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50 Essential Facts About Art

The 50 facts that you MUST know on your way to becoming an art expert!

Leonardo da Vinci is known as the "Renaissance Man"	Renaissance
Michelangelo's painting on the Sistine Chapel ceiling took 4 years to paint
Renaissance artists dissected bodies to learn anatomy
The Renaissance centred on Italy, but the word the word is actually French
Da Vinci appears as Plato in Raphael's "The School of Athens"
Baroque architecture began in Rome with the Gesù Nuovo church	Baroque
Another example of Baroque architecture is the Trevi Fountain also in Rome
The word Baroque is Portuguese. It means something like "strange"
A famous Baroque painting is "Love Conquers All" by Caravaggio
Rembrandt was banned from selling art and had to sell his house instead!
A favoured theme of Rococo art was the leisure time of the wealthy	Rococo
Rococo art is sometimes called "Late Baroque" as the two styles are similar
Philosopher Voltaire described Rococo as "superficial" and "decadent"
Jean-Antoine Watteau is seen by many as the first great Rococo painter
Thomas Johnson was one of the few British Rococo designers
Neoclassicism was inspired by the classical art of ancient Greece and Rome	Neoclassicism
Engraving and etching were important media for early Neoclassicists
A famous Neoclassical painting is "Napoleon Crossing the Alps"
"Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss" is a famous Neoclassical sculpture
Neoclassical architecture was popular. One example is the USA's Capitol
The main themes of Romanticism were emotion and drama	Romanticism
"El Tres de Mayo 1808" by Goya is a defining Romantic painting
Natural disasters were another common theme of Romanticism
The German word “weltschmerz” was an important feature in Romanticism
William Blake is perhaps the most famous British Romantic artist
Realism is considered by many to be the beginning of modern art	Realism
Realism artists tried to show the world as it appears, both ugly and beautiful
The Realism movement started in France after the 1848 revolution.
"The Stone Breakers" by Gustave Courbet is a good example of Realism
As is "The Spanish Singer" by Édouard Manet
Impressionism takes its name from the painting "Impression, sunrise"	Impressionism
All 3 women in "Women in the Garden” are Claude Monet's wife
Impressionists used bright colours, not the subdued ones of the time
Impressionists painted post Industrial Revolution life, like cafés for example
Brush strokes are often visible in Impressionist paintings
Fauvism was inspired by the teachings of Gustave Moreau	Fauvism
Fauvism shows the world as artists experience it, rather than how it truly is
Fauvism used colour to express themselves, for example pink mountains
Fauvism was the first movement to use abstract forms
"Woman with a Hat" by Henri Matisse is a good example of Fauvism
Modern Art relies on symbolism, much like poetry in pictures	Modern Art
The most famous Modern Artist was Pablo Picasso
Cubism was an early form of Modern Art
As was Art Nouveau
Andy Warhol's Modern Art paintings of soup cans were "pop art"
Contemporary Art is the art of today and of recent decades	Contemporary Art
Contemporary art can be seen as odd. "Huffy Howler" is a good example
"Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps" is a contemporary classic
The most famous Contemporary artist is probably Banksy
"My Bed" is a Contemporary sculpture by Tracey Emin

50 Essential Facts About Art

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