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Chapter 28

European and American Art in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Book Version 18
By Boundless
Boundless Art History
Art History
by Boundless
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Section 1
The Enlightenment
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The Enlightenment

Neoclassicism was the dominant artistic style of the Enlightenment period and drew inspiration from the classical art and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome.

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The Grand Tour and Its Portraits

The Grand Tour was a customary trip to Europe undertaken by wealthy Europeans and some Americans.

Section 2
Rococo
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Rococo in French Decoration

Rococo salons are known for their elaborate detail, serpentine design work, asymmetry and predisposition to lighter, pastel, or gold-based color palettes.

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Rococo in Painting and Sculpture

Rococo style in painting echoes the qualities evident in other manifestations of the style including serpentine lines, heavy use of ornament as well as themes revolving around playfulness, love and nature.

Rococo Architecture

18th century Rococo architecture was a lighter, more graceful, yet also more elaborate version of Baroque architecture.

Section 3
Neoclassicism
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Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.

Section 4
Neoclassicism and Romanticism
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Romanticism

Romanticism, fueled by the French Revolution, was a reaction to the scientific rationalism and classicism of the Age of Enlightenment.

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Painting in the Romantic Period

Romanticism was a prevalent artistic movement in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries.

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Landscape Painting in the Romantic Period

Landscape painting in Europe and America greatly increased in prominence during the 18th and particularly the 19th century.

Section 5
The Gothic Revival
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The Gothic Revival

The Gothic Revival was an architectural movement beginning in England during the 1740s that sought to revive medieval forms.

Section 6
The Empire Style
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Art under Napoleon

The Empire style refers to art created under the rule of Napoleon that was intended to idealize the French Empire.

Section 7
Academic Art
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Academic Architecture

Beaux-Arts architecture expressed the academic neoclassical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

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Academic Painting and Sculpture

Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art.

Section 8
Realism
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Pre-Raphaelites

The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848.

Section 9
Impressionism
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Impressionism

Impressionism is a 19th century movement known for its paintings that aimed to depict the transience of light, and to capture scenes of modern life and the natural world in their ever-shifting conditions. 

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Manet

Édouard Manet, a French painter, was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.

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Impressionist Sculpture

Modern sculpture is generally considered to have begun with the work of French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Section 10
The Rise of Modernism
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Post-Impressionism

Post-Impression refers to a genre that rejected the naturalism of Impressionism in favor of using color and form in more expressive manners.

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Cézanne

Cézanne was a French, Post-Impressionist painter whose work highlights the transition from the 19th century to the early 20th century.

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Vorticism

Vorticism, an offshoot of Cubism, was a brief modernist movement in British art and poetry of the early twentieth century.

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Symbolism

Symbolism was a late 19th century art movement of French, Russian, and Belgian origin.

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Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was an international style of art and architecture that was most popular from 1890–1910.

Section 11
The Beginning of Modern Architecture
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Changes in Technology

Building materials spawned by the Industrial Revolution, such as iron, steel, and sheet glass, determined new architectural techniques.

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Modern Architecture: Form Follows Function

Modern architecture adhered to Louis Sullivan's famous precept, "Form follows function," which called for an absence of ornamentation beyond functional necessity.

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Chicago School of Architecture

The Chicago School of architecture is famous for promoting steel-frame construction and a modernist spatial aesthetic.

Section 12
Photography
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Development of Photography

Camera photography was invented in the first decades of the 19th century.

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Chapter 28
European and American Art in the 18th and 19th Centuries
  • The Enlightenment
  • Rococo
  • Neoclassicism
  • Neoclassicism and Romanticism
  • The Gothic Revival
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Europe and America from 1900-1950 CE
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