Modern art began in the early 20th century as artists moved away from realistic styles and sought new ways of expression. This was influenced by photography and industrialization. Major movements included Impressionism, focused on capturing light and fleeting moments; Post-Impressionism, which artists expanded upon Impressionist styles; Expressionism, which emphasized personal feelings over realism; Cubism, which showed objects from multiple views; Dadaism and Surrealism, anti-war movements that rejected rationality; Abstract Expressionism, focused on non-representational paintings; and Optical Art, which used geometric patterns to create optical illusions. Famous modern artists included Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso

1. LESSON 1: MODERN ART

2. “What would life be if we had no courage to
attempt everything?”
-Vincent Van Gogh

3. At the start of the twentieth century, artist were bolder in expressing
themselves in less realistic manner. These artist were reacting against the
new technologies of their time such as photography.
Photography made it possible to capture images realistically. Many artist
started veering away from realistic depictions and styles taught in schools.
They were now more concerned in the now, rather than look back at the
masters of the past. This freed the modern artist from the constraints of the
previous movements and made them more experimental and inventive.

4. The Industrial Revolution, which began around the
1760’s and lasted until the 1840’s, created fast changes
in manufacturing, transportation, and technology. This
resulted to a change in the social, cultural, and
economic, environment in the Europe and northern
America.
The Industrial Revolution likewise resulted with new
patrons of the art; church-commissioned art was
declined.
The Gallery System in art also developed during this
time. Artist painted what they want and these were
exhibited in galleries. Patrons would go to these
galleries and buy the artworks that they liked. This
system liberated the artist to explore new themes, ideas,
and styles, not limited by what the clients
commissioned.
MODERN ART (1870-1970)

5. The Invention of photography is another factor that
sparked the modernism movement. It made the
painters question their role in the society.
Publication such as Sigmund Freud’s the
Interpretation of Dreams in 1899 was another
factor that influenced artists of the time to use
dreams, symbolism, and iconography to represent
subjective experiences in the art.
Realist painters were also catalysts to the rise of the
modernism. Realist painters such as Gustave
Courbet, Jean-Francois Millet, and others were
among the first to question the prevailing academic
traditions of their period.

6. MODERNISM is characterized by a movement away from
the traditional and classical modes in painting that made many
artist feel outdated. It shows more experimentation and new
perspectives and ideas on how art is supposed to be and how
it functioned.
New techniques were also developed in this period such as a
multicolor printmaking method called chromolithography and
pointillism, a painting technique that branched out of
Impressionism that used colored dots to create forms and
images.

7. IMPRESSIONISM
The term Impressionism came from an art critic Louis Leroy when he saw Claude
Monet’s Impression, SOLEIL LEVANT (impression, sunrise) in 1874. Impressionists were a
group of French artist who shared the realist interest in the real world.
Impressionism showed everyday objects and how they reacted with light. They tried to
capture how the color of the objects changed with the movement of light and day.
Impressionist painters wanted to capture fleeting moment; they needed to be quick to
capture that moment on canvas.
Common characteristics of Impressionist paintings were done in open air. The
impressionist left the confines of their art studios and painted outdoors. The impressionist
artist in capturing a temporary scene did away with the preparatory sketches and
modelling.
Pure colors of paint were used and dabbed on the canvas rather than mixing them on their
palette. This resulted in quick, spontaneous, and loose brushstrokes, and the use of strong
colors showed the movement of light in the open environment.
When Impressionism first came out, it was not acknowledge as anything special. Art critics,
collectors, and clients did not patronized the style. And Impressionists work were often
denied exhibition at the official Salons.

8. Claude Monet was the founder and most productive practitioner of the
French Impressionist movement. He was born in November 14, 1840. he
believed that art should express the fleeting moments and quality of nature.
He painted Landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes at different times of the
day and year, showing the impermanence of the natural environment. Monet
died in December 5, 1926 due to lungs cancer.
Monet’s work Impression Sunrise (1872), is the painting that is said to have
given the impressionist movement its name. The painting shows the port in
Monet’s Hometown of Le Havre in Normandy, France. Monet is said to have
named it as such to describe the hazy quality of painting

9. Impression Sunrise
(1872) by Claude Monet

10. Post-Impressionism is a phase in modern art where artist
felt the need to go beyond the imitative style of impressionism.
It lasted roughly from the 1880 to the early 1990s. This Phase
started in France and progressed to the different parts of
Europe.
They adapted the impressionist style and combined it with the
emphasis of geometric forms, creation of distortions for
expressive effect, and utilization of unnatural and
indiscriminate colors. This more personal approach resulted in
variety of styles, techniques, and movements such as Neo-
Impressionism, expressionism, Art Noveau, and fauvism. The
importance of the Post-Impressionism phase was largely due to
the groundbreaking works such as Paul Cezanne and Vincent
Van Gogh
Post-Impressionism (1880-1905)

11. Paul Cezanne is considered to be important bridge
between Impressionism and Cubism. He started his career
as Impressionist painter and later on became a key figure
in Post-Impressionism. He is very influential to the artists
of Cubism, especially to Pablo Picasso. Cezanne was a
master in variety of paintings such as still life, portraiture,
landscape, and genre paintings.
He was born in January 19, 1839 in France into a wealthy
family. Even at a young age, Cezanne wanted to be a
painter, but his father want him to go to business.
Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)

12. The Basket of Apples (1895)
by Paul Cezanne

13. One of the most popular artist in modern art is the
Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. He was an important
post-impressionist and a pioneer of Expressionism.
He uses an impasto technique where thick paint is
applied on the surface, leaving the brush strokes or
painting knife strokes visible. Van Gogh was a
particular to bright and vivid colors have inspired
many generations of artists.
Vincent was born on March 30, 1853 in the
Netherlands to a very religious family. When he was
a child, he wanted to become a priest.
Unfortunately, his dreams becoming a priest and
later an evangelist did not work out.
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

14. Still life: Vase with Twelve
Sunflowers (3rd Version)
(1888) by Vincent Van Gogh

15. Expressionism (1890-present)
Expressionism is characterized as a deeply personal style in art. An
expressionist artist communicates personal feelings about the subject
rather that just a painting what he or she sees. The message of the artist
takes precedence over the realistic depiction of the subject. The
representation of an object would sometimes be distorted or sometimes
be replaced with imagery to better communicate the artist’s opinion and
heighten the impact upon the viewer. This resulted to artworks that were
expressive and subjective.
Expressionist artworks are characterized by thick applications of paint
(impasto), giving texture and evoking an intense and violent mood of the
work. The colors used are bold, often strong, and unnatural. The
brushstrokes are loose and freely applied.

16. Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter and
printmaker. He was born in 1863 in Norway. Edvard
Munch’s life is full of tragedy and death. He lost his
mother when he was five, and his elder sister a few
years after. One of his younger sisters suffered from
mental illness and his brother died a few months
after getting married. These experiences were later
expressed through his art. That is why most of his
well-known artworks use images that evoke the
feeling of anxiety, isolation, rejection, and death.
One of Edvard’s Munch’s most famous works is THE
SCREAM. Painted characterism of
expressionism.
Edvard Munch (1861-1944)

17. The Scream (1910) by Edvard
Munch

18. Cubism
Cubism was a style of painting developed by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso
(1881-1973) and French artist Georges Braque (1882-1963) in Paris in 1907.
It was inspired by the geometric style and composition of Paul Cezanne.
Its revolutionary approach to represent reality redefined fine arts.
Cubism grew from the collaboration of Picasso and Braque. Picasso felt
that impressionism limited the opportunity for intellectual exploration.
While he was in Spain, Picasso was exposed to the tribal art of Africa. This
exposure to tribal arts can be seen in his work Les Demoiselles d’ Avignon
(The Ladies of Avignon) in 1907. it features five female nudes depicted
with geometric and disjointed bodies.
Cubism is characterized by showcasing an object from multiple points of
view and at different times. The subject is then reconstructed out of these
different planes of views. Cubism concentrated on the two-dimensional
surface and rejected the techniques of linear perspective and modelling.

19. Guitar (1932) by
Pablo Picasso

20. DADAISM (1916-1924)
Dadaism or Dada was an anti-art movement that started in 1916 in Zurich,
Switzerland. It was a reaction to the First World War and a rebellion against the
ruling establishment as well as the art institutions that supported it. It was a
movement against everything that the Dadaist believed contributed to the First
World War. The movement developed in both Europe and the United States at
the same time.
The term “Dada” was chosen randomly from a German-French dictionary by the
poet Richard Huelsenback. It was a nonsensical word that is probably why it is
was chosen by the group. It means different things in different languages, all of
which has nothing to do with the ideology of the movement.
The Dada art was intentionally off-putting. It was scandalous and shocking. It
undermined the established rules and traditions of art through demonstrations,
publications of manisfestos, and exhibitions of absurd art.

21. A replica of Marcel
Duchamp’s Fountain
(1917)

22. Surrealism was an art movement that started in 1924 by writer, poet,
and Dadaist Andre Breton (1896-1966). It started as literary
movement, but was adapted to the visual arts.
Surrealism was influenced by the works of the psychologist, Sigmund
Freud. Freud stated that dreams were people’s subconscious way of
dealing with personal issues and realities.
There are two surrealist art styles, One was REPRESENTATIONAL,
which meant surrealist expressed their art through realistic depiction
of objects but is set or distorted beyond the capabilities of reality.
The other style is called ABSTRACT SURREALISM that is based on
shapes and forms that do not represent anything found in real life,
but rather forms made by the subconscious.
Surrealism (1924-1966)

23. The surrealist are credited in conceiving a number of new techniques in producing
accidental images with which the creative power of the subconscious could be
freed. These techniques include:
Frottage- is a techniques wherein a piece of paper would be placed on the top
of a texture surface. A pencil or a crayon will be rubbed on top of the paper
producing an impression of the surface.
Decalcomania- is a technique wherein paint is splashed on a piece of paper.
While the paint is still wet, another piece of paper will be rubbed on it giving a
forest-like pattern.
Grattage- uses a painted canvas placed on top of textured surface. The paint
will then be scraped away creating an impression.
Fumage- uses placing a piece of paper over a lighted candle creating a smoke,
moving the paper around will result in patterns from the soot.
Automatic Drawing- uses a writing instrument and just let it move around a
medium without conscious thought.
Drip Painting- utilizes paint drips from a moving can of paint.

24. Persistence of Memory
(1931) by Salvador Dali

25. Abstract Expressionism was a movement in the 1940s that
developed in New York, USA. Abstract Expressionist artworks
are characterized as “nonrepresentative” paintings. The term
Abstract Expressionism was first used to describe the works of
the German Expressionists and was later applied to the
American art movement.
Abstract Expressionism is divided into two distinct styles. The
first is called ACTION PAINTING. It is an energetic style in which
the paint is splashed, dripped, or spilled onto the canvas.
The other is called COLOR-FIELD PAINTING. This style is more
passive. This uses flat areas or fields of color, inviting the
viewers to contemplate and create an emotional response.
Abstract Expressionism (1947-1965)

26. A color field painting,
no. 61 “rust and blue”
(1953) by Mark Rothko

27. No. 5 (1948); an
example of an action
painting by Jackson
Pollock

28. In 1964, a new art form came in to the scene called optical or op
art, as named by Time Magazine. Op art is an example of kinetic
art, an art form that fools the eyes into thinking that the
artwork is moving. This optical illusion is achieved by the use of
geometric designs arranged in a careful mathematical pattern.
Op art was a type of abstract art made of geometric shapes.
These shapes and pattern were chosen for their designed
illusion rather than its content. Earliest op art were black-and-
white that later developed to use vibrant colors.
Optical Art (1964-present)

29. Movement in Squares
(1961) by Bridget Riley

30. THANK YOU!