The rapidly changing styles and movements illustrated the doubts and uncertainties of society. Scientific examination, analysis of the subconscious, capitalism and distaste for the establishment—these were some examples of ways that artists tried to make sense of the world around them. Artists often gathered in groups to discuss ideas and work together. Some consciously planned, discussed and wrote their own manifestos. Others developed and built on previous ideas and some simply came up with similar ideas at the same time. And so art movements tumbled along in quick succession. Some occurred simultaneously, others successively; some comprised many artists, others were made up of only one or two individuals. Movements were named derogatively by critics, by the artists themselves, or labeled long after the movement was over.
After World War II, Modernism began to pale as an idea. With the disillusionment and upheaval, Modernist attitudes seemed naively hopeful and utopian. The ensuing styles—particularly in design—became called Postmodernism, which meant beyond Modernism. This was a more philosophical, eclectic approach enabling designers and artists to draw ideas, imagery or styles from any culture of any period and represent them as individually as they liked. Pop art, which emerged in the 1950s and peaked by the late 1970s, took much of its imagery from advertising. In fine art, the term Modern art became applied more than either Modernism or Postmodernism, describing all art produced after Realism up to the end of the 20th century. Contemporary art usually describes work that has been produced since the new millennium. The ambiguity of labels and dates illustrates the increasingly uncertain function of art today.
timeline
1892–93
Tassel House,
Horta
(1861–1947)
1893
The Scream,
Munch
(1863–1944)
1906
The Pool of London,
Derain
(1862–1918)
1906
The Joy of Life,
Matisse
(1869–1954)
1907
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,
Picasso
(1881–1973)
1907–08
The Kiss,
Klimt
(1862–1918)
1910
Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table,
Braque
(1882–1963)
1911
Cossacks,
Kandinsky
(1866–1944)
1912
Nude Descending a Staircase,
Duchamp
(1887–1968)
1915
Suprematist Composition: Airplane Flying,
Malevich
(1878–1935)
1917
Anna Zborowska,
Modigliani
(1884–1920)
1920
Temple Gardens,
Klee
(1879–1940)
1920
Family Picture,
Beckmann
(1884–1930)
1923
Calla Lily Turned Away,
O’Keeffe
(1887–1986)
1923
Bird in Space,
Brancusi
(1876–1957)
1928
Potato,
Miró
(1893–1983)
1929
The Bus,
Kahlo
(1907–54)
1931
The Persistence of Memory,
Dalí
(1904–89)
1933
The Human Condition,
Magritte
(1898–1967)
1937
Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red
Mondrian
(1872–1944)
1945
There were Seven in Eight,
Pollock
(1912–52)
1949
Three Men Walking II,
Giacometti
(1901–66)
1950
No. 10,
Rothko
(1903–70)
1952–53
Woman V,
de Kooning
(1904–97)
1953
Study after Velàzquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X,
Bacon
(1909–92)
1963
Thinking of Him,
Lichtenstein
(1923–97)
1967
Marilyn,
Warhol
(1928–87)
KLIMT
1862–1918 • VIENNA SECESSION, ART NOUVEAU
The Kiss
1907–8 OIL ON CANVAS
180 × 180 CM (70 × 70 IN)
ÖSTERREICHISCHE GALERIE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
A man and woman embrace, dressed in adorned clothes—the woman’s robe is floral and the man’s geometric, while a golden veil unites them. Tenderly kissing the woman’s cheek, the man bends toward her, touching her face with particularly expressive hands. The predominance of gold paint reflects Klimt’s interest in many other art forms and styles.
Criticized for being too sensual and erotic in his time, Gustav Klimt produced highly ornamental paintings featuring Symbolist elements. Focusing mainly on the female body, he was extremely important in the development of Art Nouveau and one of the founders and leaders of the Vienna Secession—a group of forward-looking artists and designers.
The second of seven children, Klimt was born in a suburb of Vienna into a working-class family. His father was an engraver and, with a view to following in that career, Gustav was awarded a scholarship to study at the School of Applied Art at the age of 14. He remained at the school for seven years, along with his brother Ernst and their friend Franz Matsch (1861–1942). They studied a range of techniques, from mosaic to architectural painting and fresco techniques. As the three worked so well together, a teacher helped them to receive and accept commissions.
Klimt revered the work of the Austrian artist Hans Makart (1840–84). Makart had started work on a commission in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, but after his untimely death, Klimt completed the work. In honor of the 25th wedding anniversary of Emperor Franz Josef and the Empress Elizabeth, Klimt and his partners produced several woodcuts based on the work of Dürer. From 1886 to 1888 they worked on the interior of the Burgtheater, but by then Klimt’s work had surpassed that of his partners. He became sought-after for his exceptionally realistic portraits. In 1888, he received the Golden Cross of Merit from the emperor and was made an honorary member of the Universities of Munich and Vienna. Yet despite his public successes, he was more interested in creating a fresh style of art. Influenced by Impressionism, Symbolism, Dürer, Art Nouveau and Japanese, classical Greek, Byzantine and ancient Egyptian art, he began developing a unique and original approach. Art Nouveau was an international style that developed in the 1890s and was expressed in various media, including sculpture, jewelry, ceramics and print. Inspired by organic, natural forms it featured asymmetrical compositions and elongated contours.