Developing alongside the Enlightenment’s emphasis on intellect and reason, Neoclassicism was particularly embraced in revolutionary France and the early United States where political upheaval and social unrest found consolation in the virtuosity, sacrifice, patriotism and self-control believed to have been modelled by Greco-Roman civilisations. Archaeological discoveries at Herculaneum and Pompeii, and widely circulated engravings of classical sculpture and scholarly texts pr

Amid Europe’s meteoric technological revolution in the early twentieth century, and the profound urban expansion and social upheaval brought along with it, Expressionism made a final break from Neoclassical and Enlightenment traditions started by the Impressionists half a century earlier. Instead of prioritising visual accuracy and harmonious beauty, Expressionist artists sought to convey a subjective experience through their deliberately intensified visual language of disto

Rather than depicting the world as it appears from a fixed viewpoint, as had been the way since the Renaissance some 500 years earlier, Cubists challenged the traditional models of illusionistic depth, linear perspective and chiaroscuro, all of which gave way to fractured planes and shallow spatial fields. Objects were analysed by being broken apart and reassembled in a manner that they could be viewed simultaneously from different angles, providing greater context to its su

Emerging in Italy in the fourteenth century and spreading across Europe over the next three hundred years, the Renaissance was a sweeping cultural movement that profoundly transformed European art and life. Rooted in a renewed study of classical antiquity, Renaissance artists sought to shift away from the symbolic conventions of the medieval world and reconcile the intellectual heritage of ancient Greek and Roman civilisations with the spiritual imperatives of Christian Europ

Emerging in the early 1920s from the turmoil of World War One, Surrealism sought to liberate creativity from the confines of rationalism and moral convention. Rejecting reality and logic, Surrealist artists turned to Freudian psychoanalytic theories to access their mind’s involuntary mechanisms, specifically their subconscious, in an effort to reveal deeper truths about human existence. Found in their fantasies or nightmares, this was, in part, influenced by the missing-limbe

Distinguishing itself from its Impressionist forbearer by emphasising the subjective expression of emotion and the symbolic content of an artwork alongside its formal design elements, Post-Impressionist artist’s experimentations extended the visual vocabulary of modern painting. Ethel Carrick, Sur la plage (c.1910). Oil on wood panel, 26.5 x 35 cm. Art Gallery of South Australia. Emerging primarily in France but resonating internationally, the movement was not a coherent sch

Much like many movements that came before it, Impressionism was born out of frustration with staunch traditionalism and a desire to break with the institution’s definitions of art. Rejecting the polished finish and historical or mythological subjects favoured by the official Paris Salon, Impressionists sought instead to connect with a world that was rapidly changing around them, and so set out to capture the fleeting sensations of modernity, not just in terms of how it looked

Abstract Expressionism emerged from the upheaval of the inter- and post-war periods in order to redefine the purpose and language of art. Rooted in spontaneity and individual expression, the artists of this movement turned inward, privileging the subjective and the instinctive, leading to their canvases recording the dialogue between a painter’s self, their gestures and the act of creation. This approach elevated the process of creating over the final product and the resultin

Abandoning the long-standing belief that art was a reflection of visible reality, Abstract artists used line, shape and colour to depict forms that lie somewhere on the non-representational linear continuum in order to question not only what art could represent, but also how it could embody ideas and sensations independent of narrative or figuration. As one of the most transformative developments in the history of art, many twentieth century art movements are encompassed by t

Flourishing from the early sixteenth century until the mid-eighteenth century, the Baroque movement extended beyond the visual arts to encompass music, poetry, architecture, literature and theatre. Through its dynamic compositions and dramatic intensity, art in this period sought to evoke awe and passion by engaging the viewer emotionally, transforming artistic expression into a vivid experience of power and spirituality. Elisabetta Sirani, Baptism of Christ (1658). San Gerol