Western Art From the Renaissance to the Early 20th Century Essay

The Renaissance was exemplified by a highlight on the arts of Ancient Greece and Rome; this resulted in the various changes that were executed on both the technical characteristics of sculpture and painting. Furthermore, changes were also made on the subject matter. It originated from Italy, a country that is well endowed with a valuable Roman inheritance as well as material possessions that could be used to sponsor its artists. During the Renaissance, painters started enhancing the realism of their art by employing innovative skills, thus they were able to present three-dimensional arts more authentically¹.

Artists were also more innovative in the use of light and started using innovative techniques to manipulate light and darkness in their artifacts. These new techniques were evident in such works as Titan’s portrait and Leonardo da Vinci’s sfumato and chiaroscuro. Sculptors were also more innovative and they rediscovered some of the early techniques such as contrapposto and the unsupported nudity. At the onset of the humanist spirit of the age, art revolved into a secular issue that was used to depict early mythology as well as Christian themes. This genre of art was called Renaissance Classicism. The most valuable innovation that occurred in the North was the extensive use of oil paints, these permitted superior color, and intensity².

The period from the 15^th century was characterized by the works of such artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raffaello Santi. Though there was not a specific style that marked this period, the art displayed both technical and aesthetic mystery. The artistic developments in this period included; attention to perspectival systems, display of anatomy, and conventional cultures. The artists of the period elevated art to such heights that were only enjoyed by poetry; thus, sculptors, painters, and architects placed their works among the other valued fine arts.

The Neoclassicism period was marked by artists reverting to the conventional simpler art of the Renaissance. The period was marked by the intellectual movement that was referred to as the Enlightenment³. The famous Neoclassicists include Ingres, Canova, and Jacques-Louis David. This period was followed by Romanticism; this was an artistic era that was characterized by the use of color and motion to depict emotion. The phase was also manifested by the celebrity of nature to expose the splendor and supremacy of the innate world. Romanticism was also exemplified by an immense literally faction, with poetry receiving substantial attention. Among the famous Romanticism, artists include John Constable, Caspar David Friedrich, Thomas Cole, and William Blake.

19^th century Europe has marked the Industrial Revolution; the working population was characterized by poverty, squalor, and desperation. Realism surfaced to counter to the ills in this civilization era; artists struggled to openly reveal the plight and circumstances of the poor to transform the society⁴. The most prominent artists in the Realism era were: Honoré Daumier, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, and Thomas Eakins, among others.

The period from the 20^th century was characterized by modern art; however, the period had various sub-categories. Imperialism was the first sub-category of modern art that developed from Realism. The era was exemplified by the utilization of light in paintings in an attempt to depict light as it is observed by the human eye. Famous artists in this era included: Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Imperialism was followed by Post-Imperialism which was characterized by such artists as Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Georges Seurat. Fauvism trailed Post-Imperialism; Fauvism has been considered by a majority of people to be the earliest form of contemporary art. After Fauvism, modern art developed into various forms such as Expressionism that utilized objective forms of art to evoke emotions, and Cubism which transposed three-dimensional arts into a flat canvas.

Bibliography

Maleuvre, Didier. Museum Memories: History, Technology, Art. Mexico: Stanford University Press, 1999.

Sheehan, James J. Museums in the German Art World: From the End of the Old Regime to the Rise of Modernism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Footnotes

1. Sheehan, James J. Museums in the German Art World: From the End of the Old Regime to the Rise of Modernism (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000), 146.
2. Mature, Didier. Museum Memories: History, Technology, Art (Mexico: Stanford University Press, 1999), 214.
3. Maleuvre, Didier. Museum Memories: History, Technology, Art (Mexico: Stanford University Press, 1999), 206.
4. Sheehan, James J. Museums in the German Art World: From the End of the Old Regime to the Rise of Modernism (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000), 152.