Sunday, June 26, 2011

Styles in Art History

Stylistic qualities are the visual (formal) qualities of an artwork that relate to an art movement. They can also comprise the personal visual language of an artist.

Each artistic movement in history has a group of common stylistic qualities which artists have collaborated to innovate. Certain artists may have also individually adapted or cannibalised such stylistic qualities in exploring their own personal vision of art. Each art movement is a chain reaction against the previous period. For example, Fauvism (1905) was a movement that celebrated the use of heightened, unrealistic colours which the Expressionists reacted to and transformed into a highly emotionally charged, symbolic application of raw colour. This interest in human psychology was influenced by the theories of Freud and the subconscious.

When you are asked to compare or discuss stylistic qualities:
   
1. You must connect the formal qualities to the term (art movement/style) which the work/s relate to
        2. Go into detail describing these qualities