, as well as more of a focus on geometric form, expressive distortion of form, as well as the wild use of colour.
"The Centenary of Independence" by Henri Rousseau, 1892
Paint on canvas
The artist mainly used block colours of thick paint on a large brush to create non-realistic figures, and uses a dark colour as a base to make the foreground stand out. A colour wash (with watered down paint) has been applied for the sky, with a fine brush used with thicker paint to overlay the tree onto the sky.
This highly colourful piece has a highly positive mood, showing people in idealised, non-realistic form enjoying a dance together. It shows a celebration of life and culture with the bright flags in the edges of the painting, and clearly lacks any sign of realism in the style. Little light is used to create shadow, and the characters are almost completely block colour figures, shown well in movement, making the painting feel more 'alive'.
Art Nouveau
This art movement, once again, is very different to any previous movements. It was an international style of art and architecture, and brought down the barriers between fine and applied art. It was a focus on new and modern techniques and practises, and helped people to see art in any object without overlooking its meaning and values. This was a completely new approach to art, hence the name Art Nouveau (New Art).
"Aperitif Mugnier" by Jules Cheret, 1894
Paint and lithographic plate print
The artist has used lithography, a metal plate used for early print-making, to create the consistent style of the lettering in the poster. Lithography could also have been used on the character, or ink with watercolours, using thin, linear lines for the curved figure.
This piece takes elements from Post-Impressionism with moving figures and bright, bold colours, and shows an early style of Graphic Design, using typography and even 3D lettering to advertise the purpose of the poster (earning the artist the title 'father of the modern poster'). The figure is stylised and idealistic rather than realist, and would attract attention easily, especially from a male audience, due to the aesthetics of the woman in the poster. The artist has mainly used reds, white and blues for this image, making it stand out easily, especially with the blue used as sky, helping the woman to stand out as a foreground image. Outlines have been used, which is rare compared to the other movements of this century, which used the colour itself to create the form. The space is used creatively with the lettering and human form to fill most of the space without the image looking too busy.
Early Film and Photography:
In the 1860s, people began to create and use devices such as the zoetrope and mutoscope to create motion from 2-Dimensional drawings. This became the very foundation of film and animation, but each image was stored on a separate camera. By the 1880s the motion picture camera was created, allowing several images to be stored on one reel of film, which made the animating process quicker and easier.
Originally motion pictures contained no sound, and instead music was played alongside the showing of the film. This was the birth of the the film industry, that really began to take off from World War I, eventually introducing a track containing music, sound effects and speech together to really bring film to life.
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