Would you be able to recognize any modern art artists if you saw a list of names and works? How much do you know about art, artists, and the different time periods and styles of art to begin with?
It may not have been something ever to spark your imagination, but the works of modern art artists are found all over, used iconically, ironically, and for things as paltry as television commercials. Being able to learn to recognize these modern art artists and their work is a sure sign that you are learning your modern arts and artists, and now is the time to start learning.
- What Is Modern Art?
- Famous Modern Artists
- Contemporary Artists
Modern art is classified as the art that is produced during a roughly 100 year period, from about 1860 to around 1970, and it refers to the style and philosophy of the art of that time period as well. The term is associated with the art styling that throws aside previously established artistic traditions in lieu of a spirit of experimentation instead.
The modern artists experimented with new ways of seeing, and fresh ideas about the nature of materials and the overall function of art. They moved away from narrative, a characteristic of more traditional arts, and moved toward abstraction.
A list of modern artists will leave you saying: “Oh! I know every single one of them, I just had no idea what you called the art that they did.” Even though they are all modern artists, their styles still vary from one another, and you may not be able to place them all in the same stylistic bubble.
Such modern art classics and favorites are Van Gogh, Rodin, Cezanne, Gauguin, Seurat, and Munch. Of course, there was also Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Duchamp, and even Georgia O’Keefe. They all span years and styles to fall into that modern art time period.
Modern art is sometimes confused with contemporary art, as they can often overlap in time periods and styles. But contemporary art is predominantly categorized as art that has been produced after the second World War, and the artists are still alive and producing art. A contemporary artist can also be a modern artists, but the farther we get from 1970, the less likely that is to be the case.
There you have a it. A quick, but brief, run down on the art that you see everywhere. Take a stroll through a museum, or just open an art history textbook and you will see a flood of these artists and their works. Now you know who and what they are, so you can sound educated when you do go into that museum.