A Guide to Art Movements and Styles

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<span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <main> <div class="md-page-wrapper"> <div id="content" class="md-content"> <div class="container mb-30"> <picture> <source media="(min-width:1024px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/kstm/14188/A-Guide-to-Art-Movements-and-Styles-desktop.jpg" /> <source media="(min-width:768px" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/kstm/14188/A-Guide-to-Art-Movements-and-Styles-tablet.jpg" /> <source media="(max-width:768px" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/kstm/14188/A-Guide-to-Art-Movements-and-Styles-mobile.jpg" /> <img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/kstm/14188/A-Guide-to-Art-Movements-and-Styles-tablet.jpg" alt="A Guide to Art Movements and Styles" /> </picture> <div class="text-center super-title mt-40 mb-20"> <h1 class="display-2 m-0 d-inline-block"> A Guide to Art Movements and Styles<hr class="mt-5 m-0 rounded" /> </h1> </div> <div class="text-box"> <h1 dir="ltr"><strong>What Are Art Movements?</strong></h1> <p dir="ltr">Art movements break up tens of thousands of years of art history into time periods or categories that have common techniques, themes, or philosophies. Some movements have been demarcated retrospectively, some identified contemporaneously as part of a larger cultural trend, and others defined by the artists themselves. The delimitation of an art movement is not meant to be conclusive, but, rather, it provides a flexible category that can overlap with others and is open to revision and debate. </p></div> <div class="full-width-media media1" > <div class="full-width-media-container INFOGRAM" style="width:1200px"> <div style="width:100%; aspect-ratio: 1200/500"> <script id="infogram_0__/7NSTuG8Lpd5OgdagZbc2" src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?Itp" type="text/javascript" title="Impressionist art movement"></script> </div> </div> </div> <h2 class="mt-60"></h2> <div class="mt-30 article-cards1-slider"> <div class="m-n10 "> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 card-snap-slider col-100"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex col-100"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Abstract-Expressionism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/85/262085-050-CDEAC514/City-Landscape-1955-by-Joan-Mitchell.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Joan Mitchell: City Landscape" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Abstract-Expressionism" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Abstract Expressionism</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Abstract Expressionism, broad movement in American painting that began in the late 1940s and became a dominant trend in Western... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Cubism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/181721-050-4EC50715/Les-Demoiselles-dAvignon-Oil-painting-canvas-The.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Pablo Picasso: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Cubism" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Cubism</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Cubism, highly influential visual arts style of the 20th century that was created principally by the artists Pablo Picasso... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Futurism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/33/126833-050-6E083883/Unique-Forms-of-Continuity-in-Space-bronze-1913.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Umberto Boccioni: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Futurism" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Futurism</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Futurism, early 20th-century artistic movement centered in Italy that emphasized the dynamism, speed, energy, and power of... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Mannerism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/197721-050-CE03E28F/Portrait-Halberdier-oil-canvas-Jacopo-da-Pontormo.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Jacopo da Pontormo: Portrait of a Halberdier (Francesco Guardi?)" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Mannerism" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Mannerism</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Mannerism, (from maniera, “manner,” or “style”), artistic style that predominated in Italy from the end of the High Renaissance... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-box"> <h1><strong id="docs-internal-guid-b1f947ff-7fff-cd9e-37bf-0eea3b86398b">Featured Art Movement: Surrealism</strong></h1> <p dir="ltr">In <em>The Surrealist Manifesto</em> (1924), French poet André Breton first defined Surrealism, calling it a means of reuniting conscious and unconscious realms of experience to create “an absolute reality, a surreality.” He and other poets drew on <a title="Sigmund Freud" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sigmund-Freud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sigmund Freud</a>’s methods of free association to unlock their unconscious imagination when writing. Soon artists, including <a title="Max Ernst" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Ernst" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Max Ernst</a>, <a title="Joan Miró" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joan-Miro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joan Miró</a>, <a title="René Magritte" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Magritte" target="_blank" rel="noopener">René Magritte</a>, and <a title="Salvador Dalí" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Salvador-Dali" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salvador Dalí</a>, began to apply these methods to art making and introduced a few new methods and styles of their own. Although <a title="World War II" href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World War II</a> scattered the Surrealists across the globe, the movement continued, and it went on to influence such subsequent art movements as <a title="Abstract Expressionism" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Abstract-Expressionism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abstract Expressionism</a>.</p></div> <div class="full-width-media media2"> <div class="full-width-media-container INFOGRAM" style="width:1920px"> <div style="width:100%; aspect-ratio: 1920/1080"> <script id="infogram_0__/Q8lollW5RltqByNFPBP4" src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?Itp" type="text/javascript" title="Surrealist artists"></script> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mt-60 article-cards2-slider"> <div class="m-n10 "> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 card-snap-slider col-100"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex col-100"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Surrealism"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/04/261204-050-2C568F33/time-transfixed-rene-magritte-1938-tate-liverpool-june-22-2011.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="René Magritte: Time Transfixed" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Surrealism" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Surrealism</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Surrealism, movement in visual art and literature, flourishing in Europe between World Wars I and II. Surrealism grew principally... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andre-Breton"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/64/261164-050-ADEC9579/Andre-Breton-1896-1966-French-writer-circa-1940.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="André Breton" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andre-Breton" class="font-weight-bold font-16">André Breton</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> André Breton was a French poet, essayist, critic, and editor, chief promoter and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement.... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/exquisite-corpse"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/260942-049-1FDE1131/exquisite-corpse-surrealism-interactive-drawing-game.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Create your own exquisite corpse with Britannica's Exquisite Corpse Experience!" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/exquisite-corpse" class="font-weight-bold font-16">exquisite corpse</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Create your own exquisite corpse with Britannica's Exquisite Corpse Experience! The exquisite corpse is a drawing activity... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Persistence-of-Memory"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/10/182610-050-77811599/The-Persistence-of-Memory-canvas-collection-Salvador-1931.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Salvador Dalí: The Persistence of Memory" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Persistence-of-Memory" class="font-weight-bold font-16">The Persistence of Memory</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> The Persistence of Memory, painting by Salvador Dali completed in 1931. Dalí was a Catalan Spanish artist who became one... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-box"> <h1><strong id="docs-internal-guid-fe01c2c0-7fff-532c-8d90-21f36d7fea10">Non-Western Art Movements</strong></h1> <p dir="ltr">Although the concept of art movements is more strongly associated with the Western world, art from the non-Western world is often classified on the basis of dynasties or regions. Many dynasties in Chinese history, for example, had distinct artistic styles, including the <a title="Yuan dynasty" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yuan-dynasty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yuan dynasty</a> (1206–1368), during which the tradition of “literati painting” (<a title="wenrenhua" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/wenrenhua" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>wenrenhua</em></a>), flourished. This style was concerned more with individual expression than with close representation. Learn about some of the era’s most celebrated artists. (Media credit: Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei)</p></div> <div class="media-and-list"> <div class="full-width-media media900x675"> <div class="full-width-media-container IMAGE"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/39/262339-004-007EDBC7/Detail-of-Thatched-Cottage-in-Autumnal-Mountains-Wang-Meng-Four-Masters-of-the-Yuan-Dynasty-Painting-National-Palace-Museum-Taiwan.jpg" alt="Wang Meng: Thatched Cottage in Autumnal Mountains" /> <div class="full-media-info"> <div class="title">Wang Meng: <em>Thatched Cottage in Autumnal Mountains</em></div> <div class="caption">Detail of <em>Thatched Cottage in Autumnal Mountains</em>, painting by Wang Meng, 14th century; in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan.</div> <div class="credit">Courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (Open Government Data License, version 1.0)</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="explore-portal-list"> <h2>Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty</h2> <div> <div class="list-counter">1</div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Huang-Gongwang" >Huang Gongwang</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Huang Gongwang was the oldest of the group of Chinese painters later known as the Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368). He was often cited meritoriously by later painters and critics for his rectitude (even though he briefly served in a junior capacity in the Mongol administration) and for</div> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Huang-Gongwang"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/22935-050-6AA5E595/detail-hand-scroll-Fuchun-Mountains-Huang-Gongwang.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Huang Gongwang: Dwelling in the Fu-ch'un Mountains" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> </div> <div class="list-counter">2</div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ni-Zan" >Ni Zan</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Ni Zan was one of the group of Chinese painters later known as the Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368). Although Ni was born to wealth, he chose not to serve the foreign Mongol dynasty of the Yuan and instead lived a life of retirement and cultivated the scholarly arts (poetry, painting,</div> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ni-Zan"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/261753-050-112B43AE/Maple-Leaves-Falling-on-the-Wu-River-Ni-Zan-Four-Masters-of-the-Yuan-Dynasty-Painting-National-Palace-Museum-Taiwan.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Ni Zan: Maple Leaves Falling on the Wu River" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> </div> <div class="list-counter">3</div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Meng-Chinese-painter" >Wang Meng</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Wang Meng was a Chinese painter who is placed among the group later known as the Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368), although, being in the second generation of that group, he had a more personal style that was less based upon the emulation of ancient masters. Wang was a grandson of</div> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wang-Meng-Chinese-painter"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/01/26901-050-2D19D479/Scholar-in-a-Pavilion-Under-Trees-Wang-Meng-Cleveland-Museum-of-Art.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Wang Meng: Scholar in a Pavilion Under Trees" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> </div> <div class="list-counter">4</div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wu-Zhen" >Wu Zhen</a> <div class="font-weight-light font-serif font-14 line-clamp clamp-2 ilf-description">Wu Zhen was one of the group of Chinese painters later known as the Four Masters of the Yuan, or Mongol, dynasty (1206–1368). His fame derives particularly from his incorruptible life as a recluse (and diviner) away from the Mongol court. Wu, like others of the group, sought stylistic inspiration</div> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wu-Zhen"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/196594-050-67562CDD/Wu-Zhen-Chinese-Fisherman-ink.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Wu Zhen: Fisherman" width="100" height="75" /> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <h2 class="video-player-title mt-60">Explore Different Art Styles with These Paintings</h2> <div class="video-playlist"> <div class="grid video-player-with-playlist"> <div class="col-100 col-md-65"> <div id="vpwpl-video-player-container" class="vpwpl-video-thumbnail-container position-relative top-0"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/239469-138-E55731C8/Hieronymus-Bosch-The-Garden-of-Earthly-Delights.jpg" alt="Earth, heaven, and hell: Hiëronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights" class="rounded super-video-thumbnail" /> <div class="btn btn-xl border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 4px; 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Art Nouveau... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Op-art"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/131889-004-B4AC6BD8/Sculpture-porcelain-tile-sculpture-Victor-Vasarely-Pecs-1977.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Victor Vasarely: Sign Sculpture" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Op-art" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Op art</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Op art, branch of mid-20th-century geometric abstract art that deals with optical illusion. Achieved through the systematic... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Renaissance-art"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/39/939-050-070AB8C7/Lamentation-Giotto-Padua-Italy-Arena-Chapel.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Giotto: Lamentation" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Renaissance-art" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Renaissance art</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries... </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-sm-33 col-md-25"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-media"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Rococo"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/95/241695-050-F77A494A/The-Swing-Jean-Honore-Fragonard-1767-1768.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Jean-Honoré Fragonard: The Swing" class="w-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Rococo" class="font-weight-bold font-16">Rococo</a> <div class="font-serif mt-15 font-14"> Rococo, style in interior design, the decorative arts, painting, architecture, and sculpture that originated in Paris in... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="last-modification mt-15 font-12">Last Modification: Nov 19, 2024</div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <footer class="md-footer footer-wrapper hide-on-edit"> <div class="footer-bck"> <DIV class="marketing-FOOTER_NEWSLETTER marketing-content" data-marketing-id="FOOTER_NEWSLETTER"><div class="md-footer-newsletter-form pt-10 mb-30 mx-15 mx-sm-120"> <div class="font-18"> <strong>History at your fingertips –</strong> Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox! </div> <div class="p-30"> <div class="newsletter-form-container"> <form class="newsletter-form" method="post" action="/newsletter-subscription/EB_ON_THIS_DAY"> <div class="form-group grid d-flex justify-content-center"> <div class="col-sm-50 col-100"> <label class="sr-only" for="enter-your-email">Enter your email</label> <input id="enter-your-email" type="email" name="email" class="form-control font-18 p-10" placeholder="Enter your email" pattern="[a-z0-9._%+-]+@[a-z0-9.-]+\.[a-z]{2,4}$" required> </div> <div class="col-sm-auto col-100 mt-5 mt-sm-0"> <button type="submit" class="btn btn-outline-white" style="width: 100%; height:100%;">Subscribe</button> </div> </div> <div class="text-white pt-30 text-opacity"> By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.<br> Click here to view our <a class="link-white text-decoration-underline" href="https://corporate.britannica.com/privacy-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Privacy Notice</a>. 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A Guide to Art Movements and Styles | Britannica