Important art movements

Art movements in painting and sculpture

1892-1906 Vienna Secession: The Vienna Secession was the Austrian branch of the broader Art Nouveau movement. The group was led by Gustav Klimt and opposed the academicism in place at the time. As was then the case in France, shapes, lines and forms became more organic, directly inspired by nature and its curves. Artists: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka.

1907 Cubism: The first movement to no longer present a simple imitation of reality, cubism drew inspiration from primitive art forms, which had become more well known in Europe due to colonialism. From then on, cubist artists began to treat volume as two-dimensional, resulting in a deconstruction of the subject and an attempt to simultaneously represent it from multiple viewpoints. Artists: Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Fernand Léger).

1909 Futurism: Futurism was born in Italy but spread throughout Europe and particularly to Russia. The movement impacted literature, painting, and sculpture. This movement drew inspiration from modern society, industry, and movement. Futurist works advocated progress, speed, and the rise of machines. Artists: Umberto Boccioni, Luigi Russolo, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

1910 Geometric abstraction: Abstraction is the opposite of figuration. Geometric abstraction involved non-representational compositions and was a significant turning point in modern art in the 20th century. The first abstract works were based on spiritual beliefs (Malevich) or used music as a motif (Kandinsky) – two things which figurative artworks could not depict. Artists: Piet Mondrian, Vassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich).

1911 Expressionism: A movement mainly associated with northern European countries and especially Germany, expressionism opposed academic art. Expressionist works can give a pessimistic and dark view of the world, having appeared on the eve of the First World War. The trend was divided into two groups: Die Brucke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider); the latter moved towards abstraction. Artists: Edvard Munch, Vassily Kandinsky, Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

1913 Orphism: Orphism derives its name from the Salon where the first works of the movement were exhibited: the Section d'Or (Golden Section). It focused on simplifying forms, of which only colours and light remained visible. The purpose of orphist works was to create a feeling of movement in the canvas Artists: Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Morgan Russell).

1924 Surrealism: In 1924 André Breton published his manifesto on surrealism, a movement that abolished the borders between the real and the surreal in its literary and pictorial works. Dreams became a major source of inspiration and artists presented their own view of the world, which found itself deformed according to the desires of the individual. Surrealism marked the end of the supremacy of reason in art. Artists: Dali, René Magritte, Francis Picabia, Max Ernst

1942 Abstract expressionism: Seen as the first truly significant artistic movement to have originated in the United States, abstract expressionism explored gesture and colour. After World War II, it split into two schools:

1940-50s Action painting: Artists worked on their gestures and their method of applying the paint by developing, among others, the dripping technique. The relationship between the artist's body and the canvas became an important part of the way in which the work was created. Artists: Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell

1940-50s Colour Field painting: Artists explored the use of flat colour on their canvas and wanted to do away with the effect of depth. The term Colour Field comes from the large areas, or fields, of flat colour that covered the canvas Artists: Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman

1945 Art Brut (Outsider art): It was the painter Jean Dubuffet who first coined the term Art Brut (translated as raw art) to refer to works created by people who were outside of the established art scene, namely children, psychiatric hospital patients, and outcasts in general. The resulting works were often naïve, dark, and had a symbolic vocabulary.

1951 Lyrical abstraction: This movement developed in opposition to geometric abstraction – the artist's feelings were laid out on the canvas using non-figurative compositions. Works of lyrical abstraction revealed the gestures of the artist as they created their work, but these gestures were less spontaneous than those used in Action Painting. Artists: Hans Hartung, Sam Francis, Nicolas De Staël

1954 Kinetic art or op art: The two names are opposed to one another because one comes from the United States and the other from Europe. Kinetic art refers to works that seem to be moving or actually are, while op art is based on optical illusions. The names might be different, but the intended result is the same: movement. Artists: Victor Vasarely, François Morellet, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesús-Rafael Soto, Bridget Riley

1955 Pop art: Despite many preconceptions, the pop art movement was not born in the United States with Andy Warhol, but in the United Kingdom with Richard Hamilton. Pop art works often distorted or appropriated images from popular culture.. It was also the first movement to go beyond the boundaries of the reproducibility of artworks, particularly through the use of screen printing. Artists: Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol

1962 Minimalism: A movement that emerged in the United States as a reaction against pop art and expressionism, minimalism was based on an extreme simplification of form. Minimalist works all shared the same purpose – to enhance the space they inhabited. Minimalism presented an often avowed cold and noble appearance. Artists: Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Carl Andre

1963 New Realism: This movement was founded by an art critic, Pierre Restany, who brought together several artists who were involved in various art forms, but who shared a common goal: to perceive the real through their artistic creations. Artists who were part of the New Realism movement did not transcend the real, but incorporated it as it was. Artists: Yves Klein, Arman, Jacques Villagé, César

1964 Figuration Narrative (Narrative Figuration): The political and social backdrop of the 1960s led to the proliferation of shocking images, in both the media and the arts. As a reaction against the excesses of pop art, some painters decided to seize this new visual culture and translate it into painting, adding a sense of urgency to the art. Artists: Hervé Télemaque, Bernard Rancillac, Jacques Monory, Peter Klasen

1965 Conceptual art: Conceptual art was not a movement as such, but a tendency among artists to question what made art, art. We can distinguish two dominant approaches: those who believed that artists may only provide definitions of art, and those who thought that the idea itself was art, rather than the actual output. Artists: Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris

1965 Hyperrealism: Born in the United States and sharing similarities with the work of Edward Hopper, this movement drew inspiration from photography and the aim was to create paintings that were as realistic as possible. Hyperrealist works showed great attention to detail and an acute sense of observation. The degree of realism achieved through painting alone was surprising and encourages the viewer to question the concepts of reality and representation. Artists: Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Malcolm Morley

1960s Street art: Urban art includes all artistic creations displayed in the street – the urban environment and public spaces are used as a both a medium and a canvas for creation. This includes several techniques, ranging from stencil to graffiti to stickers. Street art is an ephemeral form of art, although today the word also refers to paintings and photographs as the style has become more commercialised and institutionalised, helping it become a part of the history of art. Artists: Banksy, Blek le Rat, Miss Tic, Speedy Graphito

End of the 1960s Land art: Land art artists produce their works using natural materials and leave their creations in situ, voluntarily exposing them to the effects of time, the climate, and erosion. Land art is often ephemeral due to its location and the materials used. Photography and documentaries are used to record the works so that they are remembered. Artists: Robert Smithson, Dennis Oppenheim, Richard Long

1981 New Figuration: New Figuration was not an organised movement, but a shared view of society. It was a trend that offered an alternative to artists who weren't part of abstraction or New Realism. Their main sources of inspiration were new forms of media, including cinema, photography and cartoons. Artists made the beholder question the relationship that the media had to images of reality. Artists: Paul Rebeyrolle, John Christofourou

Art movements in photography

1889 Pictorialism: Pictorialism was the first movement to grant photography the status of true art. There is no specific style but it refers to a photograph that is somewhat altered or manipulated. Photographers transformed the real using various techniques (blurred effect, framing) and staging. The photographer, rather than simply recording reality, was therefore seen as having an direct impact on the outcome of the image and therefore an artistic intention. The first questions of aesthetics in photography arose from this movement because of its heightened artistic concerns.

1920 New Objectivity: This movement appeared as a reaction to expressionism, which was deemed too subjective. Unlike pictorialism, New Objectivity wanted to capture the world in its harshest truth. The proponents of New Objectivity wished to capture reality to such an extent that their approach was almost scientific. The movement developed mainly in Germany, which was in a social and political crisis at the time.

1924 Surrealist photography: Surrealist photography developed at the same time as surrealist painting and shared a similar approach to art. Automation and the suppression of conscious control were at the heart of surrealist thought and the way in which these elements were present in photography appealed to artists. The aim of surrealist photographs was to make the invisible visible. To this end, photographers used several techniques to distort the image (M. Ray, G. Hugnet, H. Bellmer).

Since 1980: Photography finally came to be considered a visual art in its own right and art photographs became artworks in the same way as paintings and sculptures. From then on, the practice of photography moved further and further away from its technical aspects and focused only on the pursuit of aesthetics. Increasingly linked to digital technology, photography also opened the door to video art.

Artistic movements in design

1917 De Stijl: Also the name of a modern art journal, the movement De Stijl (The Style) was primarily developed by the designer Theo Van Doesburg. In painting, De Stijl was mainly represented by the paintings of Piet Mondrian. The aim was to reach a purity of shapes and colours to the point of an extreme level of formalism. According to the artists, this purity was the only artistic means of expression that could be universal.

1919 Modern Design (Bauhaus): Bauhaus was the most famous art school in Germany in the 20th century. It was initially intended for the study of architecture, but ultimately taught all artistic practices. The school abolished the borders between fine arts and crafts, teaching both with the same level of attention. The key desire was to standardise objects and constructions by using simplified forms.

1920-1980 International Style: Initially an architectural style, International Style was also linked to the related field of design. The movement was shaped directly by Bauhaus and shared its pursuit of internationalising form. The avowed aim was to furnish and house the entire world population in creations characterised by a unique, simple, and pure style.

1929 Streamline: Called paquebot in French (ocean liner), the style drew inspiration from Art Deco and its geometric forms which included curved shapes. The novelty was the industrial aspect given to these curves, which bring to mind the hull of a ship.

1929 Union of Modern Artists (UAM): Founded by an architect, the movement was also made up of artists working in the decorative arts. These artists in particular advocated function over form. They wanted design and decorative art to be modern. The UAM (Union des artistes modernes) used innovative materials and were deeply rooted in the design of the industrial era.