Best Painting Art Styles

Realism also known as naturalism is a style of art regarded by most as “real art”. Realism is a style of painting that looks much like real life rather than being animated. Realism has been around since the Renaissance. It is the depiction of people, scenery, or objects just as they appear without using any stylizing. Artists use a blend of colors and contrast to create the illusion of reality, space and depth. Only when observed closely, the solid colors reveal themselves as a mix of brushstrokes and gradients. There have been different developments summoning authenticity in realism, for example, opera style of verismo, literary realism, theatrical realism, and Italian neorealist cinema. A very famous example of realism is the "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci.

Modernism art style came about between 1860 and 1970. It is an extreme perspective by the artists of present-day and age, without any limits set to their imagination. It is an art technique modernized to keep up with the 20th-century changes. Modernism is defined by characteristics such as self-consciousness or self-reference. Artists try to depict new forms of art, philosophy, and social organization that are different from the previous era. This style incorporates art with the newly emerging industrial world, including urbanization, new technologies, and war

Paul Cezanne, a famous artist once said, “Everything in nature takes its form from the cylinder, the cone or the sphere.” This turned into the basis of ‘cubism’. The expression of abstract art and geometrical shapes form a very important part of this style. Born in the early 20th century, cubism revolutionized European art and sculpture. This style became popular in Paris and the movement was pioneered by painters such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

The Painterly style showed up in Europe in the first half of the nineteenth century. Painterly is a style described by noticeable brushstrokes and surface left in the paint medium. Previously, artists would try to hide any rough strokes or unblended colors but when painterly came about they did not do it anymore. Artists typically use oils, acrylics, watercolors, gouache, or any medium where a brush is utilized. The paintings of Henri Matisse are perfect examples of this style.

Impressionism emerged in the 1880s in Europe. Common and ordinary objects retain their realistic appearance with a touch of vibrancy about them. Impressionism is about the artist’s impression of ordinary objects. They are often painted outdoors to capture the natural sunlight and color of their subjects. Usually, these paintings appear to be rough and incomplete and this is what sets this technique apart. Monet's water lilies, Vincent Van Gogh's sunflowers, even Claude Monet used impressionism. In the beginning, impressionism was hated and ridiculed but now this painting style is beloved and revered.

Expressionism or Fauvism are similar styles that originated in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. In this painting style, artists tend to express emotions and feelings rather than physical or real objects. This style is characterized by its use of bold and unrealistic colors. These paintings are often unimpressive aesthetically but have the capacity to arouse extreme emotions in the viewer. A very famous painting that uses expressionism is ‘The Scream’ by Edward Munch.

Read more about painting styles