Top 10 Most Influential Art Styles In Modern History

A lot has changed since the days of the old, as technology progresses and new discoveries are being made in science, so how can Art stay from innovating and using newer techniques and mediums, and some mediums like spray paints and Ink wash are so unique on their own that they are their own style.

They can generally be categorised into Eastern and Western styles based on their origin, and into many other sub-groups based on regions, style and even time-periods. The Western styles are getting more recognition today like Modernism, Impressionism and Surrealism.

Modernism

It is a very vague term, but generally, it is defined as the time somewhere between 1860 to 1970 when Artists broke free from the traditional Methods and worked without any restrictions because many Artists felt the traditional methods weren’t aligned with the worldview of modern society and the changing times.

Impressionism

It is a very vague term, but generally, it is defined as the time somewhere between 1860 to 1970 when Artists broke free from the traditional Methods and worked without any restrictions because many Artists felt the traditional methods weren’t aligned with the worldview of modern society and the changing times.

This style originated in Paris in the late 19th century. Its main features are the thin brush strokes, unusual angles, natural lighting and the use of common everyday objects with more emphasis on how the lights interact with the objects rather than the details and black and white were almost never used, even for shadows only a combination of colours to emulate the light and the dark.

Abstract Art

The Abstract Style is the art of showing the subject only with colour and vaguely familiar and exaggerated shape which frees the artist from the restrictions of forms and reality itself. It found its roots in impressionism and took it ten steps further in the direction.

Expressionism

Impressionism inspired Abstract Arts and that inspires expressionism among other styles. Expressionism is used to portray the emotions and the outburst feelings of the artist for a particular matter and/or event and to show their feelings and make the viewer feel the same.
Jackson Polock barely even used a brush, he poured the paint on the canvas and used the flow of the paint to make his artworks.

Cubism

Another example of abstract art inspired by the later work of the Artist Paul Cezanne whose work formed the bridge between the traditional methods and the modernist and impressionist style. the style itself later became the inspiration for constructivism and neo-plasticism.

Popularised by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, the artist combines multiple viewpoints on the canvas and exposing the lack of perception in the flat canvas, rather than creating the illusion of it.

Surrealism

Surrealism; inspired by abstract art and expressed through photorealistic means to fuse our reality and dreams into one surreal world. Interestingly the word surreal is in fact derived from the Surrealist Art Movement, and before that, there was actually no such word. Artists created odd and unexplainable creatures and objects with such realism that it confused the viewer, like being woken from a dream and realizing that none of it makes sense.

Realism

Recognized as one of the earliest modern art movements, it generally means to paint the subject in a realistic way as much as possible, but in its truest form its purpose was to revolt against the Romanticist style of painting exotic subjects with exaggerated and dramatic emotions, to paint the everyday life of the working class and city streets and showing the reality and the ugly truth of life and the beauty of it.

Photorealism

Take the Realism Style of the Renaissance Era and combining it with the technology of the modern age, and we get Photorealism. It is created by projecting the photo on a canvas to trace the object or by dividing the painting into grids to make it easier to transfer the image onto the canvas and then painting it with exact colour matching every shadow and reflection to achieve perfection.

Action Painting

Action Painting, as the name suggests is a style of quick and erratic motions in which paint is dripped, splashed and smeared on the canvas. It focuses on the action of painting rather than the painting itself. It is differentiated by other abstract styles by being the expression of the energy and the feel of the subject rather than focusing on the visual aspects of it.

Acrylic Pouring

The latest art trends on the internet, also commonly referred to as Pour Paintings they are created by pouring the paint on the canvas and then the painting is tilted in different directions or moved with hands or other objects to manipulate the colours and create unique and interesting patterns every different time, Which is the reason for its sudden viral popularity is largely related to the ease with which anyone can create stunning artworks.

It was first discovered by David Alfaro Siqueiros when he used paints of different thickness to create wonderful effects. It is believed he was the one to introduce Jackson Pollock to this style.