Modern Art Movements and Philosophies Quiz

Foundations and Evolution of Modern Art

• Art history shifted from description to analysis in the 18th century.
• Johann Joachim Winckelmann, an 18th-century German writer and historian, is considered the father of modern art history.
• His work, "The History of Ancient Art", was innovative.
• He focused on understanding the cultural and historical factors influencing art, rather than simply listing artists chronologically.
• Winckelmann argued that art reflects the civilization that created it.
• 18th-century art historians moved beyond simply describing artwork and its background.
• They started analyzing the reasons behind changes in art, considering social, political, and cultural influences.

Shift from Description to Analysis in Art History

• 18th-century art historians moved beyond simply describing artwork and its background.
• They began to analyze the reasons behind changes in art, including social, political, and cultural influences.
• They explored how these factors shaped artistic trends.

Johann Joachim Winckelmann: The Father of Modern Art History

• Johann Joachim Winckelmann, an 18th-century German writer and historian, is considered the father of modern art history.
• He was innovative because of his book "The History of Ancient Art".
• Unlike earlier art historians who focused on lists of artists and their works, Winckelmann examined the cultural and historical influences that shaped art, which significantly impacted art history.

Overview of Modern Art

• Modern art spanned the mid-1800s to 1950s.
• Key characteristics included a break from traditional art academies, the emergence of photography, industrialization, and modern warfare.
• These factors contributed to significant shifts in artistic practice and analysis.

Amédée Ozenfant and the "Revolutionary Impulse" in Modern Art

• Ozenfant examined the forces driving modern art.
• He highlighted the "revolutionary impulse" driving innovation in art.
• Ozenfant argued that individual freedom and the rejection of tradition are essential to understanding modern art's evolution.
• He used a "balance sheet approach" to analyze various art forms and their broader societal context.
• He connected art with cultural shifts and developments in science and philosophy.

Richard Hertz and the Axioms of Modernism

• Two axioms of modernism are presented: undecidability and reducibility.
• The undecidability axiom suggests a blurred line between art and non-art.
• The reducibility axiom highlights the importance of theory and ideas within modern art, as emphasized by the importance of both art theory and art production.

Early Modern Art: Gustave Courbet and the Realist Manifesto

• Gustave Courbet was a key figure in the Realism movement in the 19th century.
• He emphasized authenticity by depicting the world as he saw it, rejecting idealized representations common in Romanticism and academic art.
• The Realist Manifesto rejects traditional practices and calls for representing reality truthfully.

Charles Baudelaire: The Painter of Modern Life

• Baudelaire was a French artist critic, translator, poet, and essayist, important for influencing modern art and literature.
• He presented a critique of classical ideas.
• He supported artists like Courbet.
• He advocated for modern art focusing on the complexities of modern life, rather than idealized themes from the past.

The Painter of Modern Life

• This work advocates for modern, ever-changing art that reflects the rapidly changing nature of modern life.
• It emphasizes finding beauty in the everyday world.
• It rejects traditional standards of art in favor of authenticity.

Impressionism and Cubism

• Impressionism, a late 19th-century movement, focused on the depiction of contemporary life, accurately representing light and color effects.
• Painters used lighter and brighter colors, and lacked clear outlines in their works.
• Cubism, a 20th-century movement, experimented with multiple perspectives, geometric shapes, and fragmented forms.
• Authors Jean Metzinger and Albert Gleizes authored "Du Cubisme", an influential text about Cubism.

Post-Impressionism

• Post-Impressionism emerged in France.
• Artists moved from Impressionism, but still utilized principles of color and light, but extended the concepts to encompass different perspectives within their works.

Van Gogh and Cézanne's Styles

• Van Gogh's work emphasized thick impasto and expressionist manner, with distinct features.
• Cézanne emphasized light, brushwork, and rhythmic, parallel strokes, using still lives and landscapes for inspiration.

Cubism

• Du Cubisme (1912) by Jean Metzinger and Albert Gleizes outlined the principles of Cubism, focusing on diverse viewpoints and forms within their artworks.
• Cézanne is considered a precursor to Cubism, influencing its focus on form and perspective.
• Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) is widely recognized as the first major Cubist work.
• Du Cubisme (1912) marked a key moment in Cubism's development.

Symbolism

• Symbolism was a reaction against Romanticism and Naturalism.
• It emphasized subjectivity in expressing ideas through symbols, rather than direct representation.
• Jean Moreas was a prominent figure in the movement.

Ang Kiukok: Fusion of Western Modernism and Filipino Sensibilities

• Ang Kiukok, a Filipino artist with Chinese heritage, fused Western modernism with Filipino cultural elements.

• He was influenced by Filipino modernists, Picasso and others.

• His work often included themes of suffering, struggle, and social commentary.

• His distinctive style incorporated fragmentation, perspective, distortion, and color.

• He utilized Western modernism styles, while depicting Filipino, social, and cultural elements in his work.