HISTORY OF UNIVERSAL ART

1. BASIC CONCEPTS:

- ART: Act through which, using matter or the visible, man imitates or expresses the material or the
invisible, and creates by copying or fantasizing. In a broad sense, we can call Art any creation or
work that expresses what man wishes to externalize, obeying his own standards of beauty and
aesthetics. To create, the artist requires, above all, to be endowed with imagination, through
which he responds to the vast and multiform external world by expressing his feelings through
words, shapes, colors and sounds.

- ARCHITECTURE: In a common sense, Architecture is the art of building, according to a program

and using the diverse means available at each time; Thus we can define it as the art of designing
and building structures. It has a solid scientific foundation and obeys a complex technique, for this
reason it is said that it is only art when the construction is expressive of the spiritual will of an era
and that architectural expression is the result of all the constituent elements that essentially
emanate of the relationships that are established with the space that makes up the work and the
space that surrounds it. From there it is worth highlighting that Architecture is the art of shaping
space, transforming it. In its most complete manifestations, Architecture manages to unite beauty
and utility, to such an extent that one depends on the other, since a work is not beautiful if it does
not adapt to the purpose for which it is intended.

- SCULPTURE: Sculpture is the art of creating expressive forms of three real dimensions, be they
volumes, when compact materials are used, or objects in which space predominates, barely
delimited or indicated by axes that run through it, when materials are used that They can be
reduced to threads, ribbons, ropes, etc. or transparent materials. The first form is traditional, the
second emerges from the character of avant-garde sculpture, but both affirm three-
dimensionality. The traditional sculptor creates volumetric forms by modeling a substance with a
certain plasticity, such as wax and wet clay, or by carving hard materials such as stone, granite,
wood, ivory, or by making molds that allow him to reproduce in relief what that those represent in
space. The modern sculptor creates spatial forms using pieces of cast iron, wire threads, steel
ribbons, wooden filaments, violin strings and various plastic materials.

- PAINTING: Art that represents any real or imaginary object on a flat surface through drawing and
color. The oldest testimonies of human art are drawings and paintings that the primitive
inhabitants of the planet left in prehistoric caves, these paintings were called Cave Paintings. From
a technical point of view, painting is said to be fresco when it is applied to walls and ceiling using
colors dissolved in water and lime; in oil when it has been made with colors diluted in drying oil,
usually on a canvas. Pastel painting is done with soft, pasty pencils; watercolor uses transparent
colors diluted in water; wash is called the procedure of using thick colors, tempered with gum
water and honey; Tempera paint is that prepared with hot, glutinous liquids; it uses glue water,
among other products. In so-called porcelain, hardened mineral colors are used and joined by fire.

- VISUAL ARTS: In their most general sense, they are those that are related to printing and
illustration, those that are expressed through graphics and images; It encompasses all the arts that
are represented on a flat surface. The function of the Visual Arts is to communicate what the artist
wishes to express through a visual language, taking into account both the compositional elements
and the compositional principles, so that the work itself is pleasant and in good taste for whoever
observes it.

2. ORIGIN OF THE DRAWING

Since prehistory, man has tried to reproduce on the walls of the caves the shapes of the animals
he had observed, managing to represent their movements, the mass and the shape of the bodies;
Thus, this art was born, which is one of the first practiced by human beings, who have always tried
to represent objects as their eyes saw them. Over time, man leaves his mark by translating the
impression that an object transmits to him by reproducing its shape, size and volume, either by
means of a line, as in Egyptian, Greek and Japanese art, or by suggesting, above all, the
appearance. of relief through the play of shadows and light; This last mode of expression is already
visible in the frescoes of Pompeii and in the artists of the Italian Renaissance, such as Leonardo De
Vinci. In general terms, this art has developed depending on the conditions of existence of each
era, each culture and the progress and knowledge about the instruments and techniques used by
artists.

3. CONCEPT OF ARTISTIC DRAWING

It is the representation of an object through lines that limit its shapes and contours. It is an
abstraction of our spirit that allows us to fix the appearance of the form, since the human eye only
perceives colored masses of different luminous intensity. Drawing is the art of graphically
representing objects that usually have three dimensions on a flat two-dimensional surface. Also,
we must take into account that drawing is the basis of all plastic creation and is an arbitrary and
conventional means to express the shape of an object through the line, a stroke and games of
shadows and light. What characterizes drawing is the limitation of shapes through lines; This
differentiates it from painting, in which the structure of the planes is achieved through colored
masses. Drawing is an abstracted element of the pictorial complex, which by virtue of its
expressive force, becomes an independent art.

4. INSTRUMENTS AND SUPPORTS USED

Drawing techniques are diverse and have varied over time; In general, the most used instruments
are pencil, pen (Indian ink or sepia), charcoal, pastel, oil, etc. Prehistoric man decorated the walls
of caves or certain figures made of ivory, bone, even reindeer or soapstone using silica burins and
scrapers, nails, pins, etc. The paintings were originally made with their fingers, later starting to be
done using feather or splintered wood brushes. The colors consisted of black, red, yellow and
brown tones, obtained by spraying red clay, pieces of yellow and red ocher mixed with fats or
vegetable juices. Egyptian painters covered the surface to be painted (wood, stone) with a layer of
stucco, then made the drawing with red, and then traced the outline of the figure with black; This
preparation allowed the contact of the oxides of the coloring matter with the support to trigger a
chemical reaction, resulting in the fixation of the pigments. The Romans used the fresco technique
on walls, tempera (in paintings) and encaustic in portraits. In the art of the Middle Ages, mosaics
stand out, many of them made with enameled glass, cut into small pieces, on a golden
background. Until the 15th century, large paintings were still executed in tempera, that is, with
ground pigments mixed with a binder; the most common agent was egg yolk, thinned with water
as necessary; It was painted on white stucco, previously applied in a very thin layer to the board or
canvas. Fresco, a similar method that was applied to paint the interior of walls and walls, was
widely used. The painting techniques used by Baroque painters were tempera and oil in various
dimensions or planes. The subtle gradation of light and shadow in Leonardo's The Virgin of the
Rocks or in Rembrandt's Woman Bathing in a Stream could only have been achieved with oil; The
colored pigments were mixed with oil and diluted, to give them the desired consistency, with a
mixture of linseed oil and turpentine. Flemish painters, such as Van Eyck, used the transparent
method, which consisted of applying the paint in very thin layers on a white background. The work
was painted in sections and when each one was finished, the excess oil was allowed to dry.

5. ART IN HISTORY

- PREHISTORY
PALEOLITHIC PERIOD

The pictorial manifestations of this era are called cave paintings. These paintings have been
located in various regions of the world, generally on the walls of caves and caverns, reaching large
dimensions. The cave painting responds to the expression of a hunting culture, a magical-religious
character is attributed to it because it is presumed that they were carried out as rituals to achieve
a good hunt. The figures they painted were of animals, these first plastic manifestations at the
beginning were lines drawn with the fingers on the soft parts of the cave walls, then color
intervened, mostly reds and blacks. This first phase of rock art has been called Aurignacian, in this
phase the figures appear made with crude lines, the animals are done in profile and the figures are
presented isolated. Then, there is a second phase, the Solutrean, where certain molded figures are
observed, color intervenes and the profiles appear parallel; Later, there is a third phase called
Magdalenian, in which scenes of hunting, fighting, etc. are presented. and an association of the
human figure with the animal figure is observed in the representations, there is varied polychromy
and the use of chiaroscuro as an expressive element. Towards the end of the Paleolithic, the
essential characteristic of the paintings is the schematization of forms, thus acquiring greater
movement and dynamism.

PAINTING: The first pictorial manifestations come from the Paleolithic era or the Carved Stone,
this was called Cave Painting. These paintings have been located in various regions of the world,
generally on the walls of caves and caverns, reaching large dimensions. They respond to the
expression of a hunting culture, a magical-religious character is attributed to them because it is
presumed that they were carried out as rituals to achieve a good hunt. The figures they painted
were of animals, these first plastic manifestations at the beginning were lines drawn with the
fingers on the soft parts of the cave walls, then color intervened, mostly reds and blacks. Towards
the end of the Paleolithic, the essential characteristic of cave painting is the schematization of
forms, thus acquiring greater movement and dynamism.

SCULPTURE: The first sculptures of human form date back to the Aurignacian period. They are
female figures, in bone, ivory or stone, small in size, related to the cult of fertility. They are known
by the generic name of Venus. Among the best known we have the Venuses of Willendorf,
Lespugue, Savignano and Grimaldi.

ARCHITECTURE: In the Neolithic or Polished Stone Age, painting and sculpture lose importance and
instead at the end of the period an architecture of enormous stones is developed that is called
Megalithic Architecture, formed by immense blocks of stones, these monuments are of several
types: Menhir, Trilito, Dolmen and Cromlech.

- EGYPTIAN ART

Egyptian painting has an innate artistic sensitivity; It turns out to be an excellent means to transmit
an aesthetic message, creating an atmosphere charged with religiosity; In it you can see the purity
of the line, the harmony of the forms, the compositional balance and a wide range of colors that
make it attractive, magical, natural and contemplative. Regarding the representation of the human
figure, it is characterized by the following features: Law of Torsion or Frontality: head, arms and
legs in profile; shoulders, eyes, belly and feet from the front. The silhouette of the figure stands
out. He is detail-oriented. Use safe and firm stroke. Superposition of figures and great color,
achieving various types of harmonies. Representation of real life scenes. Decorative character
because it is used on the walls of temples, tombs and palaces.

ARCHITECTURE: One of the great creations of the Egyptian genius is architecture, an art in which
they left monuments that amaze with their greatness, beauty and the skill of the construction
engineers. Among his works, the Funerary Monuments: Mastabas, Hypogeums and Pyramids, and
the Cult Monuments: Speos and Temples stand out.

PAINTING: Egyptian painting has an innate artistic sensitivity; It turns out to be an excellent means
to transmit an aesthetic message, creating an atmosphere charged with religiosity; In it you can
see the purity of the line, the harmony of the forms, the compositional balance and a wide range
of colors that make it attractive, magical, natural and contemplative. The representation of the
human figure was characterized by the following features: Law of Torsion or Frontality: head, arms
and legs in profile; shoulders, eyes, belly and feet from the front. The silhouette of the figure
stands out. He is detail-oriented. Use safe and firm stroke. Superposition of figures and great
color, achieving various types of harmonies. Representation of real life scenes. Decorative
character because it is used on the walls of temples, tombs and palaces.

SCULPTURE: Throughout its history, Egyptian sculpture went through different stages in each one,
for political and religious reasons it changed direction, from naturalistic inspiration to the idealized
construction of the figure. They stand out: the Cheik-el-Beled, the Seated Scribe, Rahotep and
Nefret, the head of Nefertiti, the Colossi of Memmón and the great Sphinx of Gizeh, among many
others.
- GREEK ART

It flourished between the 7th and 2nd centuries BC, in Greece and other Mediterranean territories
inhabited by the Greeks. It is characterized by its aesthetic idealism, proportionality, balance of
elements and its interest in reflecting genuine expressiveness in the human figure; For this reason,
they developed great perfection in drawing. Athletics, so cultivated by these people, provided
artists with their best models. Simplicity, rhythm, clarity and unity dominate all its artistic forms;
Thus, the Greeks achieved their greatest achievements in ceramics, sculpture and architecture.

Greek art begins approximately in the 5th and 4th centuries. He was characterized by giving his
works the greatest sense of proportionality, by expressing harmony and balance of elements and
by reflecting a genuine expression of humanism. Greece is a small peninsula located in the
southeast of Europe. But in this small country the first ideas that shaped Western culture were
born, so that our knowledge and ways of thinking are a consequence of the philosophy, science
and art of the Greeks.

ARCHITECTURE: In Greek architecture neither the arch nor the vault was used. The supporting
element of his monumental works were the columns. The construction system used was the lintel.
The temples stand out in hierarchical order as the main exponents, then the theatres, the
acropolis, the propylaea, the stadiums, the gymnasiums and the palestras, the agoras and the
funerary monuments. The different types and shapes of columns gave rise to the famous Greek
architectural orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

MATERIALS USED: The Greeks preferably used marble, which they polished carefully; They also
used stone.

SCULPTURE: Greek sculpture is not subject to rules or conventions. The sculptor has freedom of
expression, however, all of it seeks and achieves human perfection, therefore it is a sculpture
dedicated to exalting physical strength, the perfection of features, movement and the expression
of divinity. Its central theme revolves around the human figure. Greek sculpture goes through 3
periods, epochs or evolutionary phases, with its own characteristics in each of them. These are:
- Archaic: It was characterized by being a time where sculptors sought their own style and
technique. In it the female and male figure appears, at the beginning these figures were of a
hieratic type, without movement, but then ideas of movement arose, the arms detach themselves
from the body and the face expresses a curious smile. The sculptures were made as offerings to
the athletes. They are from this period: The Kouros of Anavyssos (athlete), the Lady of Auxirre or
Xoana (dressed maiden), the head of the knight Rampios, etc.

- Classic: this era meant the period of greatest boom in all artistic and literary manifestations. The
sculptors achieve the perfection of their techniques, as well as the best sculptural pieces, where
the magnificence of the human figure is observed. This era has 2 periods: the Sublime style, in
which sculptors such as Myron, Phidias and Polycletus stand out, and the Bello style, in which
Scopas, Praxiteles and Lysippus stand out, both styles had their own characteristics.

- Hellenistic: this era corresponds to the end of Greek art, the works of this era take models from
the previous ones, perfecting them, demonstrating a great capacity for achievement, the figure of
the child enters as a theme. The sculpture acquires characters of monumentality, dominating the
picturesque, the grotesque, the episodic, etc. The portrait comes to the foreground. In this period
different schools emerged, among the most important: the School of Pergamon, the School of
Rhodes and the School of Alexandria.

PAINTING: Very little is known about the Greek painters, however, the mastery that was
manifested in the incredible realism effects that they knew how to produce through descriptions
of some paintings is known. But almost all of his work has been lost, and what remains are copies
and fragments that do not give a clear idea of what that painting was like. They stand out:
Polygnotus, Apollodorus of Athens, Agatharchus of Samos, Zeuxis, Parrasio and Apelles.

CERAMICS: This constitutes the best and most varied expression in the minor arts in terms of
decoration and painting. This variety gives us a very complete evolution of its culture. With its own
style and techniques, it is characterized by having varied and original shapes, the geometric
elements arranged in stripes predominate, the tones of clay, from yellow to brown gray, it
presents figures in red on a black or red background and figures black, animal and human shapes
predominate.

- ROMAN ART
It results from Etruscan and Greek influences, it reached its greatest splendor during the time of
the Empire. It was developed in Italy from the year 200 BC, until the 4th century AD, some
consider it inferior to Greek art, but in reality it was more varied, more flexible and in certain
aspects closer to modern art; Thus, its influence on the art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
was notable. His greatest achievements are in the development of architecture; For this reason,
drawing and painting were carried out in its service, with murals predominating. The themes were
war, erotic themes, heroic legends, landscapes, seascapes, still life and portraiture. From the 1st
century onwards, two pictorial currents or styles are observed: the Neoatic style, which is
concerned with the human form, highlighting issues of mythology and epics, and the Hellenistic -
Alexandrian style, which highlights the concern for rural painting. , the landscape and seascapes
are cultivated. From the beginning of the 2nd century until 79 AD (painting in Pompeii), four styles
are observed: inlay, Alexandrian or architectural, ornamental and fantastic.

Rome was a town of farmers, merchants, and warriors. The Romans showed greater interest in
practical things and their artistic works always carry a utilitarian stamp. A dominating people,
founder of a vast empire, the Romans' fundamental concern was to maintain dominion over the
colonized territories, for which they mobilized powerful armies, gave life to a dense body of laws
that tightened the ties between the metropolis and the provinces, and He developed a gigantic
construction effort with a varied repertoire of architectural forms perfectly adapted to his
purposes. His two great achievements were Law and Architecture, but his main merit is having
spread the Greco-Latin civilization throughout a vast part of the known world.

ARCHITECTURE: Its purpose is utilitarian, it is conceived based on private and public needs. It
expresses the will to power and command of the Roman State, which stands as ruler of the private
and public life of its citizens. It is monumental, made with the glorification of Rome in mind and to
resist the passage and weight of time. More than beauty, it seeks majesty and robustness, which is
why it is shown in large solid and heavy masses. It expresses the ideal of uniformity of the Empire,
which aspires for all the peoples subject to its dominion to assume a material physiognomy in the
image and likeness of the City. It alternates two known systems: that of the column and lintel
(copied from the Greeks), and the arch and vault (taken from the Etruscans). Its main monuments
were: the temple, the basilica, the thermal baths, the theaters, the amphitheaters, the circuses,
etc.

SCULPTURE: It moves between the opposite poles of idealism and realism and its almost central
theme is the portrait. In the beginning, the Etruscan influence is present in some bronzes, then the
Greek influence through the Hellenic sculptors who lived in Rome or Magna Graecia, as well as the
works discovered on Greek soil and brought to Rome, promoted the idealistic current. The
confrontation of both tendencies is seen in works from the Republican period.
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS: Created with a utilitarian purpose that is fulfilled in its narrative,
honorary or descriptive function. More than an art, it is a craft subject to honorific or
commemorative religious demands. He preferably cultivates the portrait, bringing it to its
maximum identification with the model. It is a naturalistic art. It is an anonymous work.

PAINTING: We know it through the frescoes found in the city of Pompeii, which are usually Greek
copies or decorative whims of picaresque grace such as cupids, birds, ribbons, flowers, etc. The
themes are historical, mythological landscape and sailors. Also in certain periods an architectural
painting was made, which imitates the construction elements. The interesting thing about Roman
painting is the technique of stains of tempera color, applied with loose brush strokes, without
detailing, in the impressionist manner and with effective touches of shadow and light. Realistic
taste also dominates in painting, so the preferred themes are portraits, caricatures and
landscapes.

- ROMANESQUE ART

Between the 11th and 13th centuries, that is, during the period known as the Late Middle Ages, an
art called Romanesque was formed in Europe. This name refers to the source from which it has its
origin, which is the art of Rome, Roman art, from which it takes types of buildings and construction
techniques. This style or art has been called Romanesque, due to its similarity to the word
Romance, which designates languages derived from Latin.

ARCHITECTURE: It is a religious architecture, of monastic creation, because it is the monasteries

and convents that promote it. Its typical building is the Church. It expresses the ideal of austerity
and meditation, of discipline and penance. From a technical point of view, it belongs to the group
of arch and vault architectures, as these are its basic functional elements. It has a robust and
heavy appearance. The principle of support is static, as it pits mass against weight. It has a sober
exterior, with bare and smooth walls, interrupted only by the reinforcing elements, which are
incorporated into the structure. Other construction elements: buttress, columns, pillars, domes.

SCULPTURE: It is subordinated to architecture, which determines the places and spaces that must
be covered with reliefs or statues. Its purpose is not artistic but didactic: to make the faithful
aware of sacred figures and truths for their religious instruction. Stylization and disproportion: the
figures do not keep natural proportions. They also do not maintain the proper perspective or the
relationship of sizes that is due to the different depths at which the figures are. In the reliefs, the
difference in size means the importance of the character. Symmetrical composition: the scenes are
composed, maintaining a symmetrical relationship. In the tympanum, the composition always has
the figure of Christ as its axis.

PAINTING: Romanesque painting has a notable development, since the vast expanses of smooth
wall were appropriate for pictorial decoration; For this reason, painting was also an art
subordinated to construction. The lack of perspective, the flat colors, the symmetrical
composition, the rigidity of the figures and the inexpressiveness of the faces, which always show
their amazed gaze, prove an undoubted oriental influence through the art of Byzantium. The
technique used is Fresco, notable examples are the Catalan Romanesque churches, with brilliant
colors and abstract motifs of symbolic meaning; and the Italian churches, where the painted
religious scenes already show a certain effort to faithfully copy nature.

- MEDIEVAL TIMES

The art of the Middle Ages is essentially religious, although it produced masterpieces of a secular
nature; We can divide the medieval period into four, since it was a long period in which different
styles of art were produced; The first was called Paleochristian, whose painting begins in the
catacombs, it is full of symbolism and it is worth highlighting the creation of the very famous
mosaics, which were very colorful and the themes were liturgical, figures of Christ, apostles, the
cross , etc. Then, Byzantine art was born in the time of Constantine; As for drawing and painting, it
acquires its own characteristics, the artists made excellent mosaics focused on the representation
of biblical events in which it is observed that the figures represented have a quite accentuated
hieraticism that they are always placed facing forward. The Romanesque, named after the
similarity with the word "romance" that designates languages derived from Latin, was responsible
for decorating the interior of many basilicas and churches. During this period, stylized figures were
painted on apses and vaults, full of incessant movement and color; Romanesque painting used
fresco and tempera painting techniques; The themes were usually figures of angels, saints,
apostles, lambs, etc., they also painted on wood (frontals) and many illustrations of Bibles and
gospels. Finally, Gothic art or style appears, together with three well-known phenomena of the
Middle Ages: the formation of the bourgeois class, commercial development and industrialization.
Gothic painting was expressive and realistic, manifesting naturalism in its compositions. The
landscape is introduced as a pictorial modality and in the drawings the figures are presented
stylized and poorly modeled. This painting almost completely disappears from the cathedrals,
since the large stained glass windows fill the spaces and in this way it is reduced to miniatures of
books, tapestries and altarpieces.
- GOTHIC ART

Between the 12th and 15th centuries, a powerfully original art flourished in Europe, which was
called, somewhat derogatorily, Gothic, in the sense of barbaric, because it was assumed that its
creators had been the Germanic peoples who occupied the center of Europe, and to whom They
were called Goths. This art is also known as Ogival, due to the pointed shape (ogive) of its arches
and vaults, which resemble a spearhead with curved edges. The first Gothic monuments were built
near Paris, in the region called Ile-de-France. Here the choir of the Abbey of Saint Denis was built
in 1140, and in 1163, the cathedral of Our Lady of Paris was begun, works in which the elements of
the style are highlighted. From France it passed to all the other countries of Europe, in each of
which it adopted local variants, but maintaining its essential features.

PHASES OF THE GOTHIC

- LANCEOLATE (17th and 18th centuries)

Robust, heavy and simple. Vault of four sections with a spearhead profile.

- RADIANT (18th and 14th centuries)

Slender, light, highly decorated with sculptures, vaults of various sizes and shapes.

- FLAMING OR FLAMING (15th century)

Arcs with flame ripples. Very thin columns. Great height of ships and towers. Tight sculptural
ornamentation. Use of the ogee arch and the star-shaped vault.
ARCHITECTURE: Gothic art was magnificently manifested in architecture, private houses, palaces,
public buildings, castles, bridges, fortresses and churches were built. But in reality, the greatest
work of these centuries was the cathedral, extraordinary architecture that never ceases to amaze
those who contemplate it. The essential construction elements are the pointed arch, the pointed
cross vault and the buttress with its flying buttress. This architecture is dynamically balanced and
the vertical line dominates, which produces an impression of upward momentum, accentuated by
the sharp shapes of the arches and the abundance of pointed elements.

SCULPTURE: The characteristics of the sculpture can be observed in the saints, virgins, angels,
kings, prophets and allegorical figures that fill the interior and exterior of the construction, serving
as the finishing touch on pinnacles, covering the friezes and archivolts, the tympanum and all
possible spaces. To give an idea of the sculptural decoration, it will be enough to know that the
sculptural decoration of Chartres Cathedral has more than eight thousand figures. Notable
sculptors include: Giovanni Pisano, Nicola Pisano, Andrea Pisano, Klaus Sluter, Gil de Siloe and
William Torell.

PAINTING: In those countries where the Gothic style reached greater development, mural painting
was losing importance, replaced by stained glass, and from the 14th century, panel painting
appeared, consisting of small portable altars and altarpieces, made up of one or several panels. .
They deal with religious themes, with great detail in the human figure, but without depth. Painters
strive to achieve naturalness and reproduce gestures and gestures exactly, a little exaggerated
towards the dramatic. The most beautiful thing about these Gothic tables is the color, which
shines with the intensity of the enamel. They stand out: Jean Fouquet, Juan Van Eyck, Rogerio Van
Der Weyden, Giotto, among others.

- BYZANTINE ART

Byzantium, a small Greek city that had been the head of a Roman province, suddenly ascended (in
the year 330), by decision of Constantine the Great, to the rank of imperial capital with the name
of Constantinople. Half a century later, Emperor Theodosius divided his kingdom between his two
sons, and created two Independent States: the Western Empire, with Rome as its capital, and the
Eastern Empire, centered in Byzantium. The fall of the Western Empire (476) casts the spiritual
heritage of Rome on Byzantium and increases its importance as a political and artistic power,
which will reach its peak with the glorious Justinian. But the geographical location of Byzantium, at
the gates of Asia; Its distancing from Latin sources and the close and continuous contact with the
eastern kingdoms influence it in such a way that if, on the one hand, it maintains its title as
daughter and continuer of classical culture, on the other, Byzantium offers the traits of an exotic,
theocratic and despotic monarchy; lavish and barbaric, whose customs, tastes and structures
belong more to the Asian world than to the Greco-Latin world, which is reflected in its art.

ARCHITECTURE: It is inspired by the architecture of the countries with which Byzantium was most
in contact or that were part of its same historical and cultural tradition. That is why in their
constructions we will find elements taken from the Romans, the Greeks, Syria or Persia, combined
with others of their own invention. Among the most important we have: the dome, the squinches
and pendentives, the vault, the arch, the buttresses, the columns and the towers. The most
important construction of Byzantine architecture is the Church.

PAINTING: It presents two very interesting types: the mural, intended for decorating the interior of
the temple; and the easel, which produces small pieces on wooden boards, called Icons, that is,
images. The first was painted in oil or tempera, and were large compositions with a religious
theme, with a symbolic character that greatly pleased the abstract mentality of the oriental. In the
large spaces formed by vaults and domes, allegorical scenes were represented in which the Virgin
or the Christ entered: the Resurrection, the Final Judgment, the Glory, etc.

MOSAICS: It is not possible to talk about Byzantine mural art without referring to one of its most
beautiful creations: the mosaic. It consisted of the composition of large scenes, generally religious,
but not painted but made with small pieces of colored ceramic or marble (called tesserae), which
were glued to a duly prepared base, on which the previous drawing had been made. of the figures
they wanted to represent. The great diversity of colors and nuances of these tesserae allowed the
figures to be given all the effects of painting, in terms of tones, shadows, shapes, etc.

SCULPTURE: In early times, Byzantine sculpture is an extension of Hellenistic art that produced
portraits of great vigor. But after the revolution of the iconoclasts, who put an end to all religious
images and prohibited their worship, sculpture lost importance and was reduced to the minor arts
of ivory, enamel, bronze and gold, materials in which the bas-relief is worked with great mastery.

- RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance began as a movement guided by artists and intellectuals in Italy, under the sign of
Humanism; It is a rebirth of the arts where the issues represented, from an ethical and aesthetic
point of view, were freed from the bonds of the Christian concept of life. For them, art was no
longer an anonymous service, offered to God and the church, but a personal hymn in praise of
beauty; Thus, the drawing is perfected and used as a basis for painting. The cradle of the
Renaissance was Florence. Naturally, painting did not immediately free itself from Gothic
influence, but gradually it evolved towards a new concept of beauty. In drawing, bodies adopt
natural shapes and become plastic; An attempt is made to highlight the facial expression, which
sometimes reveals the great conflicts of the soul. An example of this is the expression of despair
that Masaccio gave to Eve in his painting Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. In the 15th
century, portraits became predominant; wealthy people liked to have their portraits taken in busts
or in medallions, and therefore a multitude of people emerged whose features were carved in
wood. Rarely is a nude seen among the profusion of virgins and saints, only with great discretion is
worldly sensuality hinted at in certain representations of ecclesiastical art, for example, those
referring to martyrs and sinners. At first, most of the images alluding to the sinful flesh were
located on the periphery of large decorative scenes, where the artist had more freedom of
expression; Already in the 14th century, it was preferred to interpret these themes through the
female nude. Among the most significant representatives of the Renaissance, we can highlight
Sandro Botticeli, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dürer, Tintoretto, El Greco, Leonardo de Vinci and
Raphael Sanzio for their majestic pictorial works; Of them, some like Leonardo de Vinci, for
example, stood out more as a draftsman, since through drawing he carried out his famous
anatomical studies; His drawings are full of fine but firm features, highlighting human expressions
and you can also see that they are wrapped in a subtle and fine aureole of diffused light.

The Renaissance is called the great artistic and philosophical movement that occurred in Europe,
in Italy first of all, at the end of the 15th century, and which shows as its main characteristic, which
is particularly manifested in the arts, its admiration for classical antiquity, which take as a model.
The name Renaissance alludes to what this movement wanted to be: a rebirth or rebirth of Greco-
Latin culture. It began as a movement oriented by artists and intellectuals in Italy, under the sign
of Humanism; It is a rebirth of the arts where the issues represented, from an ethical and aesthetic
point of view, were freed from the bonds of the Christian concept of life. For them, art was no
longer an anonymous service, offered to God and the church, but a personal hymn in praise of
beauty.

The cradle of the Renaissance was Florence. Naturally, painting did not immediately free itself
from Gothic influence, but gradually it evolved towards a new concept of beauty. Greco-Roman
culture had been displaced during the Middle Ages. At this time, the novelty was Gothic and
Byzantine art, but in Rome, these new artistic conceptions, framed in the religious act, did not
have greater popularity, due to the misgivings of the wise Eastern humanists who emigrated to
this city after the fall of Constantinople; This is how, when the Gothic and Byzantine style was
rejected, and the ancient Greco-Roman forms were brought to the fore, the art of the Renaissance
emerged, which spread throughout Europe (France, England, Germany and the Iberian Peninsula,
especially) .

MAIN CAUSES OF REBIRTH

- Conservation in universities and medieval convents of valuable manuscripts of Greek and Roman
authors.

- Use of Latin as a cultured language, which made it possible to read classic works.

- The presence on Italian soil of Roman ruins that had to awaken in the curious the desire to know
the civilization that had built such monuments.

- The invention of the printing press, which contributed to the dissemination of the writings of
poets, philosophers and wise men of antiquity and modern times.

- Geographical discoveries, the advancement of natural sciences and the progress of techniques
that inspire unlimited confidence in the power of human intelligence and stimulate action.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE ART

- Imitation of the architecture and sculpture of Greece and Rome.

- Realization of ideal beauty, adjusted to canons dictated by reason.

- Search for serenity and balance that come from the harmony of the whole.
- Creation of works, whose clarity and perfection, attributes required by universal reason, give
them permanent validity.

STAGES OF RENAISSANCE

- PRE-RENAISSANCE OR TRECENTO: 13th and 14th centuries. It coincides with the European Gothic
period.

- QUATROCENTO: it reaches the end of the 15th century and its cultural center is the city.

- CINQUECENTO: fills the entire 16th century and its head is Rome.

ARCHITECTURE

Renaissance architecture used the classical orders (Ionic, Corinthian and Doric), combining them
with each other in the same type of construction, but not as they appear in Greco-Roman
architecture but under the protection of the inventiveness and originality of the Renaissance
architect, in this way This is how the "colossal" style of this architecture emerges.

In this new architectural development, much importance is given to civil architecture, with the
Municipal Palaces being built, which have a fortress-like appearance, the Habitation Palace, which
is of Renaissance inventiveness and presents a cube-shaped exterior with three floors, which
culminates in a cornice; and the Villas, which were built on the outskirts of Rome, had large
pavilions with terraces, staircases and internal courtyards, gardens and parks.

Renaissance religious architecture initially used the plan of the Christian basilica, however, the
center acquired greater importance due to the use of the Dome, which displaced the Gothic ogive
and presented the famous Portholes (circular openings). In relation to the construction elements,
we have that the walls are made of brick or ashlar, with a robust appearance, the vaults used
were: the "followed barrel", "cloister corner", "groin" and the "dome"; semicircular arches are
used; The windows are usually of various shapes: rectangular, twin (two semicircular arches
subdivided into two others), with a projecting sill, or in the shape of a tabernacle.

Regarding the decoration of the architectural works, it is observed that several elements were
used, these are:

- Sculpture: covers the entire surface of the monuments like a subtle cloak, in its beginnings; Then
bulk sculptures are made that adorn the architectural complex, subsequently there is a great
profusion of this completely enveloping the linear architectural complex.

- Natural Polychromy: consists of the use of various natural materials, which when combined
reflected a diversity of tones; For example, they combined the white marble of the walls with the
stone of the walls.

- Sgraffito: consists of making fine reliefs painted with two colors on the walls.

- The Frescoes and Mosaics: they fill the domes and interior walls of the construction, a variety of
tones were used, which made them very striking.

- The Pediments: they are of Roman invention, almost always placed on doors and windows, they
are generally rectilinear, but sometimes they can be triangular or curvilinear.

- Pilasters: are columns that are placed adjacent to a wall. Pilasters have their origins in Roman
architecture.

RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTS

- ITALY: Filippo Brunelleschi, Donato Bramante da Urbino, Rafael Sanzio, Miguel Ángel Buonarroti.
- SPAIN: Diego de Siloé, Juan Herrera.

- FRANCE: Salomón de Brosse.

SCULPTURE

The origin of Renaissance sculpture dates back to the 13th century, in Tuscany, with the sculptor
Incola Pisano, who was in charge of sculpting the pulpit of the Baptistery of the cathedral. This
sculptor is the one who dares to externalize the break with Byzantine severity and with the artistic
ideas of Gothic art, but his work remains isolated.

It is in the 14th and 15th centuries, where the period of greatest fury of Renaissance sculpture
begins. At this time it is noted:

Vehemence for nature and the idealized or natural nude.

Expression of human senses and passions.

Modernized reinterpretation of classical canons.

Various themes: mythology, religion, history, legends, etc.

Renaissance sculpture is the first expressive medium that reacts against the Gothic style. This
presents variations according to the century in which it is developed. This is how the 13th century
was called the Archaic Era, the 14th and 15th centuries, the Classical Era, and the 16th century,
the Baroque Era.

13TH CENTURY. ARCHAIC PERIOD

The first attempts of the new staged style emerged in the works of the "pisans", Incola, Giovanni
and Andrea Pisano.

Among the characteristics of these first works we have:

Expression of human feelings.

Inspiration from classical antiquity.

Making "Madonnas".

Profusely crafted clothing and accessories.

14TH AND 15TH CENTURY. CLASSIC PERIOD

During these centuries there is a great production of works of art. Artistic activity is centered in
the city of Florence, especially in the 15th century. Its main representatives are Donatello di Betto
Bardi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. Furthermore, it is worth highlighting the importance in this century of
the sculptural works of the Della Robia, Andrea and Lucca. These sculptors created and introduced
a new sculptural-pictorial modality, reliefs made with polychrome and glazed fired clay.

The characteristics of this era are, among others:

They adorn monuments (tribunes, choirs, tombs, etc.)

Thematic diversification.

Pictorial effect.

Great skill in the execution of works until reaching perfectionism.

CENTURY XVI. BAROQUE PERIOD

During this century the most outstanding figure is Michelangelo Buonarroti, who created
numerous works with very own characteristics, which distinguished him from other sculptors of
the same period. The work of Benvenuto Cellini also stands out, among others.

Among the main characteristics of these works we have:

Expressive force, dynamism, drama.

Anatomical domain.

Figures full of abundant vitality.

Demonstration of gestures and attitudes in their figures.

Strong classical influence.

Materials: bronze and marble preferably.

PAINT

Renaissance painting is full of religiosity, however, each artist seeks his own style, where the
portrait and the representation of the landscape are very important.

During the Renaissance, various schools emerged, these acquired the name of the city where they
developed, among these are: the Florentine School, the Venetian School, the School of Siena, the
School of Umbria, the School of Parma, the School of Verona, the School of Padua, that of Milan
and that of Carrara.

The painters are also grouped together, but by generations, like this, we have those from the
Quattrocento (1400) and those from the Cinquecento (1500). There is another classification widely
used to characterize the pictorial works of the Renaissance, which is:

Early Renaissance: spanning from the year 1420 to the year 1500 and whose most significant
representatives are Fran Angelico de Fiesole, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca and Sandro Botticelli,
among many others, with truly great paintings.

High Renaissance: which includes the period from the year 1500 to the year 1527, in which famous
painters stood out: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Pablo Veronese, Tintoreto, Raphael
Sanzio, John Van Eyck, Albrecht Dürer , Jean Cousin and El Greco.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE PAINTING

It is narrative: it exposes stories and events, real or fictional, taken from religion, mythology or
history.
It is realistic: human or animal figures, and inanimate objects are reproduced with the greatest
care so that they resemble their real models in every way.

The painting is presented as a stage: a cubic space, suggested through the resources taught by the
newly discovered geometric perspective and giving the illusion of depth. The painter's point of
view is usually in the center of the painting.

The composition is subject to intellectual, that is, reasoned, schemes. A symmetrical shape is
usually preferred in the distribution of figures.

As for the preferred composition schemes, the triangular one (with the vertex up or inverted) and
the rectangular one with the division of space into golden segments. In some cases, the triangles
are two combined.

In general, it is a drawing painting, which is based on the defining and expressive power of the line,
and considers color as an accident of matter of secondary importance. The shapes are closed with
a continuous line drawing and their separation from the background is absolute.

Preference is given to the human body, particularly the nude, whose anatomy is carefully studied
and copied.

Starting in the 15th century, the oil technique, invented by Flemish painters, was used instead of
tempera, which facilitated the development of easel painting.

DRAWING AND ENGRAVING

The great painters of the Renaissance were first-class draftsmen. The notes, sketches and studies
that we know of Boticelli, Dürer, Buonarroti, da Vinci or Sanzio, who stood out for their majestic
pictorial work, reveal great mastery in the use of the pencil. The one who stands out the most as a
draftsman is Leonardo da Vinci, since through drawing he carried out his famous anatomical
studies. His drawing is full of fine but firm features, highlighting human expressions.

However, drawing as an independent technique, with value in itself, was not considered at the
time, being reduced only to an auxiliary means of painting, to take quick notes from life or make
studies of composition, perspective, movement, anatomy. and other aspects of the picture that
was going to be painted.

The techniques they usually used were charcoal, sanguine, pencil and ink on paper. But if drawing
did not have much interest for Renaissance artists, on the other hand, engraving, especially among
the Germans, was highly cultivated and was worked on as an autonomous technique, parallel to
that of painting, in its two main forms: engraving in metal (calcography) and wood engraving
(woodcut), to whose diffusion the recent invention of the printing press in 1450 contributed.

- BAROQUE

This style began in Italy in the 16th century and lasted until the end of the 18th century. It spread
throughout all European countries, developing its own characteristics in each country. In this art
there is a marked predilection for naturalism, dynamism and optical effects, compositions of still
life, still lifes, animals, lives of saints and Christ appear, framed within asymmetric schemes. The
representations of people or townspeople appear in their normal clothing, but in the portraits of
upper social class, the clothing, wigs, lace, stylized shoes, hats, etc. are more ornate; However,
what most characterizes baroque painting is the management of light and shadow, dramatic
intensity and the use of color. In Italy, two pictorial currents, or styles, were produced: the Eclectic
and the Classicist, in this country the figure of Michelangelo Merisi of Caravaggio stood out; In
France, Nicolás Poussin, Georges de La Tour and Claude Gelée Lorrain stood out; In Spain the
baroque becomes serious and formal, masterfully represented by Diego Rodríguez de Silva y
Velásquez, Francisco Zurbarán, José de Ribera and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. In the Netherlands,
the Baroque generated two schools: the Flemish, which had its peak in the 16th century in
Flanders and was represented by Pedro Pablo Rubens, Antón Van Dyck and Jacob Jordanes, and
the Dutch, which produced a new style and featured with two important characters: Rembrandt H.
Van Rijn and Jan Vermeer or Van der Meer of Delft.

This art developed between the 17th and part of the 18th centuries, its starting point was Italy,
Rome, specifically, where it left grandiose monuments in the order of architecture. From Italy it
passed to the rest of Europe and even reached Russia. Through Spain, the Baroque spread
throughout America and reached its climax in the 18th century.

ARCHITECTURE: The two types of architectural work that the Baroque develops are the Church
and the Palace. The church, in typical style, has two robust side towers that frame the large
lantern with its dome. The palace, which is modeled on that of Versailles, consists of a long
building with several floors, whose central body contains the greatest density of decorative
elements and forms a front of great artistic value. Essential elements of the baroque palace are
the galleries, which are long, vaulted rooms with windows, and the "imperial" staircase.
PAINTING: In this art there is a marked predilection for naturalism, dynamism and optical effects,
compositions of still life, still lifes, animals, lives of saints and Christ appear, framed within
asymmetric schemes. The representations of people or townspeople appear in their normal
clothing, but in the portraits of upper social class, the clothing, wigs, lace, stylized shoes, hats, etc.
are more ornate; However, what most characterizes baroque painting is the management of light
and shadow, dramatic intensity and the use of color. In Italy, two pictorial currents, or styles, were
produced: the Eclectic and the Classicist, in this country the figure of Michelangelo Merisi of
Caravaggio stood out; In France, Nicolás Poussin, Georges de La Tour and Claude Gelée Lorrain
stood out; In Spain the baroque becomes serious and formal, masterfully represented by Diego
Rodríguez de Silva, Velásquez, Francisco Zurbarán, José de Ribera and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
In the Netherlands, the Baroque generated two schools: the Flemish, which had its peak in the
16th century in Flanders and was represented by Pedro Pablo Rubens, Antón Van Dyck and Jacob
Jordanes, and the Dutch, which produced a new style and featured with two important characters:
Rembrandt H. Van Rijn and Jan Vermeer or Van der Meer of Delft.

SCULPTURE: Baroque sculpture shows the following characteristics:

MOVEMENT: the figures are represented in some violent action and in attitudes of effort and
tension. The clothes also participate in this agitation and wrinkle in folds that flutter as if shaken by
the wind.

PATHETISM: likes the expression of emotional moods such as: ecstasy, fear, anxiety, etc., which
faces translate with the most vivid verism.

CHAIROSCURO: effects specific to painting are sought, so that the bodies are perceived as
wrapped in a luminous atmosphere.

THEATRALITY: there is a propensity for exaggeration and eloquent attitudes that make it a
dramatic representation.

- THE ROCOCO
Characteristic style of the European 18th century, which succeeded the Baroque and preceded the
Neoclassical. The term comes from the French Rocaille, which in the 17th century designated the
decoration of Renaissance caves and gardens using shells. Rococo flourished mainly in France,
initially together with the Baroque, until it acquired its own language that spread throughout
Europe. While the architecture retained its rigidity of classical origin, the decorative elements of
the Rococo brought fantasy and elegance to the buildings, but it was above all in the interiors
where the Rococo decoration achieved its greatest achievements.

ARCHITECTURE: The ornaments that, representing false rocks, adhered to the architecture of the
grottos and waterfalls, called rockeries, were the main new element, introduced to replace the
rigid system of classical orders, to evoke freshness and joy of the primitive and the countryside.
Palaces are the first to adopt whimsical boxes, sculpted columns, shells, etc. as basic elements.

SCULPTURE: Germany embraced Rococo with such enthusiasm that it was difficult for it to get rid
of it. A great sculptor of the Rococo century was Andrea Schluter, author of the equestrian effigy
of the Elector Frederick William, in which the movement of masses and lines can be observed,
which in Baroque times only affected the conception of the whole, in the 18th century It was used
as a detail to give life to every detail of the bodies.

PAINTING: The character of the Rococo era, in love with intimacy, favored the cultivation of
portraiture in painting, as well as in sculpture. This would have lacked grace without realism, and
therefore was inspired by Dutch and Flemish painting, especially Van Dyck. The client is no longer
the King, with the great decorative needs of a palace, but is among the wealthy nobles and
bourgeoisie who are no longer interested in historical and mythological compositions, although
they often still take pleasure in having their portraits taken. characterized as fable characters.

- NEOCLASSISISM

It was a movement that occurred in Europe in the 18th century in the face of the already
exhausted canons of classicism, when the wear and tear of baroque cultures occurred, which
aspired to restore the taste and norms of classicism. In the neoclassical era, color takes a backseat
and drawing becomes very important; that is, the pure line, and the color is applied only as a
complement. This art tried to imitate the styles used anciently in Greece and Rome, due to the
influence of archaeological discoveries such as those of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In painting,
David was the greatest exponent of French neoclassicism, which included painters such as Gross,
Gèrard, Prud'hon and Ingres, although in some of them he already pointed out the germ of
Romanticism, an aesthetic movement that would succeed neoclassicism.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Inspiration in the works of the classical era, which are considered perfect and definitive.

Aspiration for an ideal beauty, born from the exact relationship of the parts, according to
measurements given by reason.

In the plastic arts: impeccable drawing, closed contours, volumes modeled in a way that gives the
illusion of roundness of the bodies; soft coloring and symmetrical and static composition.

ARCHITECTURE: It was characterized by symmetry, elegance and sobriety, the use of a single order
(Doric, Ionic or Corinthian, instead of baroque superposition); in addition to the emphasis on
lighting values, the tripartite division of the façade with a central tympanum, the elimination of
color, the taste for triumphal arches and commemorative columns.

SCULPTURE: Sculptors focus their interest on the aesthetic ideals and technical procedures of
ancient statuary. The Italian Canova was the most prominent, followed by the Dane Thorvaldsen,
educated in Rome; Other representatives of the time are: Bartolini, Rude, Pradler, Flaxman, among
others.

PAINTING: He took as a model the ancient statuary and the 16th century Italian (Rafael). The artist
who definitively contributed to affirming the new style was David, who influenced French artists of
the stature of Ingres, Gerard and Prud'hon. In U.S.A Italian and English influence merged.

- ROMANTICISM
It appears in France at the beginning of the 19th century as a violent reaction against the coldness
of neoclassicism. If this meant reason, serenity and limit, romanticism was imagination, passion
and infinity.

MAIN FEATURES

SUBJECTIVITY: the artist creates his work from his emotions, feelings and intimate ideas.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: there are no fixed rules, but rather each artist can express himself
according to his taste and according to the demands of the work itself.

SUPREMACY OF BACKGROUND OVER FORM: what is important is what the artist expresses and not
how he does it. The way of saying is secondary and must be determined by the nature of the
content.

PAINTING: It was characterized by the predominance of color over form. They were dynamic
compositions, with great movement and their themes were taken from medieval literature and
history and from picturesque reality. Important artists in the field of painting were: Gericaúlt,
Delacroix, Francisco de Goya and Caspar Friedrich.

SCULPTURE: The movement had its origins in the first half of the 19th century and represented a
reaction against academic rigidity and the affirmation of absolute freedom and eclecticism. The
models of classical antiquity were abandoned in favor of medieval ideals.

- REALISM

Realism arises as opposition to the idealism of classics and romantics, proposing an objective
reality of the themes of common life; Man must appear within his usual environment, and his daily
work must be a source of fruitful inspiration. The term realism was adopted by an artistic
movement that appeared in France following the revolution of 1848 and whose main
representative was the painter Gustave Courbet, whose art represented the social concerns that
invaded Europe in the mid-19th century.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Topics taken from real life, especially from humble and working life, presented with a sense of
social criticism.

Presentation of the beautiful and the ugly as they are, without idealizing them.

Vigorous drawing, even if it is not correct; sober color and interest in chiaroscuro contrasts.

Technique: the one that provides the most complete identification between what is painted and
nature.

Representatives: Courbet, Daumier and Rousseau.

- IMPRESSIONISM

The first exhibition presented by a group of impressionists took place in 1874 and the name was
applied to them with the intention of ridiculing them, by critics who did not view the new style
favorably. The Impressionists wanted to capture the quality of light and atmosphere at a particular
time of day through which objects are seen, since their condition determines their appearance.
The possibility of portraying light in terms of painting was the result of the new scientific analysis
of colors. The foundation of this pictorial movement is centered on the fact that at the cerebral
level the separate spots of color come together; Thus, a spot next to a blue spot results in a green
color if viewed from a distance. Impressionist painters took this principle into account when
creating their canvases. The combination of pure colors will no longer be done on the palette or on
the fabric, but rather it will be the viewer's brain that unites them to form the figures. The artists
Claude Monet and Edouard Manet are considered the initiators of this movement; Edgar Degas,
Pierre August Renoir and Camille Pizarro also stand out. The management of light is the primary
characteristic, through its study it will be possible to verify that the same landscape will look
different according to the time of day in which it is painted. Along with the Impressionist groups, a
new group of painters was born who managed to perfect the techniques and color possibilities
imposed by this movement. These are called Neo-Impressionists or Post-Impressionists. Paul
Cézanne, Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Toulouse Lautree stand out in this movement. .

- EXPRESSIONISM

It was a plastic artistic movement related to literature; Born in 1890 in Germany and in the
countries of northern Europe, it lasted well into the 20th century. The plastic artists Edward
Munch, Gustav Kimt, Oskar Kokochka, Emil Nolde and Georges Rouault stand out in this
movement. Expressionist painting seeks and manages to express violent emotions, it goes from
the inside out, unlike the impressionist painting that goes from the outside in. Its fundamental
objective was to create impetuous reactions in the viewer, through the artist's feelings and
emotions, expressed with bold forms and rigid color.

- FAUVISM

In 1905 a group of young painters exhibited their works and to designate their style, critics coined
the name Fauvism because it seemed to them that those artists were fauves (wild beasts). As an
artistic movement it did not last more than five years, but as a style it exerted a greater and more
persistent influence on the use of drawing and color than any other school of the 20th century.
Fauvism derived from the strong colors and vehement brushstrokes of Van Gogh; of Gauguin's
simplified forms and bold decorative schemes, and of the disdain they both demonstrated for the
formal academic qualities of composition. Henri Matisse, the first figure of the original Fauvist
group, in his painting Great Interior in Red, leaves present the Fauvist intensity of color, although
used with quite different results, since red is naturally considered a bright color that produces
great excitement and in this painting the effect of the composition gives a feeling of deep repose.

- CUBISM

This artistic movement emerged in France around 1907, and spread throughout the world. It is
inspired by the artistic postulates of Paul Cézanne and Georges Seurat; Its basic approach is to
represent works of reality, but fractured through the geometrization of the form, in such a way
that the same shapes of the object were represented, seen from various angles as a simultaneity
of planes. Cubist artists painted flat surfaces, the perspective given to the work was apparent,
achieved through the elongation of lines and angles. Color was virtually suppressed, being
subordinated to shapes and therefore to drawing. The cubists created the superposition through
the multifaceted and simultaneous vision of the object. As creators of the Cubist movement we
can name important figures such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. In Venezuela, Cubism has
numerous followers; we can cite Ángel Hurtado, Armando Barrios and Manuel Quintanilla as
representatives of this trend in our country.

- FUTURISM

It was an Italian movement to which Humberto Boccioni and Carlo Carrá belonged; Its purpose
was to awaken Italy from the cultural apathy in which it had been mired since the end of the 18th
century. It attacked museums and academies, the cult of the ancient and all Italian art of other
times. Futurism demanded a new artistic concept based on the dynamics of speed, which for the
futurists was fundamental and peculiar to modern life. The symbol most revered by futurists was
the racing car; In essence, futurist painting was a portrait of the movement related to analytical
cubism due to its fragmentation, but just as the cubist sees a static object from various angles
moving around it, in futurism the viewer is still while the object moves. Therefore, in the drawing,
the futuristic representation of the simultaneous movement of a dog trotting down the street can
have twenty legs and six tails, with an effect similar to that of a long photographic exposure of
some moving object.

- SURREALISM

This avant-garde movement was not limited to a single geographical location and its
manifestations are as varied as its interpreters. Giorgio de Chirico, Paul Klee, Man Ray, Salvador
Dalí, Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy, were just some of the artists who took an active part in the group of
surrealist painters. Surrealism freed painting from its long submission to the realistic image and
the concept of space inherited from the Renaissance, giving the artist free rein to express his most
intimate feelings and impulses. Influenced by Freud's psychoanalysis and the revolutionary
doctrines of the time, surrealism knew how to give cause to vague renovative impulses latent in
the intellectuality that emerged from the first post-war period. Its most flourishing period was
from 1924 to 1928. The marvelous is proposed as an aesthetic ideal, bringing together two
incongruous objects in a context foreign to both; The surrealists' purpose was not to "make art,"
but to explore possibilities.
- ABSTRACTION

This art consisted of extracting the essential elements from a figurative image, deforming or
modifying them; In it, the psychic tends to impress over the purely visual, a new expression of
reality is sought, coming to oscillate between two poles: the approach to reality to understand it
and the distance from it when interpreting it. Abstract art is a movement that was born with the
creation of the new painting by the Russian Wassily Kandinsky in 1910, in which there was no
figurative representation, but rather shapes and colors; However, by reviewing prehistoric works,
from Egypt, from the pre-Hispanic period, etc., the origin of this art can be located in them. This
artistic trend was based, not on the real representation of the object, but on the beauty that the
painting can reflect, hence the importance of color in abstract works. Abstractionism has two
currents: Lyrical Abstraction, which refers to compositions where the artist starts from his intuition
to express, through color, feelings, ideas, etc., and Geometric Abstraction, which refers to
compositions in where the artist works with geometric figures such as the circle and the square,
and with lines that, based on flat colors, make them totally static works.