•The European artists who were at the forefront of this

movement continued using the basic qualities of the

impressionists before them—the vivid colors, heavy brush
strokes, and true-to-life subjects. However, they expanded
and experimented with these in bold new ways, like using
geometric approach, fragmenting objects and distorting
people’s faces and body parts, and applying colors that were
not necessarily realistic or natural.
PAUL CÉZANNE (1839–1906)
was a french artist and post-impressionist painter. His work
exemplified the transition from late 19th-century impressionism to
a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century—
paving the way for the next revolutionary art movement known as
expressionism.
Hortense Fiquet in a Striped Skirt Still Life with Compotier
Paul Cezanne, 1878 Paul Cezanne, 1879-1882
Oil on canvas Oil on canvas
 VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890)
•was a post-impressionist painter from the Netherlands. His works
were remarkable for their strong, heavy brush strokes, intense
emotions, and colors that appeared to almost pulsate with energy.
Van Gogh’s striking style was to have a far-reaching influence on
20th century art, with his works becoming among the most
recognized in the world.
Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers Bedroom at Arles Sheaves of Wheat in a Field The Sower
Vincent van Gogh, 1885 Vincent van
Vincent van Gogh, 1888 Vincent van Gogh, 1888 Gogh, 1888
Oil on canvas Oil on canvas
Oil on canvas Oil on canvas
 EXPRESSIONISM: A BOLD NEW MOVEMENT
• In the early 1900s, there arose in the western art world a movement that came
to be known as expressionism.
• Expressionist artists created works with more emotional force, rather than with
realistic or natural images; they distorted outlines, applied strong colors, and
exaggerated forms. They worked more with their imagination and feelings,
rather than with what their eyes saw in the physical world.
• Among the various styles that arose within the expressionist art movements
were: neoprimitivism fauvism dadaism surrealism socialrealism
 NEOPRIMITIVISM
• an art style that incorporated elements from the native arts of the
south sea islanders and the wood carvings of African tribes which
suddenly became popular at that time. Among the Western artists who
adapted these elements was Amedeo Modigliani, who used the oval
faces and elongated shapes of African art in both his sculptures and
paintings.
Head Yellow Sweater
Amedeo Modigliani, c. 1913 Amedeo Modigliani, 1919

Stone Oil on canvas

 FAUVISM
•a style that used bold, vibrant colors and visual distortions.
Its name was derived from les fauves (“wild beasts”),
referring to the group of French expressionist painters who
painted in this style. Perhaps the most known among them
was Henri Matisse.
 Woman with Hat
Blue Window Henri Matisse,
Henri Matisse, 1911 1905
Oil on canvas Oil on canvas
DADAISM
• A style characterized by dream fantasies, memory images, and visual tricks
and surprises—as in the paintings of Marc Chagall and Giorgio de Chirico.
Although the works appeared playful, the movement arose from the pain
that a group of European artists felt after the suffering brought by World
War I. Wishing to protest against the civilization that had brought on such
horrors, these artists rebelled against established norms and authorities, and
against the traditional styles in art. They chose the child’s term for
hobbyhorse, dada, to refer to their new “non-style.”
Melancholy and Mystery of a Street I and the Village
Giorgio de Chirico, 1914 Marc Chagall, 1911
Oil on canvas Oil on canvas
 SURREALISM
•A style that depicted an illogical, subconscious dream world beyond the
logical, conscious, physical one. Its name came from the term “super realism,”
with its artworks clearly expressing a departure from reality—as though the
artists were dreaming, seeing illusions, or experiencing an altered mental state.
• Many surrealist works depicted morbid or gloomy subjects, as in those by
Salvador Dali. Others were quite playful and even humorous, such as those by
Paul Klee and Joan miro.
 Diana Personages with Star
Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dali, 1931
Paul Klee, 1932 Joan Miro, 1933
Oil on canvas Oil on wood Oil on canvas
 SOCIAL REALISM
• The movement known as social realism. Expressed the artist’s role in social reform. Here,
artists used their works to protest against the injustices, inequalities, immorality, and ugliness
of the human condition. In different periods of history, social realists have addressed
different issues: war, poverty, corruption, industrial and environmental hazards, and more—
in the hope of raising people’s awareness and pushing society to seek reforms.

• Ben Shahn’s Miners’ wives, for example, spoke out against the hazardous conditions faced
by coal miners, after a tragic accident killed 111 workers in Illinois in 1947, leaving their
wives and children in mourning (sorrow).
Guernica Pablo
Picasso, 1937 Miners’ Wives Ben
Oil on canvas (Size: 11’ 5 1/2” x 25’ 5 3/4”) Shahn, 1948
Egg tempera on board
•Pablo Picasso’s Guernica has been recognized as the
most monumental and comprehensive statement of
social realism against the brutality of war. Filling on ewall
of the Spanish pavilion at the 1937 world’s fair in Paris,
it was Picasso’s outcry against the German air raid of the
town of Guernica in his native Spain.