PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS

BGBNEAB, Lapu-Lapu City

INSTITUTE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
Module 04: Western Art History

ART APPRECIATION

GEC 2101

Midterm
SELF LEARNING MODULE 03: WESTERN ART HISTORY;Caught in Between: Modern and
Contemporary Art

MODULE 3 WESTERN ART; MODERN ART

Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from
the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophy of the art produced during that
era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been
thrown aside in a spirit of experimentation.

Modern artists experimented with new ways of seeing and with fresh ideas about the
nature of materials and functions of art. A tendency away from the narrative, which was
characteristic for the traditional arts, toward abstraction is characteristic of much modern art.
More recent artistic production is often called contemporary art or postmodern art.

Modern art begins with the heritage of painters like Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne,
Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec all of whom were essential for
the development of modern art.

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Caught in Between: Modern and Contemporary Art

Art Nouveau (1890–1910)

CHARACTERISTICSLong, sinuous lines and curves

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSAlphonse MuchaAntoni GaudíGustav Klimt

INFLUENTIAL WORKS
Antoni Gaudí
Church of Sagrada Familia, 1882Gustav Klimt
The Kiss, 1908Alphonse Mucha
Princess Hyacinth, 1911

Alphonse Mucha, Princess Hyazinthe, 1911. Image via Wikimedia

Commons.

Art Nouveau, which translates to “New Art,”

attempted to create an entirely authentic movement free from any imitation of styles that
preceded it. This movement heavily influenced applied arts, graphics, and illustration. It focused
on the natural world, characterized by long, sinuous lines and curves.

Influential Art Nouveau artists worked in a variety of media, including architecture, graphic and
interior design, jewelry-making, and painting. Czechoslovakian graphic designer Alphonse
Mucha is best-known for his theatrical posters of French actress Sarah Bernhardt. Spanish
architect and sculptor Antoni Gaudi went beyond focusing on lines to create curving, brightly-
colored constructions like that of the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

Impressionism (1865–1885)

CHARACTERISTICSShort, quick brushstrokes, separation of color,

sketch-like finish, modern subject matter

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSClaude MonetPierre-Auguste Renoir

INFLUENTIAL WORKSPierre-Auguste Renoir

Dance in the City, 1872Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1899

Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1872. Image via Wikimedia

Commons.

Impressionist painters sought to capture the

immediate impression of a particular moment. This was characterized by short, quick
brushstrokes and an unfinished, sketch-like feel. Impressionist artists used modern life as their
subject matter, painting situations like dance halls and sailboat regattas rather than historical
and mythological events.

Claude Monet, a French artist who spearheaded the idea of expressing one’s perceptions
before nature, is virtually synonymous with the Impressionist movement. His notable works
include The Water Lily Pond (1899), Woman with a Parasol (1875), and Impression,
Sunrise (1872), from which the name of the movement itself is derived.
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 Post-Impressionism
(1885–1910)
CHARACTERISTICSSubjective visions, symbolism, abstraction

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSGeorges SeuratVincent van Gogh

INFLUENTIAL WORKSGeorges Seurat

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,
1886Vincent van Gogh
The Starry Night, 1889

George Seurat, A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte,

1884. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Post-Impressionist painters worked independently rather than as a group, but each influential
Post-Impressionist painter had similar ideals. They concentrated on subjective visions and
symbolic, personal meanings rather than observations of the outside world. This was often
achieved through abstract forms.

Post-Impressionist painters include Georges Seurat, noted for his pointillism technique that
used small, distinct dots to form an image. Vincent van Gogh is also considered a Post-
Impressionist painter, searching for personal expression through his art, often through rugged
brushstrokes and dark tones.

Fauvism (1900–1935)

CHARACTERISTICS Expressive color, line, and brushwork, bold surface design, flat composition

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSAndré DerainHenri Matisse

INFLUENTIAL WORKSHenri Matisse

Woman with a Hat, 1905André Derain
The Houses of Parliament, 1905-1906

Henri Matisse, Woman With a Hat, 1905. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Led by Henri Matisse, Fauvism built upon examples from

Vincent van Gogh and George Seurat. As the first avant-
garde, 20th-century movement, this style was
characterized by expressive use of intense color, line, and
brushwork, a bold sense of surface design, and flat
composition.

As seen in many of the works of Matisse himself, the

separation of color from its descriptive, representational purpose was one of the core elements
that shaped this movement. Fauvism was an important precursor of Cubism and Expressionism.

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 Expressionism (1905–1920)
CHARACTERISTICSDistortion of form, strong use of colors
LEADING CONTRIBUTORSEdvard MunchWassily Kandinsky

INFLUENTIAL WORKSEdvard Munch

The Dance of Life, 1900Wassily Kandinsky
The Blue Rider, 1903

Edvard Munch, The Dance of Life, 1899. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Expressionism emerged as a response to increasingly conflicted world views and the loss of
spirituality. Expressionist art sought to draw from within the artist, using a distortion of form
and strong colors to display anxieties and raw emotions. Expressionist painters, in a quest for
authenticity, looked for inspiration beyond that of Western art and frequented ethnographic
museums to revisit native folk traditions and tribal art.

The roots of Expressionism can be traced to Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and James
Ensor. Prominent groups including Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue
Rider) formed so artists could publish works and express their ideals collectively.

Cubism (1907–1914)

CHARACTERISTICSAbstraction, flat, two-dimensional surfaces, geometric

forms, contrasting vantage points

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSGeorges BraquePablo Picasso

INFLUENTIAL WORKS Georges Braque

Violin and Palette, 1909Pablo Picasso
Guernica, 1937

Violin and Palette, Georges Braque, 1909. Image via Wikimedia

Commons.

Cubism was established by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who rejected the concept that
art should copy nature. They moved away from traditional techniques and perspectives;
instead, they created radically fragmented objects through abstraction. Many Cubist painters’
works are marked by flat, two-dimensional surfaces, geometric forms or “cubes” of objects, and
multiple vantage points. Often, their subjects weren’t even discernible.

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 Surrealism (1916–1950)

CHARACTERISTICSExploration of dreams and unconsciousness, inspired by Sigmund

Freud

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSMax ErnstRené MagritteSalvador Dalí

INFLUENTIAL WORKSSalvador Dalí

The Persistence of Memory, 1931Max Ernst
The Robing of the Bride, 1940René Magritte
The Son of Man, 1964

René Magritte, The Son of Man, 1964. Image via Wikipedia.

Surrealism emerged from the Dada art movement in

1916, showcasing works of art that defied reason.
Surrealists denounced the rationalist mindset. They
blamed this thought process on events like World War I
and believed it to repress imaginative thoughts. Surrealists were influenced by Karl Marx and
theories developed by Sigmund Freud, who explored psychoanalysis and the power of
imagination.

Influential Surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí tapped into the unconscious mind to depict
revelations found on the street and in everyday life. Dalí’s paintings in particular pair vivid and
bizarre dreams with historical accuracy.

Abstract
Expressionism
(1940s–1950s)
CHARACTERISTICSSpontaneity,
improvisation, colossally scaled works,
unique techniques

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSJackson
PollockMark Rothko

INFLUENTIAL WORKSJackson Pollock

Autumn Rhythm (Number 30),

1950Mark Rothko
Orange and Yellow, 1956

Shaped by the legacy of

Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism emerged in New York after WWII. It’s often referred to as
the New York School or action painting. These painters and abstract sculptors broke away from
what was considered conventional, and instead used spontaneity and improvisation to create
abstract works of art. This included colossally-scaled works whose size could no longer be
accommodated by an easel. Instead, canvases would be placed directly upon the floor.

Celebrated Abstract Expressionist painters include Jackson Pollock, known for his unique style
of drip painting, and Mark Rothko, whose paintings employed large blocks of color to convey a
sense of spirituality.

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 Op Art (1950s–1960s)
CHARACTERISTICS Use of colors, patterns, shapes, and
contrast to create images that appeared to be moving
or blurring

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSBridget RileyJean-Pierre

YvaralVictor Vasarely

INFLUENTIAL WORKSBridget Riley

Blaze, 1964

Heightened by advances in science

and technology as well as an
interest in optical effects and
illusions, the Op art (short for
“optical” art) movement launched
with Le Mouvement, a group
exhibition at Galerie Denise Rene in
1955. Artists active in this style
used shapes, colors, and patterns to
create images that appeared to be
moving or blurring, often produced
in black and white for maximum contrast. These abstract patterns were meant to both confuse
and excite the eye.

English artist Bridget Riley is one of the most prominent Op Art practitioners. Her 1964
artwork Blaze features zigzag black and white lines that create the illusion of a circular decent.

Pop Art
(1950s–1960s)
CHARACTERISTICSUse of everyday, mundane
objects, bold, vivid colors, mass media

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSAndy WarholRoy

Lichtenstein

INFLUENTIAL WORKSAndy Warhol

Campbell's Soup Cans, 1962Roy Lichtenstein
Brushstrokes, 1962

Andy Warhol. Sold for $17,327,500

via Sotheby’s (May 1998).

Pop art is one of the most recognizable artistic developments of the 20th century. The
movement transitioned away from methods used in Abstract Expressionism, and instead used
everyday, mundane objects to create innovative works of art that challenged consumerism and
mass media. This introduction to identifiable imagery was a shift from the direction of
modernism.

Pop artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein sought to establish the idea that art can
draw from any source and there is no hierarchy of culture to disrupt that. Perhaps the most
famous pop culture work of art is Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans production.

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Arte Povera (1960s)

CHARACTERISTICSUse of soil, rocks, paper, and

other natural elements to create a pre-
industrial sentiment

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSAlighiero
BoettiGiovanni AnselmoMario Merz

INFLUENTIAL WORKSMario Merz

Giap’s Igloo, 1968
Translating literally to “poor
art,” Arte Povera challenged
modernist, contemporary
systems by infusing
commonplace materials into
creations. Artists used soil,
rocks, paper, rope, and other
earthen elements to evoke a
pre-industrial sentiment. As a
result, many of the notable
works during this movement
are sculptural.

Italian artist Mario Merz, in

conjunction with other Italian artists such as Giovanni Anselmo and Alighiero Boetti, created
anti-elitist works by drawing upon materials from everyday life. His 1968 Giap’s Igloo, one of
what would soon become his signature series of igloos, focused on his occupations with the
necessities of life: shelter, warmth, and food.

Minimalism (1960s–
1970s)
CHARACTERISTICSA focus on exactly what the
art portrays, aside from outside realities and
emotions

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSCarl AndreDonald

JuddFrank Stella

INFLUENTIAL WORKSFrank Stella

Black Series I, 1967

The Minimalist movement

emerged in New York as a group
of younger artists began to question the overly expressive works of Abstract Expressionist
artists. Minimalist art instead focused on anonymity, calling attention to the materiality of
works. Artists urged viewers to focus on precisely what was in front of them, rather than draw
parallels to outside realities and emotive thoughts through the use of purified forms, order,
simplicity, and harmony.

American artist Frank Stella was of the earliest adopters of Minimalism, producing
nonrepresentational paintings, as seen in his Black Paintings completed between 1958 and
1960. Each features a pattern of rectilinear stripes of uniform width printed in metallic black
ink.
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Conceptual Art
(1960s–1970s)
CHARACTERISTICSAn emphasis on
ideas over visual components in
the form of performances,
ephemera, and other forms

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSJoseph
KosuthMarcel DuchampSol LeWitt

INFLUENTIAL WORKSJoseph Kosuth

One and Three Chairs, 1965

Conceptual
art completely rejected
previous art
movements, and artists
prized ideas over visual
components, creating
art in the from of
performances,
ephemera, and other
forms. Polish performance artist Ewa Partum’s Active Poetry consisted of her scattering single
alphabet letters across various landscapes. American artist Joseph Kosuth explored the
production and role of language within art, as seen in his 1965, One and Three Chairs. In it, he
represents one chair in three different ways to represent different meanings of the same object.
Because this type of art focused on ideas and concepts, there was no distinct style or form

Contemporary Art
(1970–present)
CHARACTERISTICSExploration of
Postmodernism, Feminist art, Neo
Expressionism, Street art, Appropriation art,
Digital art, and other small schools

LEADING CONTRIBUTORSJeff Koons

INFLUENTIAL WORKSJeff Koons

Michael Jackson

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The 1970s marked the beginning of contemporary art, which extends through present day. This
period is dominated by various schools and smaller movements that emerged.

• Postmodernism: In reaction against modernism, artists created works that reflected

skepticism, irony, and philosophical critiques.
• Feminist art: This movement arose in an attempt to transform stereotypes and break the
model of a male-dominated art history.
• Neo Expressionism: Artists sought to revive original aspects of Expressionism and create
highly textural, expressive, large works.
• Street art: Artists such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barry McGee, Banksy, and
more created graffiti-like art on surfaces in public places like sidewalks, buildings, and
overpasses.
• The Pictures Generation: Artists Cindy Sherman, Louise Lawler, Gary Simmons, and others
who were influenced by Conceptual and Pop art experimented with recognizable imagery to
explore images shaped our perceptions of the world.
• Appropriation art: This movement focused on the use of images in art with little
transformation from their original form.
• Young British Artists (YBA): This group of London artists were notorious for their willingness
to shock audiences through their imagery, and a willingness to push beyond limits of
decency. They’re also known for their zestful, entrepreneurial spirit.
• Digital art: The advent of the camera lent way to this artistic practice that allowed artists to
use the infusion of art and technology to create with mediums like computers, audio and
visual software, sound, and pixels.

Art movements throughout the history of Western art have offered a swath of diverse,
influential styles, techniques, and media across the globe. Each movement shed light on
distinctive painting, sculpture, architectural achievements, and other defining works.
Understanding the timeline of art history and how each period has influenced later
movements is paramount to building a thoughtful, cohesive collection.

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 Activity 1

1. Differentiate each art. Use a concept map to do this.

2. How do you think each period has influenced the next movement of art.
3. Which period would you like to belong and why?
4. From the period you have chose from no. 3, create your own art that depicts the
art of that time. Put this in a illustration board.

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RUBRIC FOR ARTWORK
Criteria 1 2 3 Score
Craftsmanship No evidence of skill Demonstrates some Demonstrates strong
development in the skills with the media; skills with the media,
media; little technical technically proficient technically
competency accomplished

Formal qualities Composition lacking a Composition lacking a Composition is

cohesive appearance cohesive appearance! cohesively unified!
Some integration of Strong integration of
elements and elements and
principles of design principles of design

Creativity Does not exhibit Exhibits innovative Exhibits distinct

innovative thinking - thinking sufficient experimentation and
very little experimentation to innovation to enhance
experimentation to enhance concepts. creative concepts.
enhance concepts.
Does not exhibit Some visible Strong apparent
creative thinking skills connection to the connection to the
-uses unoriginal or theme theme
over-used images
and/or approach

Interpretation of Topic Poor interpretation Adequate Excellent

and communication interpretation and interpretation and
of thematic concepts communication of communication of
due to inappropriate thematic concepts thematic concepts
or inadequate images
or thoughts

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 Rubrics for Scoring:

Needs Approaching
Good Excellent
improvement standards
7pts 10 pts
3pts 5 pts

Completeness Needs Approaching Good Excellent

(Ideas and Content) improvement standards

What you are writing about is What you are writing

Does your response directly answer There is no clear or You put thought into clear. You answered the about is clear and well-
each part of the assignment specific this, but there is no question. Some support may expressed, including
question(s)? explanation in real evidence of be lacking, or your sentences specific examples to
answer to the learning. More may be a bit awkward. demonstrate what you
question. specific information is Overall, a decent job. learned. Well done!
needed or you need
to follow the
directions more
closely.

Knowledge Needs Approaching Good Excellent

improvement standards
Use of terms
Your answer included several Your answer included
No terms from the Only one term from terms from the lesson, all the terms from the
Does your response clearly show you lesson are used. the lesson is used in demonstrating adequate lesson that applied to
have read and understand the lesson the answer. Try for a understanding of the the question asked. All
content by correctly defining key few more, next time. material. terms are fully defined
terms, key persons and summarizing and used in the proper
concepts? context.

Sentence Fluency Needs Approaching Good Excellent

improvement standards

Sentences are complete and Sentences are

Sentences are Some sentences are able to be understood. complete and they
incomplete or too complete and easy to connect to one
long. It makes understand. Others another easily when
reading them require some work. they are read out loud.
difficult. Your writing 'flows.'

Writing Skills Needs Approaching Good Excellent

improvement standards

Use of punctuation marks and No punctuation or

Few end marks or Mistakes using end capitals, as well as spelling, is structural mistakes. No
capital letters. marks or capitals as mostly correct. Few errors spelling errors. Your
Answers contain well as spelling exist in your answer. writing shows full
numerous spelling mistakes make the awareness of the rules
or structural writing hard to read. of English use.
errors.

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