We explain what avant-garde is, when it emerged and its characteristics. Also, the movements he developed, his works and main authors.
Vanguardism sought to confront the current established order.
What is Avant-garde?
Vanguardism is a set of diverse artistic movements that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, in a very turbulent context on a political, economic and social level. It had its greatest development in Europe (especially in France) and, later in Latin America (especially in Argentina and Mexico).
The term avant-garde (of military and political origin) means “advance guard”. It began to be used as a metaphor for the cultural attitudes of the late 19th century, especially literary and artistic currents, which confronted the current established order.
Avant-garde represents an art permeated by radicalism and political, social and aesthetic criticismwhich is why socialist, anarchist, communist and apolitical ideologies were common among avant-garde artists.
The artists, Their ideas and diversity of styles were collectively accepted among the avant-garde, as a shield against the rest of orthodox society. The avant-garde refers to a group, not just to an innovative individual.
See also: Contemporary literature
Historical context of the avant-garde
The avant-garde emerged at the end of the 19th century in the midst of a religious, philosophical and cultural crisis which led to the discrediting and destruction of several traditional signs and values.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the great tensions between the countries of Europe were due to the First World War (between 1914 and 1918) and the emergence of Socialist ideologies that gave rise to the Soviet Union (1917).
Characteristics of avant-garde
The avant-garde established a turning point between art and culture.
The avant-garde artists They sought to challenge the limits imposed by traditionThe unprecedented development of science and new technologies had a great impact on the works.
The rule was the experimentation with new notions of beauty and ugliness. The artists were nourished by the lifestyle of the metropolis and its accelerated pace, psychology and taboo subjects outside of art.
The avant-garde grew driven by the development of print mediaand established a turning point between art and culture, through the liberation of the creative spirit.
Vanguard movements
Surrealism considers the existence of other realities and free thought.
The avant-garde was manifested through different artistic expressions such as painting, literature, sculpture, music and architecture. Among the main avant-garde movements the following stand out:
- impressionism. It is mainly linked to painting. He stands out for his representation of light and pure colors, without paying too much detail to the shapes.
- Expressionism. It is linked to literature and painting. It stands out for the subjective expression that reflects the deepest feelings of human beings.
- Fauvinism. It is associated with oil painting. It stands out for its use of strident, contrasting colours and aggressive strokes.
- Dadaism. He stands out for breaking all the codes and systems established in the world of art, especially painting and sculpture.
- Ultraism. It stands out for its opposition to modernism and the Generation of ’98. It is a literary reduction to a metaphor, with the use of useless connections and adjectives.
- Surrealism. It stands out for considering the existence of another reality and free thought. He captures in painting, an absurd and illogical world that mixes dreams with reality.
- Cubism. It stands out for the use of geometric shapes. Break with the traditional perspective and try to reach a fourth dimension.
- Futurism. It stands out for breaking with the aesthetic values of the past and for reflecting modernity, dynamism, machines and the exaltation of war.
Avant-garde works and artists
The Scream is an expressionist painting that was painted by Eduardo Munch.
Some works and their authors that are representatives of avant-garde painting are:
- “Impression, Sunrise” by Claude Monet (impressionist)
- “The Dance” by Henry Matisse (Fauvist)
- “The Scream” by Eduardo Munch (expressionist)
- “Basket of Apples” by Paul Cézanne (impressionist)
- “Festival of Flowers” by Diego Rivera (impressionist)
- “Night Invasion” by Roberto Matta (surrealist)
- “Rua Ruini” by Xul Solar (surrealist)
Some works and their authors that are representatives of avant-garde sculpture are:
- “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years” by Edgar Degar (impressionist)
- “The Bronze Age” by Aguste Rodin (impressionist)
- “Head-shaped Jar” by Paul Gauguin (impressionist)
- “Woman’s Head” by Pablo Picasso (Cubist)
Some works and their authors that are representatives of avant-garde literature are:
- “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust (modernist)
- “The Stranger” by Albert Camus (existentialist)
- “Malone Dies” by Samuel Becket (modernist)
- “Wild Tale” by César Vallejo (modernist)
- “The grotto of silence” by Vicente Huidobro (creationist poet)
- “The Man on the Pink Corner” by Jorge Luis Borges (ultraist)