| Abstract | broadly, an art style that does not refer to real things but is concerned with non-representational shapes and forms. Semiabstract art is concerned with shapes and forms abstracted from reality. Kandinsky (1866-1944) is usually credited with having produced the first completely non-representational painting, and modern abstract art has developed into many movements since then. |
| Expressionism | an art style that reflects the artist's felt response to a subject, rather than recognisable images of it. Strong colours and vigorous brushwork, and exaggerated images and forms are features of Expressionism. German Expressionism was an important art movement in the first three decades of the twentieth century, stressing the importance of the artist's personal feelings, and rebelling against the Naturalism of the nineteenth century. It had earlier origins, and the modern trend towards expressionism can be traced to van Gogh (1853-1890). |
| Impressionism | an art style that tried to capture the effects of light on various surfaces (especially in open-air settings) and to record what the eye sees at a particular moment. Impressionism transformed painting, using bright colours and sketchy brushstrokes. It originated in France in the 1860s and was an important movement of the nineteenth century. Its objective was to record everyday life with freshness and immediacy, in revolt against Romanticism, which cultivated the appeal of emotional intensity in art. Impressionism was encouraged by developments in photography and in scientific research into colour and light. Among its founding members were Renoir (1841-1919), Monet (1840-1926) and Pissarro (1830-1903). |
| Naturalism | a form of realism that depicts the minute and even the mundane details of everyday life. |
| Realism | an art style that aims to represent aspects of everyday life with convincingly lifelike effects. |
| Surrealism | an art style characterised by the distorted objects and figures and the symbols it uses to express the incongruous, the irrational and the subconscious. It originated in France in the 1920s and its objective was to free creativity by suppressing the dominance of reason. It has had a significant effect on Western culture. Dali (1904-1989), Magritte (1898-1967) and Miró (1893-1983) were important surrealist painters. |