Modern Art

The Modern Art Movement began around the middle of the 19th century and carried on up though the middle of the 20th. Stirred up from the post-war and industrial dust flying around Europe, Modern Art grew its roots and began to flourish. In the rest of what were becoming industrialized parts of the world; there had been an increased understanding in philosophical thought as well as technology. With the invention of the camera, Modern Art focused less on preserving historical images and became more focused on “capturing a fleeting moment”, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages 11th Edition.
The main principles associated with this movement are; the depiction life during that time; the jobs, social scenes, industrial accomplishments and cultural aesthetic. Artist also focused on gaining a better understanding of light and color, movement in sketches, emotional conviction, as well as, revealing the underlying structure of forms with in their work. Later the principles of modernism changed again to include more architecture itself, sculpture, sensuality, and expressionistic energy; incongruence with the use of flatter forms, most often seen in aboriginal art; which thusly turned into cubism.
Some of the many artist associated with the Modern Art Movement include, but not limited to, Edouard Manet, Vincent Van Gogh, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Paul Gauguin and Paul Cezanne in the earlier years. It later included such arts as, William Morris, Antonio Gaudi, Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp. Finally, on the cusp of the Post-Modern Era, it included artist such as Max Ernst, Rene Magrite, Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera.
With regard to all the work being created during this time, there were also a fair amount of art historians and critics. Some of the most well known are John Ruskin, whom, “defended Turners landscapes...” based on, “ on the grounds of their empirical accuracy,” Encyclopedia Britannica. Edmond and Jules Goncourt, Albert Aurier and Roger Fry; who’s most notable work was focused on Paul Gauguin’s inability as an accomplished artist, previous to Paul’s death.
Overall the aesthetic character of Modern Art was one of movement and feeling. Whether that was through brush stroke, color use, or the artist use of form to dictate importance; each artist worked carefully to create images that told more than a fact. They conveyed the humanistic element of emotion.



Demuth















Guaguin












Degas















Cezanne












VanGogh