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Not truly a cohesive movement, and was only coined posthumously by an art critic for the artists involved.
:They rejected the naturalism of Impressionism
:Thick paints, with vivid and sometimes unnatural or arbitrary colors.
:They emphasized geometric forms that were distorted in service of expression.
:Additionally, heavily influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, especially in the case of Van Gogh.
:Pointilism also made its debut during this time, a scientific approach to art. -
Georges Seurat, Bathers at Asnieres,1884,oil on canvas,201.2x298.7cm, National Gallery, London.
:The father of Pointilism made his start here, with vibrant colors all throughout
:A modern scene, and many of the figures are fairly simplified in shape but otherwise full of color.
:Bold lines define everyone and everything in this picture -
Vincent Van Gogh, The Potato Eaters, 1885, oil on canvas, 82x114cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
:One of Vincent's first paintings, the darkness seems to increase abstraction in the painting.
:There's a thick application of paint, and the dark seems to heighten the feeling of desperation for these people.
:However, other colors involved make these people seem sickly, such as the shades of yellow and red in splotches on the face. -
Vincent Van Gogh, The Courtesan, 1887, oil on canvas, 105.4x60.3cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
:Beautiful colors, as is usual for for many post-impressionist paintings, especially Van Gogh.
:However this is a clear example of Japonaiserie, a fascination with the Japanese (Primarily through the Dutch, as they had exclusive trading rights with them) art forms, especially wood-block prints, similar in feel to Orientalism but isn't usually racist, as they were imitating the art forms with care. -
Georges Seurat, Young Woman Powdering Herself, 1888, oil on wood,44.8x36.2x7.6cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.
:Aha! Pointilism! A scientific approach to painting that put dots of colors next to each other to imitate things like a blending of color!
:Vivid colors, and a rejection of Naturalism from Impressionism in the depiction of a modern woman getting ready for the day.
:Her figure is definitely more abstracted than normal, as no human could be in that shape. -
Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889, oil on canvas,73.7x92.1cm,MoMA, New York.
:Ah Van Gogh, his most well known painting full to bursting with color, some of it arbitrary in the case of the moon.
:However, it is thickly and beautifully painted onto the canvas, with each individual brushstroke visible, in the case of the sky especially.
:Forms all around are distorted, but in service to the expression of the artist and the emotion they want to capture. (Sublime wonder perhaps?) -
A heavily Eurocentric trend of white artists taking inspiration from art that came from Africa, Oceania, and Native Americans.
:potentially used to critique European painting techniques
:But employed simpler shapes and more abstract figures to seek connection on a spiritual level with an idealized pre-industry past.
:Many white artists "went native" to fully experience this connection and have illicit relations with native people. -
Paul Gauguin,Manao Tupapau,1892, oil on burlap mounted on canvas,116.05x134.62x13.34cm, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
:This creep painted his child-bride in this position, remniscent of "Olympia", but instead reducing her power by flipping her onto her stomach.
:Her form is mostly flattened, but the background and foreground aren't very merged.
:There's also a spirit of the dead in the background, his wife mentioned them following her since marrying him. -
Paul Gauguin, Two Tahitian Women, 1899, oil on canvas,94x72.4cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
:Both women are shown in native dress, partially nude for the gaze of the viewer.
:They're also seen gathering fruit and unashamed of their nakedness, a potential reference to the Garden of Eden and innocence.
:They both seem especially young, maybe because they are, but it could be another reference to that childlike innocence that's part of Primitivism. -
:Abritrary color schemes for their paintings.
: Rejected Academic standards, and let their brushstrokes be expressive, painterly, and fairly easily seen.
:Ever increasing abstraction and a flattening of the space on the canvas to focus on the expression of emotions and intuition of the artist. -
Paul Cezanne, Table, Napkin, Fruit, 1900,oil on canvas,47x56cm, The Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania.
:Incredible color, with an assortment apples, no arbitrary colors otherwise.
:The background seems to have merged a bit with the foreground however, as it almost looks like the fruits are going to roll right off the table.
:The form of the apples are somewhat simplified, mostly just basic spheres. -
Henri Matisse, Luxe, Calme et Volupte, 1904, oil on canvas, 37x46", Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
:Despite the use of abritrary colors, Matisse uses a form of Divisionism (similar to Pointilism) to create a scene of relaxed nudity, mostly women.
: Many Fauvists increasingly painted nude women for their own pleasure, just like in this painting.
:Additionally, as was common, fauvist paintings were very abstract, like this one and each of it's figures and the surrounding environs. -
Paul Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire,1905,oil on canvas,73x91.9cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
:Vivid colors abundant!
:Paul repainted this painting several times throughout his life
:Thick paint usage with simple geometric forms, yet still beautiful. -
Henri Matisse, Le Bonheur de Vivre, oil on canvas, 1905, 68.9x94.9inches, The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
: Luscious color usage, and every figure is simplified and sinous.
: All of these feminine figures are nude and engaged in activities of leisure and pleasure, Matisse's desire to see naked women (i.e. the Male Gaze) is heavily at play here
: When this priemiered in the 1905 Salon, it caused quite a stir since none of these figures are set mythologically, and because of the bold colors. -
Formed in Dresden in 1905 with artists like Emil Nolde, Erich Heckel, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
: Frequently commented on the effects of industrialization that were detrimental.
: Attempted to use pre-academic forms and more primitive methods of painting to express emotion.
: Intense color contrast was a common feature for many pieces, along with simplified forms.
: Nudity and sexuality was also explored in their works with a certain frankness. -
:This art movement has two primary groups that defined this era of modern art for Germany. However it does share some of these features with Expressionism in general:
: Frequently explored themes of imperalism, existentialism, and social ills.
: Influenced by the Russian Mexican Revolutions, the Great Depression, emerging psychoanalysis (Frued, Jung, etc.), Social Darwinism Pseudoscience.
: Additionally, WW1, WW2
:Craniology and Phrenology are also prevalent during this time. -
Andre Derain, The Dance, 1906, oil on canvas, 68.9x88.6inches, Fridart Foundation Collection (Private Collection).
: Amazingly lush colors with somewhat clear brushstrokes.
: Here it is much easier to see the flattening of spaces that is common with Fauvism, as the figures seem to pull different parts of the composition towards them
: Additionally, Primitivism also shows here with the subject matter of women who are mostly nude dancing in tune with nature, their forms simplified. -
Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,1907, oil on canvas, 243.9x233.7cm,MoMA, New York.
:Pablo's work here features very basic shapes and bright colors.
:The two women on the right have faces that are reminiscent of African masks, unfortunately without the original context they were held in.
:The figures are fairly abstracted as well, with major flattening of them between the background and foreground. -
Cubism came in two primary forms, Analytic and Synthetic. This entry focuses on Analytic.
:This movement style abandoned linear perspective entirely.
:Forms painted were open, and along with the composition was abstract and fragmented.
:While it experiments with movement and space (think frame-by-frame of a movie scene), it also fractures the picture plane, merging and mashing background and foreground elements.
:Also Heavily inspired by Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon". -
Georges Braque, Houses at L'Etasque, 1908, oil on canvas,28.7x23.6inches, Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland.
: While Cubism may have majorly gotten their start with Picasso, Georges Braque was one of the other notable artists of this movement.
: This piece showcases clear aspects of Analytical Cubism in that it incredibly abstracted, with the normal hallmarks of a painting, like a horizon line and separation between back- and foregrounds, being completely gone or distorted beyond recognition. -
Georges Braque, Violin and Palette, 1909, oil on canvas, 36.1x16.9inches, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
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An art movement that was heavily associated with Italy~Focused on visual depictions of speed and movement.
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Franz Marc, The Yellow Cow, 1911, oil on canvas, 55.4x74.5inches, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
:One of the more well known pieces involved with Der Blaue Reiter.
: Blue represented masculinity and yellow was feminine, and it is theorized that this happy cow is supposed to be Franz's wife Maria.
: This happy cow and the surrounding background is abstracted and laden with color meaning, red also represented the terrestrial realm in Franz's works. -
August Macke, Der Sturm, 1911, oil on canvas, 44.1x33.1inches, Saarland museum, Saarbrucken, Germany.
: A purely abstract piece by Macke, whose life was cut short during World War 1.
: Here you can infer the feeling of a landscape bearing the power of a storm, yet there seems to be figures or pieces of figures in the storm?
: This shows that many Expressionist pieces are meant to inspire strong emotions in the viewer. -
Started in Munich, founded by Franz Marc Wassily Kandisky.
:They believed color form had innate spiritual values.
: Inspired by Post-Impressionists, Fauvists, and Symbolists.
:Drew parallels between music and art. Commonly named their paintings with musical terms. This was especially important as Kandisky had synesthesia -
The second form/phase of Cubism, very short-lived as it peaked around 1914, when many French artists became involved in the brewing World War 1.
:This movement pioneered collage works, mixing painting and other non-traditional materials to create new works(Glass, newspaper, etc.)
:Cubists of this kind experimented with flattening the image while also introducing objects to help alter the viewer's perspective. -
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Street Berlin; 1913, oil on canvas, 47.5x38.8inches, MoMA New York.
:Many Expressionists considered prostitutes to be icons of modern social ills, and many problems of industrialized society are exemplified in her.
: These women depicted are those prostitutes, their forms disorted and distorting the rest of the composition behind them. -
Pablo Picasso, Three Women,1908, oil on canvas,200x178cm,State Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg.
:Once again, the faces of these 3 women are all made in the same style of African mask as his others
:The 3 women are all molding into one another, and the only reason they haven't molded into the background is because it's a different color.
:Each of the figures is also incredibly geometric and simplified from a real life figure. -
Wassily Kandisky, Composition VIII, 1923, oil on canvas, 55.25x79inches, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
: A purely abstract piece by Kandisky, and while outside the time of Der Blaue Reiter, exemplified one of its tenets that there are parallels between music and art.
: Which was supported by Kandisky's synesthesia, and many pieces like this took on names that are associated with musical terms. -
Pollitt, Ben. “Smarthistory – Paul Gauguin, Spirit of the Dead Watching.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/gauguin-spirit-of-the-dead-watching/.
Harris, Dr. Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Smarthistory – Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’avignon.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/pablo-picasso-les-demoiselles-davignon/.
Cramer, Dr. Charles, and Dr. Kim Grant. “Smarthistory – Pablo Picasso, Three Women.” Smarthistory, 7 Apr. 2020, smarthistory.org/pablo-picasso-three-women/. -
“Paul Gauguin - Two Tahitian Women.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436446. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Harvey, Ben. “Smarthistory – Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/cezanne-mont-sainte-victoire/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
“Table, Napkin, and Fruit (Un Coin de Table) (1895-1900) by Paul Cezanne.” Artchive, www.artchive.com/artwork/table-napkin-and-fruit-un-coin-de-table-paul-cezanne-1895-1900/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025. -
Harris, Dr. Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Smarthistory – Vincent van Gogh, the Potato Eaters.” Smarthistory, 8 Jan. 2020, smarthistory.org/van-gogh-potato-eaters/. Accessed Oct 1, 2025.
Paulson, Dr. Noelle. “Smarthistory – Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night.” Smarthistory, 9 Aug. 2015, smarthistory.org/van-gogh-the-starry-night/. Accessed Oct 1, 2025. -
Harris, Dr. Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Smarthistory – Georges Seurat, Bathers at Asnières.” Smarthistory, 27 Nov. 2015, smarthistory.org/georges-seurat-bathers-at-asnieres/.
“Young Woman Powdering Herself | All Works | the MFAH Collections.” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, emuseum.mfah.org/objects/43859/young-woman-powdering-herself. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025. -
“Courtesan: After Eisen - Vincent Van Gogh - Google Arts Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/courtesan-after-eisen-vincent-van-gogh/qQE--vZw_i8aPA?hl=en. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.