CHAPTER 21:
THE AGE OF ANXIETY AND BEYOND: 1945 --
Let’s start with your own anxieties:
There are too many confusing “isms” in this chapter. Don’t worry about them. These are the “isms” which you need to know for this class: Early Renaissance High Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art.
Other kinds of ‘modern art,” are simply variations of old types. We have yet to learn just what kinds of modern art are going to be influential, so there is no need to study them as real movements. If you can recognize the movements I just listed, you can consider yourselves successful.
Early Renaissance: religious themed, idealized images, early chiaroscuro
High Renaissance: chiaroscuro perfected, religious themed but with a more humanistic approach and less idealized humans
Northern Renaissance: secular images, middle class images
Mannerism: both secular and religious themed, unrealistically long and graceful figures, rich oil colors
Baroque: Dramatic lighting, mostly secular themed, realistically painted images often with twisted agony
Rococo: complex, brightly colored, aristocratic audience, light, sexy, decorative
Neoclassicism; serious, realistically painted but somewhat idealized images, balanced working and classical themes
Romanticism: moody, idealistically hopeful, themes from foreign countries and history, majestically drawn country and ocean landscapes, horses
Realism: themes of oppressed common man, city more than country, not often very happy
Impressionism: Quickly painted, capturing the moment, suggesting movement, scientific, beginning to replace images with shapes
Cubism: seeing images from all sides, masks, seeing truth from within
Fauvism: focus on color and its interrelationships
Surrealism: dreamlike, symbolic images, often Freudian
Abstract Expressionism: pure painting requiring an emotional rather than an intellectual response
Pop Art: employing modern technology and advertising art (details coming up)
Paul Jackson Pollock (1912 –1956) is a tough one to understand. The painter himself becomes part of the work; the method is the art.
Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist),1950
The Key, 1946
Tiger, 1949
Galaxy
Andy Warhol (1928—1987), as painted by Andrew Wyeth. Warhol gave us a whole new insight called “Pop Art.”
Reigning
Reigning
Ace Gallery
The Marx Brothers
Warhol did not limit himself to painting. He made several outrageous films, including Cocaine Cowboys, Frankenstein, and Dracula.
There is more to this chapter, but as time is limited, these two artists give us a pretty good view of contemporary art: The artist of today has centuries of art to draw from, and the freedom to experiment with media, styles, subject matter, and just about anything. Let us hope that freedom continues.