1800 – 1850

How Romantic art got its name?

Whenever you read the words “Romantic art,” don’t think of “love matters,” think “emotional” art. The word
“romance” had multiple meanings during its long history, but in the context of art, it’s a reference to strong
emotions associated with an art style that was prevalent at the dawn of the 19th century.

How to identify Romanticism art style?

1. The skies are gloomy or cloudy as a sign of imminent danger and fear of the unknown, e.g. Wanderer above the
Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich.
2. A focus on nature – mystical landscapes with dark mysterious ambience; dark in both a literal and figurative
sense, e.g. Der Heuwagen by John Constable.
3. Dramatic scenes of man or nature, occasionally with undertones of nature’s triumph over man, e.g. The Course
of Empire Destruction 1836 by Cole Thomas.
4. The sky is prominent and overwhelming, often taking over around half of the painting, e.g. Fighting Temeraire
by Joseph Mallord William Turner.
5. Dramatic scenes (similar to Baroque art but) painted in visible brushstrokes, as typical of the Romantic style,
e.g. Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix.

E.g. dThe raft of the Meduse. Theodore Gericault.

6. Horrific and gothic images, where faces express feelings such as intense pain, anguish, anger or fear, e.g. Saturn
Devouring his Son by Francisco de Goya.
1840-1870

How Realist art got its name?

Realist art is named after its realistic approach to painting of the observable world, free from imaginary or idealized
subject matter. You won’t find mystical landscapes, biblical scenes or Greco-Roman mythological themes. To
distinguish this art movement from spin-offs and subgenres that emerged later, sometimes it’s referred to as French
Realism or 19th-Century Realism.

How to identify Realist art?

1. Realist paintings depict the harsh, everyday reality of ordinary people from the middle and lower classes of
society, for example, The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet.
2. Realism is a sympathetic portrayal of poor, urban and rural workers in bent postures, struggling with their hard,
manual labor, for example, The Stone Breakers by Gustave Courbet.

3. The bleak paintings feature a palette of dark colors to emphasize the plight of workers. The subjects are shown
serious-looking and humble – there’s never a cheerful sentiment – for example, Third Class Carriage by Honoré
Daumier.
1870-1920

How Modernist art got its name?

Modernism, in the fine arts, is a break with the past and the concurrent search for new forms of expression.
Modernism fostered a period of experimentation in the arts from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, particularly
in the years preceding and following World War I.

Even though Modernism is basically an architectural art style, we can observe some paintings belonging to this style.

One of the main ideas of modernism was to reject past traditions of artworks and to encompass the beginning of a
new ‘modern’ world in their art forms.

How to identify Modernist art?

1- Painters decided to abandon everyday subjects to capture symbolic and conceptual themes. Women were
usually the center. The Kiss by Gustave Klimt
2- Artists include elements found in nature (plants, flowers, fruits, etc), e.g. Four Seasons by Alphonse Mucha.

3- In architecture the main example is Antoni Gaudí. He mixed new ways of constructions with new materials
(iron and reinforcement of concrete) and with shapes, or forms, found in nature into an organic unity..e.g.
The Holy Family of Barcelona by Gaudí. (La Sagrada Familia)
4- Another example of Gaudí’s architecture: Casa Batlló, also in Barcelona.
Comprised of undulating lines, the facade of Casa Batlló is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic
tiles. The arched roof is likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur. Casa Batlló features tracery, irregular
oval windows and flowing sculpted stonework