History of Modern Art - Essay Example

History of Modern Art Modern art refers to artistry done between the 1860s and the 1970s (Wolf, . Indeed, the beginning of Realism in the 1850sand the continued definition and redefinition of artistic approaches and styles in the 20th century marked the modern art origin (Wolf, 2015). Other movements like the French Impressionists, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Surrealism, Romantics, and Abstract Expressionism followed in the 19th century with innovative artistic techniques (Wolf, 2015). At the time, diverse artists sought to incorporate new ideas in their artistic works with an aim of developing an original visual language that represented this era.

Indeed visual sensation is one of the techniques that defined modern art (Wolf, 2015). The artists started focusing on works that represented the people, places, and ideologies of the modern world. Most notable, the publication of “The Interpretation of Dreams” by Sigmund Freud’s in 1899 encouraged many artists to focus on dreams, symbolism as a representation of their knowledge. As such, modern art rejected the traditionally recognized artistic approaches and styles, Renaissance-based traditions and adopted technological advances to artistic work.

Photographic technology and objective representation are some of the technological advances that defined modern art (Wolf, 2015). The technological innovations that defined the industrial revolution forced artists to address rationalist practices and perspectives that defined the new contemporary society in the mid-nineteenth century (Wolf, 2015). As such, artists began modern art to manifest their knowledge on the new modern life. The modern art therefore entailed new artistic techniques, types, raw materials, theories that represented the new world.

Reference Wolf, J. (2015). Modern Art. Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/definition-modern-art.htm