Born at the end of the 19th Century in France and spread over Europe during the 20th century, Symbolism opposed completely to Impressionism. While Impressionism focused on the reality of daily life, Symbolism suggested ideas through symbols, complemented by colours and shapes. Symbolism reacted against the materialism and soulless urbanization of the Victorian Era. With symbolism, spirituality, imagination, fantasy, dreams and visions were given form. In painting, the symbolism could be considered a revival of some mystical tendencies presented in the Romantic Tradition, and sometimes it was confused with the decadent movement. The symbols used in the paintings were not common symbols, easy to recognize, but deeply personal, private, obscure
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The term cubism was coined by a critic after seeing some of Georges Braque’s paintings exhibited in Paris in 1908, described them as reducing everything to ‘geometric outlines, to cubes’. This style was influenced by Paul Cézanne’s work, especially his three-dimensional representations. Pablo Picasso, one of the most important representatives of the movement was also inspired by African tribal masks which are non-naturalistic, but nevertheless, represent a vivid human image. ‘A head’, said Picasso, ‘is a matter of eyes, nose, mouth, which can be distributed in any way you like’. In Cubism artwork, objects were analysed, broken up and reassembled in an abstract form, instead of showing objects from a single viewpoint, the artist exposed the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent it in a greater context. Perspective was not important to create art, they emphasized the flat, two-dimensional surface of the picture plane, the realistic modelling of figures was not a concern for cubist artists either. Cubism opened up almost infinite new possibilities for the treatment of visual reality in art and caused a great impact that influenced others artistical movement as Futurism, Supremism, Dada, Constructivism, De Stijl and Art Deco. An important characteristic of the geometrical forms used to create the paintings was that it could be associated with the mechanization of the industrial revolution …show more content…
The Surrealists wanted to channel the unconscious as a means to unlock the power of the imagination. Rejecting rationalism and literary realism, and strongly influenced by psychoanalysis, the Surrealists believed the rational mind repressed the power of imagination. They were also influenced by Karl Marx under the hope the psyche could be the power to reveal the contradiction of everyday life. They believed in the power of imagination associated them with the Romantic tradition, but unlike the traditional Romantics, they believed that revelations could be found on the street and in everyday life. The Surrealist impulse to tap the unconscious mind, and their interests in myth and primitivism. Sigmund Freud and particularly his book, The Interpretation of Dreams (1899) influenced Surrealists. Freud validated the importance of dreams and the unconscious to reveal human emotions and desires. The inner worlds of sexuality, desire and violence, their complexities, were the theoretical basis for the movement. Surrealist imagery is probably the most recognizable element of their works, yet it was also the most elusive to categorize and define. Each artist relied on their own recurring motifs, founded in their dreams or/and unconscious mind. At its basic, the imagery was outlandish and perplexing, meant to shock the viewer out of their comforting sphere, their assumptions, however,
The term cubism was coined by a critic after seeing some of Georges Braque’s paintings exhibited in Paris in 1908, described them as reducing everything to ‘geometric outlines, to cubes’. This style was influenced by Paul Cézanne’s work, especially his three-dimensional representations. Pablo Picasso, one of the most important representatives of the movement was also inspired by African tribal masks which are non-naturalistic, but nevertheless, represent a vivid human image. ‘A head’, said Picasso, ‘is a matter of eyes, nose, mouth, which can be distributed in any way you like’. In Cubism artwork, objects were analysed, broken up and reassembled in an abstract form, instead of showing objects from a single viewpoint, the artist exposed the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent it in a greater context. Perspective was not important to create art, they emphasized the flat, two-dimensional surface of the picture plane, the realistic modelling of figures was not a concern for cubist artists either. Cubism opened up almost infinite new possibilities for the treatment of visual reality in art and caused a great impact that influenced others artistical movement as Futurism, Supremism, Dada, Constructivism, De Stijl and Art Deco. An important characteristic of the geometrical forms used to create the paintings was that it could be associated with the mechanization of the industrial revolution …show more content…
The Surrealists wanted to channel the unconscious as a means to unlock the power of the imagination. Rejecting rationalism and literary realism, and strongly influenced by psychoanalysis, the Surrealists believed the rational mind repressed the power of imagination. They were also influenced by Karl Marx under the hope the psyche could be the power to reveal the contradiction of everyday life. They believed in the power of imagination associated them with the Romantic tradition, but unlike the traditional Romantics, they believed that revelations could be found on the street and in everyday life. The Surrealist impulse to tap the unconscious mind, and their interests in myth and primitivism. Sigmund Freud and particularly his book, The Interpretation of Dreams (1899) influenced Surrealists. Freud validated the importance of dreams and the unconscious to reveal human emotions and desires. The inner worlds of sexuality, desire and violence, their complexities, were the theoretical basis for the movement. Surrealist imagery is probably the most recognizable element of their works, yet it was also the most elusive to categorize and define. Each artist relied on their own recurring motifs, founded in their dreams or/and unconscious mind. At its basic, the imagery was outlandish and perplexing, meant to shock the viewer out of their comforting sphere, their assumptions, however,