Learning About Art
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Art History
Learning about art inevitably involves understanding something about the history of art.
Below we have put together a general overview of art history. We trust the information will help you have a better understanding and appreciation for art.
An Introduction to Art
Art has been part of human life for tens of thousands of years. From the earliest cave paintings to digital installations today, art tells the story of who we are, how we think, and what we believe.
Art is more than just paintings in a museum or sculptures in a park—it’s a visual record of what it means to be human. Every culture, in every era, has used art to express beliefs, tell stories, record history, challenge authority, celebrate beauty, and explore the unknown. From the first cave drawings made by firelight to today’s digital masterpieces shared around the globe in seconds, art has always been at the heart of human experience.
The history of art is, in many ways, the history of us. It's how we see the world and how we want the world to see us. Through art, we can glimpse the minds of people long gone, understand the struggles and dreams of different societies, and explore how styles, ideas, and techniques have evolved over time. Whether it’s a religious icon, a political mural, or a quiet landscape painting, every piece of art offers insight into the time and place it came from.
This overview will guide you through some of the major movements and styles that shaped the world of art.
Whether you're looking to deepen your appreciation, start creating your own art, or simply understand why certain works are considered masterpieces, studying the history of art is a meaningful and enriching adventure. It’s a window into culture, identity, innovation, and imagination—and it’s open to everyone.
Art Movements
Dive into the timeline of creativity. From the earliest symbols scratched into stone to contemporary works challenging the digital age—each era has something to reveal.
Prehistoric Art (c. 40,000–3000 BCE)
Prehistoric art marks the very beginning of art history—before written language, organized society, or recorded civilization. Created by early humans tens of thousands of years ago, this art gives us rare and powerful glimpses into how our ancestors saw the world. It reflects their beliefs, survival needs, and growing sense of identity and culture.
These peoples used natural materials to create their art, such as, stone, charcoal, ochre (red or yellow pigment), bone, ivory, and clay.
They often depicted animals, handprints, human figures and fertility icons.
Many famous caves and rock shelters still illustrate prehistoric man's artworks including:- the Lascaux Cave in France.
Prehistoric art represents humanity’s first steps toward symbolic thinking, storytelling, and cultural identity.
Ancient Art (c. 3000 BCE–500 CE)
As humans transitioned from nomadic lifestyles to settled societies, the art they created became more organized, symbolic, and tied to complex beliefs and social structures.
Ancient art emerged alongside the first great civilizations—Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, China, India, and Mesoamerica—each leaving behind distinct styles and monumental works that continue to shape art today.
Some of the characteristics of art during this period included religious and political art forms to honour gods, commemorate rulers, and express cultural values.
Materials often used were stone, bronze, gold, clay and wood with artworks taking various forms, such as: sculpture, pottery, frescoes, mosaics, and architecture.
Examples of art during this period included, among others::
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Wall paintings and carvings in tombs and temples;
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Statues of gods, athletes, and heroes;
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Realistic portraiture;
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Mosaics and frescoes in buildings;
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Jade carvings;
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Bronze vessels.
Many modern art and architectural traditions still echo techniques and ideas first developed in these ancient cultures.
Medieval Art (c. 500–1400)
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe entered a period often referred to as the Middle Ages or the Medieval period.
Art during this era reflected the spiritual and social structure of the time, with Christianity playing a dominant role in Europe, while Islamic, Byzantine, and early Christian influences flourished across other parts of the world.
Medieval art was less focused on realism and individual expression and more concerned with conveying religious meaning, symbolism, and spiritual ideals.
Artworks might depict highly stylized figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and saints. Mosaics were painted in churches.
Perspective or proportion had less focus, with the paintings more concerned with creating a spiritual atmosphere.
Gothic art also emerged during this period, often evidenced in buildings and churches featuring stained glass windows, pointed arches, flying buttresses; and sculptures of saints adorning the exterior of cathedrals.
Medieval art is a window into spirituality and religion, showing the profound influence of the Church.
Art from the 14th to the mid-18th Century
The period from the 14th to the mid-18th century was one of the most transformative eras in the history of art. Spanning over 400 years, this time saw the rebirth of classical ideals, the rise of humanism, and the evolution of dramatic and emotionally charged expression. Artists moved away from rigid, symbolic styles of the Middle Ages and began to explore realism, perspective, the human body, and natural light—forever changing the way we view art and the world.
This era is typically divided into several major artistic periods, namely:
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The Renaissance
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The Baroque Period
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Neoclassicism; and
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Romanticism.
Renaissance (circa. 1400–1600)
The Renaissance, meaning “rebirth” in French, was a revolutionary cultural movement that emerged in Italy in the 14th century and spread across Europe over the next 200 years. It marked a dramatic shift from the medieval world to a new era focused on humanism, individual achievement, and the rediscovery of classical art and philosophy from ancient Greece and Rome.
In the world of art, the Renaissance sparked an explosion of creativity, innovation, and realism, producing some of the most celebrated artists and masterpieces in history.
Artists began to explore the natural world, human anatomy, space, and perspective with scientific precision and poetic imagination.
Renaissance artists studied the human body, nature, and light to depict subjects more accurately and with emotional depth.
Linear perspective, developed in the early 1400s, helped create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface.
And the use of light and shadow helped to create depth and volume.
Famous artists of this period included Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Jan van Eyck: Early; and Albrecht Dürer, among other notables.
The renaissance not only saw advances in art, but also:- printing, science, architecture, music, and literature.
The renaissance period produced timeless masterpieces that continue to inspire today, such as:
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Michelangelo’s "The Creation of Adam", which is a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome, Italy; and
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Leonardo’s enigmatic "Mona Lisa", which is kept at the Louvre, Paris, France.
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Baroque (circa. 1600–1750)
Baroque art flourished across Europe from around 1600 to 1750.
Unlike the calm balance and harmony of the Renaissance, the Baroque style embraced intensity, theatricality, and grandeur.
Baroque art was designed to impress—to draw the viewer in with emotional power, dramatic light, dynamic movement, and ornate detail.
The Italian artist known as Caravaggio (29 September 1571 to 18 July 1610) was renowned for portraying emotion and using dramatic lighting in his artworks. His style being a formative influence on Baroque painting.
Baroque artists are associated with creating large scale artworks that illustrate vigor, dramatic intensity, and powerful use of light and shadow.
A number of famous artists emerged during the Baroque period, including Rembrandt (15 July 1606 to 4 October 1669) and Johannes Vermeer (October 1632 to 15 December 1675).
Rembrandt's most recognized artwork is "The Night Watch", hung at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Vermeer's most famous artwork is "Girl with a Pearl Earring", is currently hung at The Mauritshuis museum, The Hague, Netherlands.
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Neoclassicism (circa. 1750 - 1830s)
Neoclassicism was an art movement that emerged in the mid-18th century as a reaction to the extravagance and emotion of the Baroque styles.
This period coincided with what is referred to as the Age of Enlightenment, which was an intellectual and philosophical movement beginning in Europe. It emphasized reason, science, individualism, and human progress over tradition, superstition, and unquestioned authority.
Enlightenment thinkers admired Ancient Greece and Rome as civilizations that valued reason, democracy, law, and civic virtue—all central Enlightenment ideals. Neoclassicism, in turn, visually revived these classical forms, for example:
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Art and architecture became orderly, balanced, and logical;
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Artists aimed for clarity of composition and harmony, reflecting Enlightenment emphasis on reason and structure;
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Sculptures and paintings often depicted philosophers, democratic leaders, and heroic acts of virtue, echoing Enlightenment values.
Famous painters during this period included:
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Jacques-Louis David;
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Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Romanticism (circa. 1800–1850s)
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Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that emerged in Europe at the end of the 18th century, largely as a reaction to the Enlightenment and Neoclassicism.
While the Enlightenment emphasized reason, order, and rationality - Romanticism celebrated emotion, individuality and nature.
Romantic art is typified by expressive feelings as opposed to logic. The natural environment took on greater importance with depictions of vast mountains, violent storms, or serene landscapes.
Romantics valued personal experience and often celebrated the misunderstood genius, the lonely wanderer, or the rebellious hero.
Unlike the classical focus on realism, Romantic artists turned toward dreams, myths, exotic cultures, and supernatural themes.
Many Romantic works explored folk tales, medieval legends, and national histories to express identity and cultural pride.
Romanticism rejected the structured rules of classical art. Brushstrokes became looser, compositions more dynamic, and themes more personal or spiritual.
Famous romantic artists included:
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Francisco Goya;
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Eugène Delacroix; and
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William Turner.
Modern Art
Modern Art represents a period of radical innovation and transformation in artistic expression. Emerging in the late 19th century and continuing into the 20th, modern artists rejected classical traditions and instead explored new ideas, forms, techniques, and meanings. This was a time of rapid social, political, technological, and psychological change—and artists responded in bold, diverse, and often revolutionary ways.
Impressionism
(circa 1870 to 1890)
Impressionism was one of the most groundbreaking movements in Western art history. Emerging in France during the 1870s, it marked a radical departure from the academic traditions of the time.
Impressionist artists broke the rules of fine art to capture something more elusive: the fleeting, everyday moments of modern life, especially how light and atmosphere could transform a scene.
Rather than presenting polished historical or mythological themes, Impressionists chose contemporary subjects, painted with visible brushstrokes and vibrant, unblended colours, often working outdoors (en plein air) to directly observe the world around them.
Famous impressionist painters include:
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Claude Monet
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Pierre-Auguste Renoir
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Edgar Degas
Although initially dismissed by some art critics of the time, Impressionism eventually became one of the most beloved and influential movements in art history. It opened the door to modernist experimentation and inspired movements like Post-Impressionism and Fauvism.
Post Impressionism
(circa 1886 to 1905)
Post-Impressionism refers to a diverse group of painters in the late 19th century who were inspired by Impressionism but wanted to move beyond its limitations.
While Impressionists focused on capturing fleeting moments and the play of light, Post-Impressionists sought deeper meaning—through bold colour, personal symbolism, structure, and emotion.
This movement encompasses the individual styles of some of the most innovative painters in art history, including:
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Vincent van Gogh
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Paul Cézanne
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Paul Gauguin
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Georges Seurat
Fauvism
(circa 1905 to 1910)
Fauvism was the first major avant-garde movement of the 20th century, known for its bold use of colour, simplified forms, and emotional expression.
The term Fauvism comes from the French word “fauves” meaning “wild beasts,” a nickname coined by a shocked critic who saw their radical artworks in 1905.
Though short-lived, Fauvism broke decisively from traditional painting and laid the foundation for modern expressionism and abstraction.
Famous artists of the period included:
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Henri Matisse
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André Derain
Expressionism
(circa 1905 to 1930s)
Expressionism was an early 20th-century art movement that emphasized emotional intensity, personal experience, and psychological depth over realism.
Artists used distorted forms, exaggerated lines, and bold colours to convey deep, often unsettling feelings such as anxiety, alienation, and spiritual longing.
Unlike movements focused on depicting the external world (like Realism or Impressionism), Expressionism was about capturing the artist’s internal state, especially during a time of widespread societal change, war, and existential questioning.
Expressionism emerged during a period of rapid industrialization, political unrest, and existential anxiety in Europe, especially in Germany and Austria arising from pre-WWI tensions and later the trauma of the war itself; and the rise of psychology (Freud, Jung), which influenced exploration of the inner self.
Well regarded Expressionist painters included:
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Edvard Munch
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Wassily Kandinsky
Cubism
(circa 1907 to 1915)
Cubism was one of the most revolutionary art movements of the 20th century.
Rather than portraying the world from a single viewpoint, Cubist artists deconstructed objects and reassembled them in abstract, geometric forms—allowing multiple perspectives to be seen at once.
This radical approach broke from centuries of tradition and laid the foundation for modern abstract art.
Cubism can be characterised as follows:
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Subjects are broken into flat planes and angular shapes
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Objects are shown from several perspectives at once
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The background and foreground often merge
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Early Cubism used a limited colour palette, mostly:- earth tones, grays, blacks, and ochres.
Famous cubist artists include:
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Pablo Picasso
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Georges Braque
Surrealism
(circa 1924 to 1940s)
Surrealism was a 20th-century avant-garde movement that sought to liberate the unconscious mind and merge dreams with reality.
Surrealism was born out of the chaos following World War I. Artists and writers sought to challenge rationality, logic, and order—embracing irrationality, absurdity, dreams, and desire instead.
Surrealist artworks typically depicts:
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Bizarre, illogical, or fantastical scenes often drawn from dreams or the subconscious
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Combination of unrelated objects or scenes in strange, often unsettling ways
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Symbolism and hidden meanings
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Automatism, that is, techniques aimed at allowing the unconscious to express itself freely—such as free drawing or writing without conscious control
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Distortions of reality, creating impossible scenes and warped environments.
Surrealist artists include:
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Salvador Dali
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Max Ernst
Abstract Expressionism
(circa 1940s to 1950s)
Abstract Expressionism was the first American art movement to gain international influence.
It emphasized spontaneity, emotional intensity, and the subconscious, often through large-scale, abstract works that invited viewers to feel rather than interpret.
This movement wasn’t about painting a picture of something—it was about using the act of painting to explore the artist’s inner world.
Abstract Expressionism is often associated with:
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Art without a recognizable subject
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Focus on colour and form
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Large scale artworks meant to engulf the viewer
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Energetic and spontaneous brush strokes
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Art as an outlet for emotion, such as, anxiety and joy
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The process of creating as opposed to the final work
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Uniqueness in applying a medium, such as, dripping, flinging, or slashing paint onto the surface
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Use of non-traditional tools, for example, sticks, knives, poured or splattered paint, etc.
Famous abstract expressionist artists include:
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Jackson Pollock
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Willem de Kooning
Pop Art
(circa 1950s to 1960s)
Pop Art emerged in the 1950s and exploded in the 1960s as a bold, colourful response to the consumer-driven culture of the post-World War II era.
It celebrated—and simultaneously critiqued—mass media, advertising, celebrity culture, and everyday objects, bringing the imagery of popular culture into the realm of fine art.
Key Pop Art artists included:
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Andy Warhol
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Roy Lichtenstein
Contemporary Art
(1970s to present)
Contemporary art refers to art made from the late 20th century to the present day, reflecting the complexity, diversity, and innovation of our modern world.
Unlike earlier movements, it doesn't follow a single style or set of rules—instead, it explores individual expression, global perspectives, new technologies, and social issues.
It is the most diverse and dynamic period in art history, constantly evolving alongside changes in culture, politics, and technology.
There are a number of well known contemporary artists, including among many others:
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Jeff Koons
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Banksy
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Cindy Sherman
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David Hockney
