Types of Art Styles: A Complete Guide to 35 Art Movements

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Artist Mark Weiser explains some of the most popular artistic styles

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Abstract Expressionism

2 Art Nouveau

3 Avant-Garde

4 Bauhaus

5 Baroque

6 Classicism

7 Conceptual Art

8 Constructivism Art

9 Contemporary Art

10 Cubism

11 Dadaism

12 De Stijl

13 Expressionism

14 Fluxus

15 Futurism

16 Gothic Art

17 Harlem Renaissance

18 Impressionism

19 Installation Art

20 Kinetic Art

21 Magical Realism

22 Minimalism

23 Naturalism

24 Neoclassicism

25 Photorealism

26 Pop Art

27 Post-Impressionism

28 Primitivism

29 Realism

30 Rococo

31 Romanticism

32 Renaissance

33 Street Art

34 Suprematism

35 Symbolism

36 Ukiyo-e

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Co-authored by Jeanine Hattas Wilson and Maryana Lucia Vestic, MFA, M.Phil.

Last Updated: January 28, 2026 Fact Checked

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If you’re interested in knowing more about visual art (or want to become an artist yourself), you should first get acquainted with the many types of art movements. Luckily, we’ve made your journey through the art world a lot easier with this guide to 35 types of art styles! Keep reading to get the lowdown on what sets each style apart, along with its corresponding time period and most famous artists—including tips from artist Mark Weiser.

Types of Paint Art Styles

Artist Mark Weiser lists these as some of the most popular art styles:

• Realism: Authentic representations of the real work
• Abstract: Unique combinations of shapes and colors
• Cubism: Combines angular shapes to create a picture
• Art Nouveau: Used nature for inspiration
• Pop Art: Big, bright art meant to be thought-provoking
• Expressionism: Uses bold colors and shapes to express the artist’s emotions
• Minimalism: Simple shapes meant to make a statement
• Impressionism: Looks blurry up close, but forms a picture when you step back

Steps

1

Abstract Expressionism

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1. 
   Abstract expressionism emphasizes the process of painting over the final result. Weiser says that abstract art uses “squares, lines, odd shapes, [and] wild or weird colors—but nothing that jumps out at you as normal.” Known as the New York School, it is recognized for energetic action-painting techniques that produce a frenzied effect, along with emotional intensity, to try and explore the subconscious. It uses large painted canvases, sculptures, and other forms of media.

   • Key elements: Large, flat, saturated fields of color, action painting (dynamic brushwork, drips, and splashes)
   • Time period: Mid-20th century
   • Famous artists: Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, Mark Rothko

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Mark Weiser is an artist and the Gallery Manager for DKW Art Gallery in Marion, Iowa. He creates carved slate and wood pieces inspired by Irish and Celtic art, featuring the Gaelic language done in the ancient Ogham alphabet.
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2

Art Nouveau

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1. 
   Art Nouveau is known for sinuous, asymmetrical lines inspired by nature. Known as Jugendstil in Germany and Sezessionstil in Austria, it influenced painting, sculpture, and architecture, as well as decorative and graphic arts. The Art Nouveau movement sought to break away from other 19th-century historic art movements and designs. Weiser says Art Nouveau often included nature, and while it was very popular at one time, you don’t see it often anymore.

   • Key elements: Organic, flowing lines, nature, asymmetry, use of iron and glass
   • Time period: 1890 to 1910
   • Famous artists: Gustav Klimt, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Louis Comfort Tiffany
   • Weiser adds that Art Nouveau and Art Deco are often confused for each other, but Art Deco was more elegant, with smooth lines.

3

Avant-Garde

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1. 
   Avant-garde art focuses on innovation with a socio-political critique. Meaning “advanced guard” in French, the avant-garde art style merged art with life by challenging norms, along with traditional perspectives and expressions. Avant-Garde movements included cubism, futurism, dada, and abstract expressionism; their main goal was to disrupt norms while questioning "what is art?”

   • Key elements: Fractured geometric shapes (cubism), vibrant colors (fauvism), absurdity (dada), dream imagery (surrealism)
   • Time period: Mid-19th to mid-20th centuries
   • Famous artists: Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Mark Weiser

   Artist

   Mark Weiser is an Artist and Gallery Manager for DKW Art Gallery based in Marion, Iowa. He and his wife Deb manage the gallery, which boasts a variety of art, including paintings, ceramics, and photography. The gallery also provides art classes for the community, hosts shows, and runs events that build awareness of regional artists of all ages. Mark has also owned and operated art galleries in Florida and Georgia. He creates carved slate and wood pieces inspired by Irish and Celtic art, featuring the Gaelic language done in the ancient Ogham alphabet. Some of Mark's previous clients include CNN, Pinnacle Bank, and Collins Aerospace. He received a BS in Business Administration with minors in Education and Psychology from Emporia State University.

   

   Mark Weiser
   Artist

   Imagine having a dream and then painting it—that’s surrealism. Maybe it was a nightmare, and the demon has 6 arms, the sofa is too big, and half the picture is daytime and the other half is night. And the cat has an elephant’s body.
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4

Bauhaus

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1. 
   Bauhaus prioritizes materials and function over traditional practices. It consisted of a diverse group of German artists, architects, and designers who were focused on the impact of art and design on modern society. The Bauhaus school was the key element that shaped the modernist movement, while influencing architecture, industrial design, and visual arts.

   • Key elements: Functionalism, minimalism, and geometric shapes (circles, squares, triangles) with clean lines; primary colors alongside black and white
   • Time period: 1919 to 1933
   • Famous artists: Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers
   • Bauhaus originated in Germany under Walter Gropius in 1919.

5

Baroque

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1. 
   Baroque art is a highly ornate, extravagant style made to inspire awe. It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a reaction to the austerity found in Protestant art. Baroque art used techniques like chiaroscuro (dramatic lighting) to create emotion, contrast, and chaos.

   • Key elements: Dramatic lighting (chiaroscuro/tenebrism), intense emotion, dynamic movement (diagonals, swirling forms), elaborate detail
   • Time period: 17th century
   • Famous artists: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer
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6

Classicism

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1. 
   Classicism is inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art. It used traditional imagery to emphasize elegance and symmetry through classical ideals, order, harmony, balance, and clarity. Classical Art and architecture tried to create a sense of harmony and balance through images from the natural world and human anatomy.

   • Key elements: Proportion and symmetry, perfected human forms, classical subjects
   • Time period: 15th to 17th centuries
   • Famous artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael

7

Conceptual Art

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1. 
   Conceptualism prioritizes ideas over the art’s visual forms. Named in 1967 by the artist Sol LeWitt, conceptual artists believed that the creative idea itself was just as important as the finished work of art. It moved away from traditional mediums like painting and sculpture to ones such as information, text, and performance.

   • Key elements: Text, photos, performance, invisible media; socio-political commentary
   • Time period: Mid-1960s to mid-1970s
   • Famous artists: Sol LeWitt, John Baldessari, Jenny Holzer
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8

Constructivism Art

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1. 
   Constructivism is a type of abstract art that rejects art for art's sake. It featured precise geometric shapes and compositions, while incorporating mathematical principles and measurement tools for accuracy. Constructivism sought to join the ideas of art and everyday life through functional and practical designs.

   • Key elements: Industrial materials, geometric abstraction, bold colors (red/black), sharp angles, machine-age aesthetics (like grids, metal, glass)
   • Time period: 1915 to mid-1930s
   • Famous artists: Vladimir Tatlin, El Lissitzky, Lyubov Popova

9

Contemporary Art

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1. 
   Contemporary Art consists of art made from the 1960s onwards. Contemporary artists challenged traditional boundaries and easy definitions through installation, performance, video, and internet-based art. Contemporary art was believed to be thought-provoking and socially engaged by raising questions instead of offering answers.

   • Key elements: Simple shapes, straight lines, and grids, industrial materials (metal, glass, wood), asymmetrical layouts, bold typography
   • Time period: Late 20th century
   • Famous artists: Jeff Koons, David Hockney, Damien Hirst
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10

Cubism

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1. 
   Cubism uses geometric planes to create unconventional forms. It transformed subjects ranging from nudes and landscapes to still lifes into increasingly fragmented compositions. As Weiser describes it, these paintings include a lot of angles, like using a triangle for a person’s head, a rectangle for a horse’s body, triangles for mountains, and even angular clouds. This visual style was used to question established norms, providing the basis for a shift in how artists interpreted and presented the world around them.

   • Key elements: Geometric forms, flat canvas, muted colors (analytic cubism) or collage (synthetic cubism)
   • Time period: 1907 to 1914
   • Famous artists: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris

11

Dadaism

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1. 
   Dadaism uses shock and absurdity to provoke introspection. It was a reaction to social norms and conventional artistic methods that was embodied by its anti-establishment manifesto. Dadaism had multiple visual expressions, from collage and performance art to ready-made objects. It embodied avant-garde movements by embracing spontaneity and irrelevance.

   • Key elements: Manufactured objects, cutting and assembling words, anti-establishment messages
   • Time period: 1915 to 1922
   • Famous artists: Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Max Ernst
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12

De Stijl

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1. 
   De Stijl champions simplicity and purity in color and form. Meaning “the style” in Dutch, it focused on abstraction and simplicity as a way for art to highlight absolutes vs. portray everyday scenes or objects, as realism did. Rectangular and square geometric forms are most often included in both art and architecture associated with the style.

   • Key elements: Clean lines, right angles, primary colors, geometric shapes
   • Time period: Early 20th century
   • Famous artists: Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Vilmos Huszár

13

Expressionism

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1. 
   Expressionism favors emotional experiences over physical reality. It uses distortion, exaggeration, the fantastic, and the bold. Weiser says artists often use expressionism to “show emotion, usually frustration and inner angst.” He adds that the artist often “uses colors to underline this problem,” and “the combination of shapes, colors, and subject gives the viewer a feeling of turmoil and depression.”

   • Key elements: Distorted forms, jarring colors, and raw, dramatic brushwork
   • Time period: 1905 to 1920
   • Famous artists: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Franz Marc, Wassily Kandinsky
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Fluxus

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1. 
   Fluxus blends art with everyday life through mixed media. It is considered an "anti-art" style that combines art forms like music, poetry, and visual art. Fluxus emphasizes process more than the artwork itself, and uses simplicity, humor, and spontaneity to champion an art style that is accessible, affordable, and involves audiences.

   • Key elements: Interdisciplinary art forms, audience involvement, spontaneity
   • Time period: Early 1960s to late 1970s
   • Famous artists: George Maciunas, Yoko Ono, John Cage

15

Futurism

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1. 
   Futurism celebrates all forms of industrial achievement. Founded in Italy in 1909 by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, futurism tried to capture the dynamic energy of the modern industrial era. It depicts urban landscapes, machinery, and human forms in motion. The movement rejected nostalgia, and championed technology.

   • Key elements: Rhythmic repetition, blurred forms, and diagonal lines, vibrant colors
   • Time period: 1909 to the mid-1940s
   • Famous artists: Umberto Boccioni, Gino Severini, Luigi Russolo
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Gothic Art

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1. 
   Gothic art evolved from Romanesque art. It focuses on religious themes through heightened emotion, detail, and naturalism. It includes paintings, sculptures, and expressive architecture with pointed arches and stained glass. Gothic art was said to combine Romanesque and Renaissance art throughout Europe while highlighting divine glory and spiritual devotion with realism, depth, and elegance.

   • Key elements: Deep, rich colors (gold backgrounds), intricate details, elongated figures, flowing lines
   • Time period: Mid-12th to 16th centuries
   • Famous artists: Giotto di Bondone, Pietro & Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Fra Angelico

17

Harlem Renaissance

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1. 
   The Harlem Renaissance celebrated the rich diversity of African-American identity. It was a platform for African-American artists to showcase their talents and perspectives through visual art, literature, music, and theater. Art created during the Harlem Renaissance challenged racial prejudices and reshaped American culture through their perspectives.

   • Key elements: Bold colors, African art influences (mask/patterns), rhythmic movement, modernist techniques
   • Time period: 1918-1937
   • Famous artists: Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Augusta Savage
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18

Impressionism

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1. 
   Impressionism uses visible, short brushstrokes to emphasize light. Weiser says that impressionism creates a nice picture when you view it from a distance, but as you get closer, it never gets into focus. He says the trees, flowers, and birds are all “just dabs of color and strokes of paint placed in such a way that your eye makes it into a picture—but close-up, it is just a bunch of what artists call “loose brush.”

   • Key elements: Visible brushstrokes, vibrant/unmixed colors, focused on light
   • Time period: 19th century
   • Famous artists: Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro
   • Weiser adds, “it’s really a marvel [that] the human brain can take spots, streaks, and blobs and make a beautiful picture.”

19

Installation Art

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1. 
   Installation art is known for large-scale mixed-media techniques. It existed alongside pop art in the late 1950s, but focused on specific locations and temporary displays. Installation art attempts to create a sensory experience for viewers within a designated space, while incorporating sound, light, and interactive components to stimulate the senses and provoke thought.

   • Key elements: Immersive experience, viewer participation, found objects
   • Time period: 1960s to 1970s
   • Famous artists: Yayoi Kusama, Olafur Eliasson, Ai Weiwei
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20

Kinetic Art

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1. 
   Kinetic art incorporates movement through natural or mechanical forces. It utilizes elements like wind and gravity, motors, electricity, or human interaction. Kinetic art pieces often included suspended "mobiles" that moved with air currents; used large, complex machines; or were interactive pieces that reacted to their environment.

   • Key elements: Movement, mechanisms (motors, wind, gravity), materials, viewer interaction
   • Time period: 1920s to 1970s
   • Famous artists: Alexander Calder, Jean Tinguely, Victor Vasarely

21

Magical Realism

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1. 
   Magical realism blends realistic scenes with fantastical elements. It seeks to create an uncanny atmosphere so the supernatural feels ordinary. It originated in 1920s Germany as a reaction against expressionism and highlighted meticulous detail, juxtapositions, and heightened stillness.

   • Key elements: Mundane settings, supernatural events presented matter-of-factly, fluid or cyclical time, rich symbolism
   • Time period: 1920s to 1930s
   • Famous artists: De Chirico, Frida Kahlo, Edward Hopper
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22

Minimalism

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1. 
   Minimalism features uncomplicated elements like geometric shapes. It uses a limited number of forms created from simple industrial materials to challenge conventional ideas about craftsmanship. Minimalism attempts to eliminate clutter and excess in favor of quality, space, and purpose.

   • Key elements: Simplicity, clean lines, limited color palette, use of negative space, repetitive patterns
   • Time period: 1940s to 1970s
   • Famous artists: Dan Flavin, Frank Stella, Sol LeWitt
   • Weiser says that minimalism often looks like “a big canvas, maybe a full wall’s worth, paint it black, and put a single tiny yellow bird in the corner.” Or, it could be a “long board, roughly sanded, and tie a piece of barbed wire to it.”

23

Naturalism

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   Naturalism depicts ordinary life and nature with accuracy and objectivity. It presents subjects with visual flaws, like dirt or grime, to highlight determinism (when behavior is influenced by the environment). Naturalism scientifically presents reality by depicting lower-class subjects from an objective viewpoint.

   • Key elements: Ordinary subjects, realistic light, shadow, texture, and anatomy.
   • Time period: Late 19th to early 120th century
   • Famous artists: Jules Bastien-Lepage, Gari Melchers, Gustave Courbet
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24

Neoclassicism

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1. 
   Neoclassicism was inspired by the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Neoclassical artists aimed to achieve the aesthetic ideals of antiquity by emphasizing harmony, proportion, and idealized forms in their artwork. They looked to the ancient world for inspiration that created a sense of timelessness and universal beauty in the artwork.

   • Key elements: Clarity, balanced compositions, shallow space
   • Time period: Late 18th to the early 20th centuries
   • Famous artists: Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Angelica Kauffman
   • Many contemporary artists viewed Neoclassicism as not authentic because it imitated the art of another era.

25

Photorealism

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1. 
   Photorealism consists of art that looks just like actual photographs. Photorealism artists are known for precisely recreating the exact details of a photographed subject to blur the lines between fine art and photography. They often focus on everyday subjects like cars, diners, or street scenes to capture a moment in time.

   • Key elements: Photographic source, detail, sharp focus
   • Time period: Late 1960s to early 1970s
   • Famous artists: Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Ralph Goings
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26

Pop Art

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   Pop art focuses on consumerism, pop culture, and mundane subjects. Pop art seeks to bring attention to the influence that mundane objects have on our lives. It is viewed as a British and American reaction to abstract expressionism. Weiser says that pop art is “big, bright, and usually making fun of corporations—a giant soup can, a banana taped to a canvas. You’re supposed to look at it and think deep thoughts. Some people do.”

   • Key elements: Bright colors, humor, everyday items
   • Time period: 1950s to 1960s
   • Famous artists: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg

27

Post-Impressionism

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1. 
   Post-impressionism expresses an emotional reaction to the world. It’s considered a response to the naturalistic portrayal of light and color used by Impressionists. Vincent van Gogh is the most famous example of the post-impressionist art style that channeled the artist’s inner feelings over an objective view of the world.

   • Key elements: Bold colors, thickly applied paint (impasto), expressive brushwork, distorted forms
   • Time period: 1860s to 1880s
   • Famous artists: Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh
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28

Primitivism

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1. 
   Primitivism borrows styles from non-Western and folk art to achieve depth. Western artists were influenced by art from African, Oceanic, Native American, and folk art sources to come across as more authentic and less shallow than other art styles. Artists’ work included being purposely awkward and using a simplistic, flat style.

   • Key elements: Flattened forms, non-traditional perspective, bright colors, distorted figures, symbolic patterns
   • Time period: Mid-19th to mid-20th centuries
   • Famous artists: Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Henri Rousseau

29

Realism

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1. Realism is art that mimics real life. Weiser says that realism is “art that looks like somebody took a picture.” He says that it can be done using paint, pencil, or another media, but when you look at it, you think, “That looks real!”

   • Key elements: Accurate, detailed depictions of scenery, people, and objects
   • Time period: 19th century
   • Famous artists: Édouard Manet, Gustave Courbet, Thomas Eakins, Jean-François Millet, Edward Hopper
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30

Rococo

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1. 
   Rococo reflects aristocratic luxury through a lavish, ornamental style. Originating in France, it became well-known through architecture and decorative arts. Rococo’s graceful, elaborate designs and delicate compositions represent the refinement of 18th-century European aristocracy, along with a sense of whimsy and fantasy.

   • Key elements: Intricate scrollwork, floral motifs, soft pastel colors
   • Time period: 18th century
   • Famous artists: Jean-Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard
   • Rococo originated in early 18th-century France as a new style of interior design associated with King Louis XV (1715–1774).

31

Romanticism

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1. 
   Romanticism focuses on emotion and individualism. As an art movement, it was seen as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, along with the idea of mechanization. Romanticism glorified the past and typically chose dramatic landscapes, historical scenes, and heroic figures, as well as the mystical and spiritual.

   • Key elements: Moody colors (deep reds, golds, dark blues/greens), strong contrasts
   • Time period: 19th century
   • Famous artists: Théodore Géricault, Eugène Delacroix, Caspar David Friedrich
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32

Renaissance

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1. 
   Renaissance art depicts natural-looking subjects realistically. Humanism and classical ideals were used through techniques including linear perspective, anatomical accuracy, and detailed observation. Renaissance art is known for its lifelike figures and deep spaces, as well as religious or mythological themes.

   • Key elements: Chiaroscuro (light and shadow), harmonious compositions
   • Time period: 14th to 17th centuries
   • Famous artists: Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo, Raphael

33

Street Art

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1. 
   Street art uses public urban spaces as an art canvas. It was most identified with spray-painted murals on New York subway trains during the 1980s, and included techniques like stencils, stickers, wheatpaste, spray paint, and installations. Street art is often associated with strong socio-political messages that directly connect with a community. It’s typically considered a non-traditional art form that often occurs without permission.

   • Key elements: Graffiti, murals, mosaics with bold color and chunky lettering
   • Time period: 1960s to today
   • Famous artists: Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy
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34

Suprematism

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1. 
   Suprematism uses geometric shapes and dynamic compositions. Created by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich in 1915, suprematism uses these shapes and styles to express a sense of purity through simple geometric shapes and an emphasis on form and color to create deep emotional responses from viewers.

   • Key elements: Precise shapes, limited color palette (black, white, primary colors), sense of movement
   • Time period: 1915 to the late 1920s
   • Famous artists: Kazimir Malevich, Olga Rozanova, El Lissitzky

35

Symbolism

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1. 
   Symbolism uses objects, colors, and settings to represent abstract ideas. It is heavily inspired by emotions and ideas to express deeper meanings through subjective experience, dreams, mythology, and the subconscious, instead of literal meanings.

   • Key elements: Colors, animals, plants and flowers, objects, mythological figures, weather
   • Time period: Later 19th century
   • Famous artists: Gustave Moreau, Edvard Munch, Gustav Klimt
   • Common symbols included red for passion, doves for peace, snakes for temptation or wisdom, mirrors for self-reflection, flowers for love and purity, and weather for mood.
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36

Ukiyo-e

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1. 
   Ukiyo-e is a Japanese woodblock print style. It focuses on urban life, nature, and pleasure. It began as a type of art that was accessible and affordable to the merchant classes. Ukiyo-e’s subjects include beautiful women, Kabuki actors, landscapes, and folklore.

   • Key elements: Bold lines, flat colors, asymmetrical compositions, cropped views
   • Time period: Edo period (1603-1868)
   • Famous artists: Hokusai, Hiroshige, Sharaku
   • The word “ukiyo-e” means “pictures of the floating world” in Japanese.

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• Weiser says that many artists combine different artistic styles in their work.
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• Not everyone likes every art style, says Weiser. “If you look at a mixture of colors and don’t understand what the artist meant, it’s okay not to like it.” He adds that you should at least try it first, though—visit an art museum and ask questions like “What style is this?” or “Why did the artist create this piece?” He adds, “Sometimes the story behind the artwork is really as good or better than the art itself.”
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• Now that you know all about the different types of art styles, find your own art style next!
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