A lot happened in the last century. Social and political upheavals, two world wars, European reorganizations, the end of industrialization and the beginning of consumer society and digitalization: these are just a few of the historical events that shaped the 20th century.
A lot also changed in art in the 20th century. Many artists processed them developments of their time with individual, new ideas. This emerged over the decades new styles and ideals that manifested themselves, among other things, in brighter colors, striking and sometimes geometric shapes or a faster style of painting.
20th century art – Historical overview
From an art historical perspective, the 20th century was diverse. Formative historical events have repeatedly led to profound changes in the various currents. In general, between Art before and after 1945 differentiated. The Second World War was also a very drastic event in art history.
Period before 1945 – Classic Modern Art
At the turn of the century, a movement in art emerged that would have a strong influence on the beginning of the 20th century. Individual groups of artists were grouped in various centers across Europe, including Paris, Berlin, Zurich and Amsterdam. The artists of the modern age are becoming “avant-gardists” called. They want to change art, explore new possibilities of expression and devote themselves to revolutionary topics. They all have that in common Rejection of traditional design means and realistic representations, while they work together in parallel Progress believe.
The term avant-garde comes from French and means something like vanguard. In the military, this term is used for the troops that advance first and therefore have first contact with the enemy. In general, the term is understood to mean a group of people who radically oppose prevailing political and social systems.
The first steps in avant-garde art were taken at the end of the 19th century. To the Pioneers of modernity The artists Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Edvard Munch and Paul Gauguin are counted. They began to experiment with new forms of expression and representation and thus laid the foundations of modern art.
Before the Second World War, Europe was in constant upheaval. Previous wars, colonization and political crises disrupted the balance in Europe. The Balkan crisis and the July crisis ultimately led to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Industrialization determined social life and demanded a lot from people. Those working in factories, in poor working conditions and with low wages were fired social crises at.
Hordes of volunteers signed up for military service in 1914, including some avant-garde artists. The slow fading of the art movements after the war was due, among other things, to the fact that some artists died in the war.
The 1920s brought with it new political patterns and lifestyles. Absurdity and the subconscious became the focus of modern art. Many artists expressed themselves politically in their works of art. Modern art was often used as an act of protest against the government or against higher levels of society.
At the beginning of the 1930s, Hitler seized power and… National Socialists took up more and more social space. Modern art was seen as degenerate or simply wrong. Due to this rejection, the persecution of the Jews and ultimately the outbreak of war, many modern artists had to stop their work.
Period after 1945 – post-war period, postmodern and contemporary art
The Second World War left deep scars in society, including in the European art world. Many artists immigrated to the USA in the 1930s and 1940s to flee the National Socialists and the war in Europe. Artistic centers in Europe such as Paris, Zurich and Berlin lost their status due to the political situation. This is what happened after the war, among other things new York a new venue for modern and current art movements.
Due to the economic boom in the 1950s, society experienced a change in lifestyle. Consumption, advertising and prosperity came into the light of the arts and were used, for example, in works of pop art. At the same time, some artists incorporated the events and traumatic experiences of the war into their works. Also the Cold War and the ongoing ones political tensions were taken up again and again in the 70s and 80s.
As in the period of Classical Modernism, many styles developed simultaneously after the war. The boundaries between them became increasingly blurred and it became increasingly difficult to clearly classify the works of art into specific styles. The period after the Second World War is therefore often referred to as Postmodern pluralism designated.
In the explanation about “Postmodern Pluralism” you will find out more about the historical background and the different styles.
20th century art – Art styles and art movements
The visual arts of the 20th century are rich in different art styles and thus exceed the diversity of the art landscape of the 19th century. In the 20th century, it is therefore less common to talk about art eras than about Art styles or movements spoken. While at the beginning of the 20th century many art styles in classical modernism could still be separated from each other, in the following decades the styles and movements converged or increasingly influenced each other.
Art from 1945 onwards is becoming increasingly difficult to assign to specific movements. It is often a case of different artistic directions coexisting. A common stylistic consensus can rarely be found.
Fauvism
The movement of Fauvism is often referred to as the first movement of classical modernism. A group of artists formed in Paris in 1905, including the painters Henri Matisse, André Derain and Maurice Vlaminck. The group only existed until 1907. Their art became a scandal, they were considered “Les Fauves”ridiculed in German as “Die Wilden/Die Biester”.
They shocked people with their new painting techniques and a new understanding of art: expressive colors, powerful lines and shapes and strong brushwork can be found in the Fauvist works. The Fauvists painted instinctively and follow your feelings. They moved away from the natural model and used colors and shapes to paint what they felt.
In this example work by Henri Matisse (1869–1954), you can see the experimental colors and brushwork of Fauvism. A cold-warm contrast is created between the colors blue and orange, and a complementary contrast can also be seen between the colors green and red at the bottom of the image.
Figure 1: Example work of FauvismHenri Matisse: “View of Collioure” (1905)Oil on canvas, 59.5 x 73 cm Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
Expressionism
Expressionism (1905–1925) was a style that primarily worked in Germany. Inspired by the Fauvists in France, Expressionism was about the expression of feelings and thoughts. This became an elementary design tool for the Expressionists and was evident in the works in the form of expressive colors, shapes and contrasts. They also broke with traditional academic ideas about art.
Two artist groups soon formed that had a significant impact on art in Germany: “The Bridge” and “The Blue Rider”.
“The Bridge” was an artists’ association in Dresden. He included artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Max Pechstein and Emil Nolde. Her works often show dark colors, with a tendency towards depression. The painting style is fast, hectic and always guided by spontaneity. Thematically, they dealt a lot with the topics of their time: modernization, technology and social crises.
“The blue Rider” was a group of artists in Munich around the two painters Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky. Similar to the expressionists of the “Brücke”, the artists of the “Blue Rider” are concerned with depicting the inner view of reality. However, the works show a lighter color palette and thematically they are less political.
The work is a famous Expressionist painting “Blue Horse I” (1911) by Franz Marc (1880–1916). It shows the use of simple colors and striking shapes. Marc is known for his depictions of animals with unnatural colors.
Figure 2: Well-known work by Franz MarcFranz Marc: “Blue Horse I” (1911) Oil on canvas, 112 x 84.5 cmLenbachhaus, Munich
You can find a detailed explanation of Expressionism on : “Expressionism Art”!
Cubism
Cubism is a movement that began in France in 1906 and replaced the Fauvist style. The artists are considered the founders of cubism Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) and Georges Braque (1882–1963). They began to experiment with shapes, colors and new perspectives. Picasso’s painting “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”, which was created in 1907, is considered a key work of Cubism.
Cubism can be divided into two styles:
Analytical Cubism
This style of cubism, which developed from 1910 onwards, is about analyzing the objects to be painted. They were mentally broken down into their individual parts and then reassembled. In addition, an attempt was made to paint a simultaneous representation of several views of an object (simultaneity). The color palette often focused on grays, browns and okra tones.
Synthetic Cubism
It was created in 1912 synthetic cubism, which is based on the collage technique. Individual image elements were put together in a free composition so that they can be mentally put together to form objects or people (synthesis). The artists used different materials in the works. In addition to Braque and Picasso, the Spanish painter Juan Gris was also an important representative of synthetic cubism.
The following work by the artist Juan Gris (1887–1927) shows a collage-like composition of image elements typical of synthetic cubism. Cubism often favored painting still lifes with everyday objects such as musical instruments, vessels or newspapers. The content of the image is rather secondary; it is mainly about the implementation of the forms.
Figure 3: Example of a cubist workJuan Gris: “Guitar and Clarinet” (1920)Oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cmKunstmuseum Basel
If you want to find out more about the origins and the individual artists of Cubism, see…