166 THE TECHNIQUE
Short brushstrokes of pure
color gave a sketchy,
patchy, spontaneous
painting that suggests a
fleeting moment in time.Modern art
Modern art is difficult to describe
because these days “anything goes,”
from a beautiful oil painting to
wrapping a building up in fabric
or making a picture out of
elephant dung. Some specific
styles have emerged and many of
these were controversial at the time.
IMPRESSIONISM
In the 1870s, a group of artists
broke away from painting religious
or historical subjects and instead
painted everyday scenes in a new
style. These impressionists often
painted outdoors, aiming to capture
the impression of light and create a
snapshot of real life. The group included
Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas.1661860s1890s 1880s1905 1880s 19071920s
TIMELINE OF MODERN ART
Postimpressionist artists,
including Paul Gauguin,
Paul Cézanne, and
Vincent Van Gogh,
painted vibrant, bold, and
often personal pictures.Impressionism
began in France
when artists
tried to capture
a fleeting
moment.Pointillism is a
form of art where
paintings are
made up of dots
of color.The work of
Expressionist artists
including Edvard
Munch conveyed
people’s feelings, such
as joy or sorrow.1880s1890
Cubism is a form
of art that shows
several different
views of an object
at once. THE TECHNIQUE From a
distance, this lady’s hat looks red.
But it is actually made up of red,
green, yellow, and blue dots.POINTILLISM Georges Seurat
invented a technique called pointillism.
He used tiny dots of pure color that, when
standing back, seem to merge to make
new colors. This is known as
optical mixing.CULTURE
Four Ballerinas on the Stage
by Edgar DegasSunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
by Georges Seurat