A Brief History of Western Art

The earliest known forms of art in Western countries circulated within religious artifacts in the 12th century. Arts depended on not only architecture, but also visual arts. The main aim of the artists was to use images to convey spiritual messages. It started as rock and cave paintings using water and pigment mixed. The consistency of developments in art in western can be explained by the art of Ancient Greece and carried on to other parts of Europe.

Periods and Styles of Western Art

From the old ages, art has been determined by periods. Western art is arranged in several stylistic periods that are overlapping. They include:

• Classical Art- This style of art existed between the years 3650 BC to 1100 BC. It was divided into four phases: Prepalatial, Protopalatial, Neopalatial, and the Postpalatial. Some of the arts that still exist today are Cycladic statuettes and Pottery sherds.
• Medieval Art- Existed between the sixth and fifteenth century, and mainly focused on religious communal groups.
• Gothic Art- This existed in the 12th century and originated from Northern France out of Romanesque art style from the 11th century.
• Renaissance Art – Characterized by a focus on Ancient Greece and Rome, it existed in 12th and 13th centuries.
• Modern Art- Developments led to its initiation in the 18th century and lasted until the late 19th century. It is during this period that light and color variations were used in paintings and other arts.

Popularization of Western Art

The continuous evolutions of modern art diversified the Western art. This led to the establishment of Postmodern Art that mainly focuses on all the previous styles as a focus point since the 1960s. Since then, post modernism has revolutionized and concepts of what fine art are clearly outlined. The Western art industry has become commercialized leaving a lot of individualism in the art industry.

Many are complimenting ancient artifacts made from natural and synthetic resources to date. Literally, any archives possess one of these arts in Western countries and across the world.

Looking for western style art in your area? Stop at Western Art Association & Goodey Galleryin Ellensburg,WA.

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