When it comes to visual arts, the French has a headway since most of the art movements we see in history started from France and eventually spread to the rest of the world. Modern art is the term we use to refer to the work produced from the 1860s to the 1970s, whereas after that period is referred to as postmodern or contemporary art. What is interesting about art, in general, is it is a constant reinvention of the wheel.
Modern art really is just a reaction against the more religious and exaggerated art of the previous period. In the 1850s, artists got tired of portraying drama in their work that they shifted to a more realist paradigm, creating the Realism movement. What followed was Impressionism, where the focus was more on capturing the fleeting effects of a scene rather than the actual event itself—indeed an impression. Post-Impressionists took it a degree higher and found various ways to intensify the already vibrant colors or forms for a much better expression. This list will feature the top six modern artists who changed the world of art.
Pablo Picasso – Guernica (1937)
Without a doubt, Pablo Picasso was the master of Cubism and the most influential of all artists during the 20th century. While many fellow painters depicted the subject from multiple perspectives and thus rendering it somehow abstract, Picasso experimented with the techniques and styles and tried to break away from the established art practices. His paintings remain one of the most expensive as many regarded him as the greatest of all time. Most of his works are held by museums, and those few tucked away by personal collectors are protected by the best home security systems.
Vincent Van Gogh – The Starry Night (1889)
A very prolific artist, Vincent Van Gogh created about 2,100 artworks comprised of still lives, self-portraits, landscapes, and portraits just in the more than ten years he was active. He passed on at age 37, but he is now widely given credit as among the most influential figures in the history and development of Western art. While not overly famous during his lifetime, his work gained recognition afterward, which is noted for bold colors and expressive artwork and the emotional honesty depicted in them.
Frida Kahlo – The Two Fridas (1939)
In a twist of fate, Frida Kahlo met an accident in 1925, which gave birth to her interest in the arts. While in the hospital and recuperating from the traumatic incident, she started painting and ultimately gave up her career in medicine. Kahlo is most noted for her self-portraits, with her masterpiece being The Two Fridas (1939). A feminist icon, she is now regarded as one of the more recognizable modern artists and the most well-known among women painters. While the accident exposed her to various degrees of pain, she was able to channel that into something visual.
Salvador Dali – The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Among the practitioners of Surrealism, Salvador Dali and his eccentric manners brought to the canvass his rendition of channeling the unconscious mind to reveal the ultimate power of imagination. Surrealists rejected the notion of literary realism as well as rationalism and focused instead on the dream-like features. Dali is most noted for his attempts to tap into the subconscious through irrational thought and inducing a state of paranoia—perhaps while thinking of being late on mortgage payments or anything that could put him into this state.
Claude Monet – Water Lilies series (1896 – 1926)
One of the Impressionist movement founders and France’s most famous painter, Claude Monet, was the fiercest advocate of the art style and its most consistent painters. His painting, Impression, Sunrise, is also given credit for the term Impressionism. He usually worked in series, and one of these explored how steam, mist, rain, and smoke affected visibility and color.
Andy Warhol – Marilyn Diptych (1962)
A representative of the Pop Art style, which was the last modern art movement, Andy Warhol used familiar imagery from celebrities, comic book characters, and advertisements. He is also known as the Pope of Pop because of his influence and fame. His paintings did not seem like paintings at all, and he also explored the commercial aspects of paints, seeing it perhaps as a form of investment. This upset the art world in the US, further making him a household name.
Sources:
Photo #1: YouTube
Photo #2: Pixabay
Photo #3: YouTube
Photo #4: YouTube
Photo #5: YouTube
Photo #6: Pixabay
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