The Modern Art Movements

"What distinguishes modern art from the art of other ages is criticism."
-Octavio Paz

The Modern Art movements can be said to have begun in the mid 19th century. Up until this point, the artists of the world focused their artwork on realistic depictions of the world around them. They made their living solely on commission work, government sponsorship, and exhibitions chosen by government officials. Needless to say, a change was about to come. Insisting that there was more to express and teach through art was not only an artistic movement, but a social development as well.

The first group dedicated to this change were the Impressionists in Paris, circa 1860. The term was coined by a Claude Monet painting called Impression, Sunrise. The artists belonging to the movement were the same artists who had been rejected by the Academie des Beaux-Arts--the largest art institute in France. This indeed caused tension, and upon exhibition in 1863, it also caused the beginning of the movement. The impressionists concentrated on the light of objects in painting and the change of light over time. They insisted that painters should paint with natural light, concentrating on landscapes and scenes of daily life.

Artists:
Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Frederic Bazille, Edgar Degas, Gustave Caillebotte, Edouard Manet, Elena Filatov, Peter Severen Kroyer and the American Mary Cassatt.

Fauvism
Comes from the French word 'fauve' meaning wild animal. This movement, first exhibited in 1905 took inspiration from Impressionism. At the time, Vincent Van Gogh , Paul Gauguin and Paul Cezanne had taken Impressionism to its limits. Teetering on the brink were the Fauvists who used astounding color in its most bold form. Henri Matisse who sought to create "art to delight" is thought to be the leader of this movement. Although it wasn't long lasting, it was an interesting movement, based more on aesthetic than philosophy.

Artists:
Albert Marquet, Andre Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, Giovanni Giacometti and Henri Matisse.

Expressionism
Began in Germany around 1905 and lasted throughout the thirties. Dark and emotional, the goal of Expressionists was to express their view of reality through distortion. Not the most gleeful movement of all, but very poignant. Two groups of artists contributed. One in Dresden called Die Bruecke meaning the bridge, and one in Munich calledDer Blaue Reiter,meaning The Blue Rider. One of the most famous pieces of the movement is The Scream by Norweigen Edvard Munch--an excellent example of the inner artist coming to life through his work.

Artists
Die Bruecke-- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein, Otto Mueller, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, American Mark Rothko, Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani, Franz Marc, August Macke, Gabriele M