STYLES OF ART

Styles of Art

Artists used many styles in their paintings and drawings. Here are some of the more common styles of art. Learn about each style and how to identify it. Next time you look at a painting, try to figure out what style it is! To see some artwork done in the different styles, check out the Art By Kids page.

Abstract-  Abstract artists felt that paintings did not have to show only things that were recognizable. In their paintings they did not try to show people, animals, or places exactly  as they appeared in the real world.They mainly used color and shape in their paintings to show emotions. Some Abstract art is also called Non-objective art. In non-objective art, you do not see specific objects. It is not painted to look like something specific.              

Artists -Jackson Pollock and Sonia Delaunay

Cubism-Cubism is modern art made up mostly of paintings. The paintings are not supposed to look real The artist uses geometric shapes to show what he is trying to paint. Early cubists used mainly grays,browns, greens, and yellows. After 1914, Cubists started to use brighter colors. Cubism was the beginning of the Abstract and Non-objective art styles.

Artists- Marc Chagall , Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso

Expressionism-In Expressionist Art, the artist tries to express certain feelings about some thing. The artists that painted in this style were more concerned with having their paintings express a feeling than in  making the painting look exactly like what they were painting.    

Artists- Marc Chagall , Wassily Kandinsky  , Ludwig Kirchner

Fauvism -Fauvism was an art style that lasted only four years, beginning in 1905.The leader of this movement was Henri Matisse. The word Fauvism is french for "wild beasts". It got this name because the paintings had bright and unusual colors. The subjects in the paintings were shown in  a simple way, and the colors and patterns were bright and wild.        

Artists- Henri Matisse

Impressionism-Impressionism was developed in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These pieces of art were painted as if someone just took a quick look at the subject of the painting. The paintings were usually in bold colors and did not have a lot of detail. The paintings in this style were usually outdoor scenes like landscapes. The pictures were painted to look like they were shimmering.          

Artists-Claude Monet , Mary Cassatt , Pierre Auguste Renoir , Camille Pissaro

Pointillism- In Pointillism, the artist uses small dots or strokes of paint to make up the  pictures. From far away, these dots blend together to form the picture and give the impression of different colors as they blend together.

Artists- Paul Seurat , Paul Signac

Pop Art-Pop art can be any every day item that is drawn in a brash and colorful way. Pop Art is short for Popular Art. It is inspired by comic strips, advertising, and popular entertainment.  

Artists-Andy Warhol , Roy Lichtenstein , Claes Oldenberg , David Hockney

Postimpressionism- Postimpressionism began in the 19th century. It was mainly still  lifes and landscapes. The postimpressionists liked to use lots of colors and shadows.  

Artists-Vincent Van Gogh , Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec , Paul Gauguin , Paul Cezanne

Primitivism-Primitive Art looks like art that is done by a child. Usually the picture is painted very simply, and the subjects are "flat", or two-dimensional.           

Artists-Paul Klee , Henri Matisse

Realism-Realism is a type of art that shows things exactly as they appear in life. It began in the 18th century, but the greatest Realist era was  in the mid-19th century. Most Realists were from France, but there were some famous American painters who were Realists also.

Artists- Leonardo Da Vinci , Gustave Courbet , Honore Daumier ,Thomas Eakin,  John Singleton Copley

Surrealism- Surrealists paintings were generally based on dreams. Their paintings were filled with familiar objects which were painted to look strange or mysterious. They hoped their odd paintings would make people look at things in a different way and change the way they felt about things. They thought  that their paintings might stir up feelings in the back of peoples minds.    

Artists- Salvador Dali , Henri Rousseau  ,Max Ernst