The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by many large-scale events: the economy and the political map of the world, science and much more changed. Art did not stand aside: avant-garde in painting, film and literature transformed the very concept of creativity and the view of society on it. New ideas have become a real revolution, which continues to exert its influence on the world even now.
What is avant-garde?
At the beginning of the twentieth century, several experimental movements appeared with new ideas in the field of art. Their common name was the word "avant-garde", literally translated from French, meaning "advanced squad". The new concept was the opposite of academicism and continued the tradition of modernity. Representatives of avant-garde art in painting believed that the process of creation itself, and not the final work, was absolute. Man turned into an object of art. Avant-gardism in painting of the 20th century can be divided into several main genres: futurism, surrealism, abstract art, pop art, Dada and op art. Distinctive features of that time are the separation of form and spiritual meaning, unrestrained freedom of expression in combination with a scientific, analytical approach to the process.
Emergence and development
The new direction was the product of the absurdity created by the discrepancy between real art and the spiritual meaning invested in it. Artistic values, reduced to speculative - that is what distinguishes avant-garde art in painting. Artists carried out scandalous actions and created seemingly meaningless installations, emphasizing the main ideas of the movement. Until the recession, the phenomenon retained its inner emptiness, challenging the viewer - could he separate the truth from imaginary values? In contemporary art, the avant-garde continually tries to return to the old traditions, somewhat changing the meaning of the original concept.
Different representatives
Typical avant-garde sculptor Duchamp declared as his work an ordinary toilet bowl placed on a pedestal. Andy Warhol created compositions from cans. In such actions, it is noticeable how the avant-garde in painting and sculpture differs from modernism - the essence of the first is authoritarianism and deception, neglect of school and difficulties, using the simplest ways to ridicule poorly educated critics and not too cultured public.
Fauvist group
One of the most striking trends that represented avant-garde painting was Fauvism. A group of followers opposed the Impressionists and the desire to achieve naturalistic credibility. Fauvists are characterized by the use of catchy compositions, the denial of the traditional perspective. Artists defied bourgeois tastes and salon art, creating decorative plots. Representatives can be called such masters as Raul Dufy and Marche. The latter, in his works, went from Fauvism to realism - in the painting "Notre Dame de Paris" he managed to convey with detailed accuracy the shade of the Seine water, the architectural outlines of the cathedral and the air humidity that soften its contours. Artists Vlamin, Frieze and Braque refused to communicate with reality, Andre Derain used primitive plots. Distorted, mystical images were created by Georges Rouault. Despite many unifying features, the Fauvists did not exist as a union for too long and soon disintegrated.
Henri Matisse
The Frenchman, who forever went down in the history of art, became one of the most significant masters who represented avant-garde art in painting. Matisse's paintings express his basic creative idea of releasing color and energy on canvases. He believed that the painting is in many ways similar to the music represented by just seven notes, and tried to convey his personal experiences from what he saw in the works.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Matisse became interested in African sculpture, decorative Arabic art and Japanese woodcut, which also manifested itself in his work. The master’s paintings are distinguished by intense shades: deep blue, emerald, saturated yellow. The most famous works include paintings:
- "Dance", created under the influence of the Russian seasons of Diaghilev in Paris and Greek vase painting.
- “Music” with the image of figures singing and playing different instruments.
- "Red fish" with the stunning power of colors and the original planar construction of the picture with the rejection of perspective and depth.
- "Snail", one of the latest works, created from pieces of paper, previously painted in the right colors.
Abstract Kandinsky
Most clearly, Russian avant-garde in painting is represented by this particular artist. Kandinsky traveled a lot and drew inspiration both in the Russian Middle Ages and in French art. His landscapes are based on color dissonances and the play of tones and lines, which over time have completely replaced real images from his work. Some of his canvases are inspired by characteristic Russian motifs - for example, “Ladies in Crinolines” or “Motley Life”. In the period after the revolution, the artist created the graphic series “Small Worlds”, in which his tendency to use the aesthetics of Suprematism in combination with bright decorativeness was manifested. In 1922, Kandinsky was invited to teach at the Bauhaus. Over the years, the artist more than once experimented with technology and achieved impressive results in abstract art - his exhibitions were held throughout Europe, and theoretical works were successful throughout the world, explaining in detail the ideas that avant-garde painting brings. Examples of work from that period include Composition 8 and Point and Line on a Plane.