What is modern art?

History of modern art

The notion of modernity arose as a result of the profound changes that industrialized countries underwent in the 19th century. As a way of capturing and interpreting reality, art experienced one of its most exciting stages during this period.

Emergence of modern art (1850-1950)

Modern art emerged as a response to a world in the throes of a major transformation. The social, political and technological upheavals (the Industrial Revolution, war conflicts, urban development, etc.) that took place in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries caused artists to break radically with the traditions of the past. They needed to find new forms of expression that reflected the reality they were experiencing. This search for new ideas, perspectives and techniques challenged established canons; as a result, works of modern art became groundbreaking pieces that paved the way for new forms of expression.

Main trends in modern art

Among the most prominent trends in modern art were Impressionism and Post-impressionism, which contributed significantly to the development of later contemporary art movements.

Impressionism and modern Impressionist paintings

Impressionism emerged in France in the 1870s and was one of the first modern art movements. Its way of representing light and color completely challenged classical art. The Impressionists sought to capture ephemeral moments, as well as the essence of nature through the use of quick and visible brushstrokes, contrasting with the more precise and detailed approach advocated by traditional academic art.  Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were some of the pioneers and major representatives of this style.

This movement includes some famous modern paintings, many of which have been rediscovered by the general public in the 21st century:

• Luncheon on the Grass, by Édouard Manet: this painting was a precursor of Impressionism and challenged artistic conventions through an unusual composition and a strong contrast between light and shade.
• Impression, Sunrise, by Claude Monet: considered the first truly Impressionist painting because of its colorful depiction of the port of Le Havre at dawn.
• The Dance Class, by Edgar Degas: through an innovative composition using unexpected angles, Degas captured the effort of the dancers with a detailed use of light.
• Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir: this depicts a scene from modern life at a ball. Renoir renders the light filtering through the trees and proposes a play of light and reflections that mirror the joy and enjoyment of social gatherings.

Post-Impressionism developed in the 1880s as a response to impressionism, featuring figures such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. Although the Post-Impressionists maintained an interest in color and light, these artists sought to express more emotion and subjectivity. They experimented with much more personal forms, colors and techniques. Van Gogh, for example, used intense colors and emotive brushstrokes, while Cézanne focused on the structure and geometry of forms.

• The Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh: Swirling skies, energetic brushstrokes and intense colors in a painting that reflects the transition to a more expressive and introspective style.
• Mont Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne: A series of landscapes that capture the mountain from different perspectives, exploring geometric structures and the relationship between color and form.
• Vision after the Sermon, by Paul Gauguin: This depicts a biblical scene with Breton figures in a spiritual and symbolic setting, using intense hues and planes of color.
• A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat: The artist used the pointillism technique to create a detailed, vibrant scene of people enjoying a day in the park.

Both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, their history and characteristics, were trends that we at Fundación MAPFRE have addressed in a number of exhibitions, including “Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. The birth of modern art”, featuring 78 great masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay.

The legacy of modern art: the birth of contemporary art

In the 20th century, contemporary art began to encompass a wide range of movements that continue to this day, reflecting the diversity and complexity of modern life. Each of them introduced new ideas and explored techniques capable of further challenging artistic conventions.

Cubism, surrealism and futurism

Cubism was a revolutionary movement that was initiated in the early twentieth century by famous modern painters such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. This trend fragmented reality into geometric forms. While analytical cubism decomposed objects into multiple perspectives, synthetic cubism reintegrated forms into abstract compositions. This approach broke with the traditional perspective, and ushered in a new interpretation of space and form.

This movement also encompassed women who practiced cubism who not only challenged the prevailing artistic conventions, but also the gender norms in this field. Prominent women included Fernande Olivier, Sonia Delaunay and Marie Laurencin.

Futurism originated in Italy and celebrated technology, speed and industrialization. Futurist artists such as Umberto Boccioni reflected the dynamism of modern life and sought to represent the movement and energy linked to industrialization and the mechanical age.

Surrealism was a movement led by André Breton and Salvador Dalí, who explored the subconscious, the world of dreams and the absurd. Inspired by Freudian theories, this movement wanted to liberate repressed creative potential. Surrealism resulted in dreamlike images with complex symbolism and unreal scenes.

Expressionism and abstract art

In the early 20th century, German expressionists such as Edvard Munch and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner used color, form, and composition in distorted ways to convey intense emotions, anguish, and alienation. This movement reflected social unrest and anxiety as a reaction to psychological and emotional stresses, so its aesthetics were often raw and visceral.

On the other hand, modern abstract art moved away from figurative representation to focus on pure forms, colors and lines that expressed concepts beyond visible reality. Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian were key figures in the development of abstract art, seeking a new “spiritual reality” through simplicity and geometric harmony.

The Avant-garde and women artists

Women artists also played a very important role in both modern and contemporary art. They not only broke with traditional academic criteria, but also with the social conventions that historically excluded them from artistic creation. The patron of the arts, Peggy Guggenheim, was a key figure in promoting the work of numerous modernist women who revolutionized the art of their time. These included Georgia O’Keeffe, considered the driving force behind American modernism, whose vision, along with that of many other artists, contributed to the evolution of art in the twentieth century, as reflected in the exhibition 31 women, by Peggy Guggenheim.

Differences between modern and contemporary art

The main differences between contemporary art and modern art lie not only in their respective chronological periods, but also in their aesthetic and philosophical approaches.

Academicism, modern and contemporary art

Academic art is an artistic trend resulting from the success and influence of the educational and aesthetic theories of the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris during the 19th century. This trend incorporated classical artistic traditions based on reason and technical precision.

Modern art (1850-1950) was characterized by challenging this concept by exploring new forms of expression and experimentation that reflected the subjectivity of artists and their reaction to the transformation brought about by modern life.

Contemporary art, which emerged in the 1950s, was characterized by its diversity and plurality. Unlike modern art, it does not focus on a single style or approach. Contemporary artists often address political, social and cultural issues, employing a wide range of media, from painting to video art and installations.

Postmodern art and its evolution

Postmodern art emerged as a reaction to modernism. It was characterized by the use of irony, eclecticism, ambiguity and the rejection of absolute narratives. Postmodern artists criticize the idea of originality and appropriate images and styles from the past, mixing them with symbols of popular culture.

Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Cindy Sherman have been influential in the evolution of postmodern art, exploring themes such as identity, power and media representation. This vision has developed into a more participatory and open form of art, where the barriers between the viewer and the work of art are blurred, and art becomes a space for dialogue and interaction.

Modern art sculptures and paintings

The new reality that had to be told implied new perspectives and themes not previously reflected in the world of art. The city as the hub of modern life became an excellent inspiration for painters seeking to capture their impressions. Sculpture also incorporated new perspectives, as well as materials that had never before been used to create sculptural works.

Modern urban paintings and their influence

At the beginning of the 20th century, cities underwent a rapid and radical transformation as a result of urban growth and industrialization. Many modern urban paintings reflected this new reality: artists such as Edward Hopper captured the loneliness and alienation of the individual in urban environments, while others, such as Fernand Léger, celebrated the dynamism and energy of modern life. Modern urban art is characterized by its attention to architectural lines, the use of color to depict the rhythm and vibrancy of metropolitan life, and the themes of alienation, speed and progress.

These paintings not only influenced the way artists depicted the city, but also how society understood its relationship to urban environments. Notable works include:

• Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942-43) by Piet Mondrian: this depiction of New York City attempts to evoke the energy of urban life and is inspired by “boogie-woogie” rhythms.
• Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper: this reflects the loneliness of city life and human disconnection despite the fact that the characters share the same space in a late-night diner.
• The city (1919) by Fernand Léger: human figures and architectural objects are intertwined and almost depersonalized.

Modern sculptures: innovation and creativity

Modern sculpture was also a field of tremendous innovation.  As with painting, sculptors began to explore new forms, materials and approaches. Auguste Rodin was one of the pioneers in this area. Some of his modern art sculptures such as The Thinker and The Kiss decisively influenced this new form of sculptural expression.

Modern sculpture evolved not only in its materials (on many occasions industrial supplies were used that, until then, had had no place in art), but also in its relationship with space. Artists like Henry Moore and Alexander Calder experimented with emptiness and movement, creating works capable of interacting with their surroundings.

Other artists like Medardo Rosso confronted the traditional notion of sculpture as an expression of the immutable expressed through mass and volume. Rosso dematerialized his pieces and tried to transform them into an expression of the memory left after contemplating a particular scene.

Famous modern paintings and renowned painters

Modern art is full of iconic paintings that have marked a turning point in the history of art. Their creators managed to pioneer new avenues of expression. Some of the most outstanding artists and their works are:

Pablo Picasso

Picasso was one of the most influential figures in 20th century art. With Les Demoiselles d’Avignon he signaled the beginning of cubism by presenting fragmented forms and multiple perspectives in the same image. El Guernica, his most outstanding work, is a cubist representation of the horror of the Spanish Civil War.

Joan Miró

He excelled at painting, sculpture, ceramics and engraving. His surrealist style was characterized by the use of bright colors and abstract forms. The Harlequin’s Carnival is one of his most representative works.

Salvador Dalí

His eccentric style and work charged with symbolism have turned paintings such as The Persistence of Memory into icons of surrealist art.

Edvard Munch

His work “The Scream” is one of the most emblematic and recognizable paintings in the field of Expressionism, as well as one of the most influential famous modern paintings in 20th century art. In this work, Edvard Munch reflects the anguish and anxiety of the human being using intense colors and undulating strokes, capturing with great intensity the anguish and anxiety of the individual in the face of a changing and often incomprehensible world.

Jackson Pollock

Famous for his drip painting, his work is abstract Expressionism. In his work Number 5 he creates a controlled chaos of lines, colors and textures that invite subjective interpretation.

Types of modern art

Many techniques were employed by the artists of modern art to produce their creations, especially because this artistic period marked a time of experimentation and the use of new styles and materials. The main types of modern art are:

• Abstract: this focuses on shapes, colors and lines that do not represent real world objects in a direct way. This type of art can be found in various movements, such as cubism and abstract expressionism.
• Figurative: unlike abstract art, figurative art depicts recognizable objects, although the styles can vary from realism to more stylized interpretations.
• Collage: this technique uses a combination of different materials and objects glued together on a surface to create a work of art. It was widely used in Dadaism and Cubism.
• Action painting: this is an abstract expressionist technique characterized by the spontaneous application of paint onto the canvas.
• Performance art: this type of art is based on live action  and the artist uses their own body to express ideas.
• Installations: works that occupy a three-dimensional space, allowing viewers to interact with them.
• Ready-made: popularized by Marcel Duchamp, this consists of taking common objects and presenting them as works of art, defying traditional conventions.

Spanish modern art: characteristics and exponents

Spanish modern art was vitally influential in the evolution of European art. Pablo Picasso is its greatest exponent thanks to his Cubist contributions including works such as El Guernica, through which he denounced the horror of the Spanish Civil War. Salvador Dalí was also a key figure in surrealism. Together with these giants, Joan Miró, somewhere between surrealism and abstract art, also stood out for his particular visual language.

Antoni Gaudí was also a leading architectural light in Spanish modernism, revolutionizing the design of buildings and spaces with organic and colorful forms in works like the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell in Barcelona.

Juan Gris, was another great exponent of Cubism, as he brought a more structured and colorful approach to this movement, with outstanding works such as Portrait of Picasso and Still Life with Checked Tablecloth, consolidating his importance in the artistic avant-garde.

Contemporary art

While the term “modern art” generally refers to artistic production up to the mid-20th century, its impact continues to influence the work of current artists who explore and recontextualize the ideas and techniques of that period.

Representatives of contemporary art include Gerhard Richter, known for his fusion of abstraction and figuration; Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose work explores issues of identity, power and popular culture; and Anish Kapoor in the field of sculpture, whose works play with perception and the environment through reflective surfaces and abstract forms.

Photography and modern art: how are they related?

The invention of the photographic camera in the 19th century had an enormous impact on art. Modern artists began to question the purpose of painting as a means of capturing reality and, as a result, began to reflect more subjective ways of representing the world in their work.

Over the course of the 20th century, photography became an artistic medium in its own right.  Man Ray, within the surrealist movement, was one of the pioneers of artistic innovation in the history of photography. His works explore the boundaries between reality and fantasy and continue to inspire many creators.

Photography also played an important role in documenting modern art, capturing performances, installations and ephemeral works, which helped expand its reach and impact.