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Chapter 29

Europe and America from 1900-1950 CE

Book Version 18
By Boundless
Boundless Art History
Art History
by Boundless
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Section 1
European Art in the Early 20th Century
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The Early 20th Century

The early 20th century was marked by rapid industrial, economic, social and cultural change, which influenced the worldview of many and set the stage for new artistic movements.

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Fauvism

The Fauves were a group of early twentieth-century Modern artists based in Paris whose works challenged Impressionist values.

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Primitivism and Cubism

As one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso is widely known for his involvement in Cubism and Primitivism.

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Other Forms of Cubism

Futurism and Constructivism developed from Cubism in Italy and Russia respectively. 

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German Expressionism

German Expressionism refers to a number of related creative movements beginning before WWI and peaking in Berlin during the 1920s.

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Abstract Sculpture

Modern abstract sculpture developed alongside other avant-garde movements of the early 20th century like Cubism and Surrealism.

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Dada and Surrealism

Dada and Surrealism were multidisciplinary cultural movements of the European avant-garde that emerged in Zurich and Paris respectively during the time of WWI.

Section 2
Europe from 1920-1945 CE
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Soviet Constructivism

Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia in 1919 that rejected the idea of autonomous art.

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Dutch Rationalist Architecture

The Amsterdam School is a style of architecture that lasted from 1910 to 1930, with the aim of creating a total architectural experience.

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German Bauhaus Art

The Bauhaus was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts and was famous for its functionalist approach to design.

Section 3
Modernism in America
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American Painting: The Ashcan School

The Ashcan School was a movement within American Realism known for portraying scenes of daily life in New York's poorer neighborhoods.

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Photography in America

Photography developed as an art form throughout the early 20th century largely due to a number of artists who worked to legitimize the medium by moving it into a gallery setting.

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The Armory Show

The Armory Show of 1913 displayed the work of European avant-garde artists alongside their American counterparts.

Section 4
Art in the US during the 1920s and 1930s
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The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance (1920s-1930s) was an African-American cultural movement known for its proliferation in art, music, and literature.

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American Regionalist Art

Regionalism refers to a naturalist and realist style of painting that dominated American rural painting in the 1930s.

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Photography during the Great Depression

During the 1930s and 40s, photography developed further in terms of both its technical possibilities as well as its function as an art form.

Section 5
Modern Architecture
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European Expressionist Architecture

Expressionist architecture was a European movement of the twentieth century that came about in parallel with the expressionist visual and performing arts.

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American Art Deco Architecture

Art Deco and Streamline Moderne were two key styles of early 20th century American architecture.

Section 6
Canadian Painting
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Canadian Painting in the 20th Century

The Group of Seven and the Eastern Group of Painters are two important Canadian painting collectives founded in the early 20th century.

Section 7
The Mexican Renaissance
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Mexican Muralism

Mexican muralism can be defined as the mural painting which was used to promote nationalistic ideals as part of efforts to reunify the country under the post Mexican Revolution government.

Section 8
Art in Brazil
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Brazil

The beginning of the 20th century saw a struggle between old schools and modernist trends in Brazilian art.

Section 9
Cuban Art
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Cuba

Cuban artists embraced European modernism and the early part of the 20th century saw a growth in Cuban Vanguardism movements.

Section 10
Abstract Expressionism
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The Development of Abstract Expressionism

Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement.

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Jackson Pollock and Action Painting

Action painting, created by Jackson Pollock, is a style in which paint is spontaneously splattered, smeared or dripped onto the canvas.

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Color Field Painting

Color Field painting can be recognized by its large fields of solid color spread across or stained into the canvas creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane.

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The New York School

The New York School was an informal group of American abstract painters and other artists active in the 1950s and 1960s.

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Abstract Expressionist Sculpture

During the postwar period, many sculptors made work in the prevalent styles of the time: Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Pop Art.

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European and American Art in the 18th and 19th Centuries
  • The Enlightenment
  • Rococo
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Chapter 29
Europe and America from 1900-1950 CE
  • European Art in the Early 20th Century
  • Europe from 1920-1945 CE
  • Modernism in America
  • Art in the US during the 1920s and 1930s
  • Modern Architecture
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Chapter 30
Global Art Since 1950 CE
  • The World Since 1950 CE
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  • Dematerialization
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  • Postmodernism
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