Key to Art History

Help ] Table of Contents ] Biographies ] Resources ] Search ] Timelines ] Crossword Puzzles ] Vocabulary ] Critical Thinking Intro ] Teacher Files ]
20th Century Things to Know

1. Many events in the 20th century were unprecedented in human history: International workers' revolution, world wars, global economic depression, genocide, the liberation of women and minorities, explosive technological developments, the creation and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and so on. Each of these global events had an impact on the creative enterprise.

2. Major movements or styles in twentieth century art include: Non-representational Art, Cubism, Fauvism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Op Art, Pop Art, Conceptual Art and Photo-realism.

3. Movements like the Fauvism of Henri Matisse and the Abstraction of Wasily Kandinsky developed at the beginning of the century.

4. The Dadaist movement in literature, art and music was a reaction to the insanity of the first world war. Marcel Duchamp was a leading proponent of Dadaism.

5. Surrealism developed in part from the revolutionary ideas of Sigmund Freud and the political ideas of Karl Marx.

6. Pablo Picasso and Paul Braque conceived the notion, derived in part from Cezanne, that a painting did not have to be confined to a single point of view or perspective. They called this style Cubism.

7. The world wide depression of the 1930's inspired a new form of social realism. Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry were leaders in a realist movement in the United States known as Regionalism.

8. The Nazi government of Germany promoted a National Socialist Art, while condemning "modern" art as degenerate. Curiously, the Nazis stole and collected much "modern" art when they invaded France. The Communist government of the Soviet Union had it's own version of state approved art in "Socialist Realism." Stalin also condemned "modern" art as decadent.

9. After World War II, the focus of international art moved to America with the Abstract Expressionist movement. The leading figure in American Abstract Expressionism was Jackson Pollock.

10. The role of the art critic became significant during the early years of the development of the American Abstract Expressionist movement. In particular, Clement Greenberg promoted the movement and many of its artists.

11. Pop art was an American and British style that borrowed heavily from Dadaism in its attempt to make art of the commonplace. The leading proponent of this style in the United States was Andy Warhol and in England, David Hockney.

12. In a manner similar to the development of Post Impressionism from Impressionism, the painters Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler sought a more formal and intellectual solution in the Abstract Expressionist movement known as Minimalism.

13. Due, in part, to critical openness to new ideas and styles, the second half of the twentieth century has seen a multitude of unique and individualized styles. These include the hyper-realism of Chuck Close and Richard Estes, the installations of Christo , Conceptual Art, Performance Art and so forth.

[ 20th Century Overview ] [ 20th Century Things to Know ] 20th Century Questions ] 20th Century Critical Thinking ]

Back to Top

Help ] Table of Contents ] Biographies ] Resources ] Search ] Timelines ] Crossword Puzzles ] Vocabulary ] Critical Thinking Intro ] Teacher Files ]