PrimeLuck ArtsArt history and movements
How art changed over time and across the world, one movement at a time. Dates are approximate, because movements overlap and developed at different times in different places. African art history has its own section.
31 movements
Prehistoric art
Ancient civilizations
- Ancient Egyptian artc. 3100 BCE to 30 BCEAncient Egyptian art served religion and kingship. It followed a recognisable set of rules for about three thousand years, and it was made to help the dead and to hono...
- Ancient Greek artc. 900 BCE to 31 BCEAncient Greek artists searched for ideal proportion and natural movement. Their sculpture, architecture and painted pottery shaped Western art for centuries.
- Ancient Roman artc. 509 BCE to 476 CE (Western Empire)Roman art mixed Greek influence with Roman practical skill. It is known for realistic portraits, engineering in concrete and the spread of mosaic and wall painting acr...
Medieval art and global traditions
- Byzantine artc. 330 to 1453 CEByzantine art was the art of the eastern Roman Empire and the Orthodox Church. It is known for glowing gold mosaics, sacred icons and domed churches.
- Islamic artFrom the 7th century onwardIslamic art covers the art of Muslim societies across many regions and centuries. It is known for calligraphy, geometric pattern, arabesque and beautiful architecture.
- Gothic artc. 1140 to c. 1500Gothic art began in the architecture of French churches. Pointed arches, ribbed vaults and large stained-glass windows made tall buildings filled with coloured light.
Renaissance and early modern art
- Renaissancec. 1400 to c. 1600The Renaissance, meaning rebirth, was a period when artists looked again to ancient Greece and Rome and studied nature closely. It produced realistic space, anatomy an...
- Baroquec. 1600 to c. 1750Baroque art is dramatic, emotional and full of movement. It uses strong light and shadow, rich colour and bold composition to pull the viewer into the scene.
- Dutch Golden AgeThe 17th centuryDutch Golden Age painting showed everyday life, portraits, landscapes and still life for a new class of buyers. It is known for light, detail and quiet realism.
- Romanticismc. 1780 to c. 1850Romanticism put emotion, imagination and the power of nature above reason and order. Its artists painted storms, struggle, mystery and strong feeling.
Nineteenth-century art
- Realismc. 1840 to c. 1880Realism painted ordinary people and everyday life as they were, without idealising or dramatic effects. It treated farm workers and city labourers as serious subjects.
- Impressionismc. 1860s to 1886Impressionism captured fleeting light and colour in modern life and landscape, using quick, visible brushstrokes, often painted outdoors.
- Post-Impressionismc. 1886 to c. 1905Post-Impressionism describes artists who built on Impressionism but moved toward personal feeling, structure and symbol. It opened the way to modern art.
- Pointillismc. 1886 to c. 1906Pointillism builds an image from tiny dots of pure colour that blend in the viewer's eye. It is part of the wider Neo-Impressionist movement.
- Art Nouveauc. 1890 to c. 1910Art Nouveau is a decorative style of flowing curves and natural forms. It joined fine art with design in buildings, posters, furniture and jewellery.
Early twentieth-century modernism
- Fauvismc. 1905 to 1910Fauvism used wild, pure colour straight from the tube. The name means wild beasts, given by a critic in 1905.
- Expressionismc. 1905 to the 1930sExpressionism shows inner feeling rather than outward appearance. Artists used distortion and strong colour to show anxiety, passion and unease about the modern world.
- Cubismc. 1907 to the 1920sCubism broke objects into geometric parts and showed them from several viewpoints at once. It changed how painting treats space.
- Dadac. 1916 to c. 1924Dada was a protest movement against war and against accepted ideas of art. It used chance, humour and everyday objects to question what art is.
- SurrealismFrom 1924 through the mid 20th centurySurrealism explores dreams, the unconscious and the irrational. It shows strange, impossible scenes painted with careful realism.
- Abstract Expressionismc. 1940s to 1960sAbstract Expressionism was the first major American art movement to lead the world. It uses large abstract canvases to express strong emotion.
Postwar and contemporary art
- Pop Artc. 1955 to the 1970sPop Art took its images from advertising, comics, celebrity and mass-produced goods. It blurred the line between fine art and popular culture.
- Street art and graffitiFrom the 1970s to todayStreet art is art made in public space. It grew from graffiti writing and now includes murals, stencils and paste-ups, with a global audience.
- Digital artFrom the 1960s to todayDigital art is art made with, or for, computers and digital tools. It ranges from early code-based drawings to interactive installations and work made with artificial...
African art history
- Nok terracottac. 500 BCE to 200 CENok terracotta sculptures from central Nigeria are among the oldest large figurative sculptures in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Ife sculpturec. 12th to 15th centuryThe Ife kingdom produced lifelike portrait heads in terracotta and copper alloy. They are among the finest works of African art.
- Benin court artc. 13th century to 1897, with a living tradition todayBenin court art was made for the Oba, the king of Benin, by guilds of skilled brass casters and ivory carvers. It recorded the kingdom's history and ceremonies.
- Ethiopian Christian artFrom the 4th century to todayEthiopian Christian art includes illuminated manuscripts, icons, painted churches and rock-hewn churches. It is one of the oldest continuous Christian art traditions i...
- Great Zimbabwec. 11th to 15th centuryGreat Zimbabwe was a large stone city and trading centre. Its dry-stone walls and carved soapstone birds are among the best known works of southern Africa.
- Contemporary Kenyan artFrom independence in 1963 to todayContemporary Kenyan art is varied and growing, from painting and sculpture to photography, installation and design. It speaks of local life as well as global questions.