Over the millennia, the world has seen a vast array of art styles. But what are they? We’re going to break down art styles from abstract expressionism ukiyo-e. We’re also going to embed links to dedicated articles on many of the art styles discussed. By the end, you’ll have a cursory knowledge of many different art styles; as well as an opportunity to learn more.
Types of Art Styles
Abstract expressionism
Art Styles List • Abstract Expressionism, Explained by The Museum of Contemporary Art
Abstract expressionism is an American abstract art style that was developed in the 1940s/50s in New York City.
Notable artists of the movement: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning.
Art Styles Examples
Art Deco
Art Style Names • Art Deco, Explained by Curious Muse
Art Deco is a grandiose art style that pervaded architectural and aesthetic design in the 1920s.
Notable products of the movement: The Chrysler Building, Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
Art Movements List
Art Nouveau
Different Art Styles • Art Nouveau, Explained by Vox
Art Nouveau was a reactionary art movement that sought to juxtapose the industrial aesthetic of late 18th-century Europe. Over time, Art Nouveau – which literally translates to “new art” – became known as an art style around the globe.
Other names for Art Nouveau: Modern Style, Liberty Style, and Tiffany Style.
What are the Types of Art?
Avant-Garde
All Types of Art • Avant-Garde, Explained by National Galleries
Avant-garde is an art style that rejects the cultural, structural, and or stylistic “norm” and builds something new in its stead.
Did You Know?
“Avant-garde” is a French term that describes a military group that scouts enemy forces. Over time, the term “avant-garde” has come to mean “anything outside the norm.”
All Art Styles
Baroque
Art Styles List • Baroque Art, Explained by SmartHistory
Baroque is a European art style that influenced music, theater, architecture, painting, sculptures, and more from the early 17th-century to the mid 18th-century. Baroque art is defined by expressiveness; audacious displays of character, elements of musical/ visual composition, and exorbitant physical production.
Artists of the Baroque period: Bernini, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Bach, Vivaldi, and more.
Types of Art Styles
Bauhaus
Art Styles Examples • Bauhaus Art, Explained by Curious Muse
Bauhaus is an art style that was founded in Germany in 1919 at the Staatliches Bauhaus art school. Bauhaus is meant to combine a pleasing-aesthetic with consumer utility.
Art of the Bauhaus period: Red Balloon by Paul Klee, The Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer, Bauhaus building in Dessau, Germany.
List of Art Movements
Classicism
Art Style Names • Classicism Art, Explained by Scott Lawrie Gallery
Classicism is an art perspective that seeks to replicate the style of the “classical” period, particularly in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Art movements rooted in classicism: Italian Renaissance and Neoclassicism.
How Many Art Styles Are There?
Conceptual Art
All Types of Art • Conceptual Art, Explained by The Art Assignment
Conceptual is an art style that places emphasis on “concept” rather than form.
Conceptual artists: Marcel Duchamp, John Baldessari, and Damien Hirst.
Art Movements List
Constructivism Art
J Cut & L Cut Explained
Constructivism art is an abstract, propaganda-fueled art style that was popularized in Russia during the leadup to the Russian Revolution.
Constructivist artists: Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Rodchenko, and El Lissitzky.
Contemporary Art Styles
Contemporary Art
Art Genres List • Contemporary Art, Examined by The Art Assignment
Contemporary art is art of the current era. Contemporary art is often referred to as Modern art; which detracts from the denotation of the latter’s movement.
Contemporary artists: Banksy, Jeff Koons, and Takashi Murakami.
Types of Art Styles
Cubism
Different Art Styles • Cubism Art, Explained by Tate Kids
Cubism is an art style that was popularized in early 20th-century Europe. Cubist artists seek to depict cubic subjects from a variety of angles, thus often making their works abstract in nature.
Cubist artists: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Jean Metzinger.
Different Art Styles
Dadaism
Art Styles List • Dadaism Art, Explained by CrashCourse
Dadaism is a surrealist art style that was popularized in Zurich, Switzerland and New York City, United States in the early 20th-century. Dadaism rejects social uniformity and promotes lunacy.
Dadaist artists: Marcel Duchamp, Tristan Tzara, and Hans Arp.
Types of Art Styles
De Stijl
Every Art Style Explained • De Stijl, Explained by Sotheby’s
De Stijl was a Dutch art movement that loosely refers to a style of abstract art from 1917 to 1931. De Stijl art is dictated by simple geometry and use of black, white, red, yellow, and blue.
De Stijl artists: Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, and Bart van der Leck.
Types of Art Styles
Expressionism
Different Art Styles • Expressionism Art, Explained by National Galleries
Expressionism is a subjective art style that was founded Western/Northern Europe in the late 19th-century to early 20th-century.
Expressionist art: The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch and Blue Horses (1911) by Franz Marc.
Types of Art Styles
Fauvism
Art Styles List • Fauvism Art, Explained by Philinthecircle
Fauvism is an avant-garde art style that was founded in France in the early 20th-century. Fauvism places emphasis on substantive use of color over form.
Fauvist artists: Henri Mattise, André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck.
Types of Art Styles
Fluxus
Different Art Styles • Fluxus, Examined by kinolorber
Fluxus was an experimental art movement that took place primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. George Maciunas is credited with writing the “Fluxus Manifesto” which outlines the tenets of the movement.
Fluxus artists: George Maciunas, Yoko Ono, and Joseph Beuys.
Types of Art Styles
Folk Art
Art Styles List • Folk Art, Examined by Financial Times
Folk art is art that relates to folklore; including tales, legends, and proverbs.
Folk art examples: Old Bright, The Postman (~1830s) by George Smart and Grandma Moses Goes to the Big City (1946) by Anna Mary Robertson Moses.
All Art Styles
Futurism
Art Styles Examples • Futurism, Explained by Curious Muse
Futurism is an art movement that was founded in Italy in the early 20th-century, and perpetuated throughout the world in the 20th-century. Futurism is defined by a focus on future technologies and their associated representation(s); particularly in motion.
Futurist artists: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Umberto Boccioni, and Luigi Russolo.
List of Art Movements
Gothic Art
Art Genres List • Gothic Art, Explained by Art History 101
Gothic art refers to art produced during the late dark ages (circa 12th-century to 16th-century); defined by imposing tone and form. Dark, or muted colors dominate much of gothic art.
Gothic artists: Giotto, Duccio, and Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
Types of Art Styles
Harlem Renaissance
Different Art Styles • The Harlem Renaissance, Explained by CrashCourse
The Harlem Renaissance was an American art movement that took place in Harlem, New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. The Harlem Renaissance sought to authentically depict the Black experience in America.
Harlem Renaissance artists: Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Huston, and Countee Cullen.
Types of Art Styles
Impressionism
Art Style Names • Impressionism, Explained by The Art Assignment
Impressionism is an art movement that was developed in France in the late 19th-century. The subject matter of visual impressionist works are often unremarkable in nature.
Impressionist artists: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissaro.
Types of Art Styles
Installation Art
All Types of Art • Unusual Art Installations, Explained by Top Fives
Installation art is an art form that utilizes an “installation” of objects in a specific space.
Installation art examples: The Weather Project (2003) by Olafur Eliasson, Sunflower Seeds (2010) by Ai Weiwei, and Electronic Superhighway; Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii (1995) by Nam June Paik.
Types of Art Styles
Kinetic Art
Different Art Styles • Kinetic Art, Examined by Wired
Kinetic art is art in motion. Kinetic art is created through a variety of mediums; perhaps most notably in sculpture.
Kinetic art: Kinetic Construction (Standing Wave) (1919-1920) by Naum Gabo and Monument to The Third International (1919-1920), by Vladimir Tatlin.
Types of Art Styles
Land Art
Art Styles Examples • Land Art, Explained by Heni Talks
Land art is an art movement that was founded in the 1960s in the United States. Land art is simply art that uses land as a canvas.
Land art examples: Spiral Jetty (1970) by Robert Smithson, Niagara Gorge Path Relocated (1975) by Michelle Stuart, and Stellar Axis: Antarctica (2006) by Lita Albuquerque.
Art Style Names
Magical Realism
Different Art Styles • Magical Realism, Explained by Curious Muse
Magical realism is an art style that is rooted in German, Colombian, and Italian theory. Magical Realism inserts magical elements into a realistic setting; thus creating an oxymoron-esque world.
Where Magical Realism is used: literature, movies, games, paintings, sculptures, etc.
Types of Art Styles
Minimalism
Art Styles Examples • Minimalism Art, Explained by The Art Assignment
Minimalism art is an art style that was popularized globally after World War II. Minimalism art is inherently simple in nature and form.
Minimalist artists: Robert Morris, Sol LeWitt, and Ellsworth Kelly.
Art Style Names
Modern Art
Contemporary Art Styles • Modern Art, Examined by Business Insider
Modern Art refers to temporally modern art, and the Western art movement of the same name, from 1860 to 1970. The Modern Art movement included impressionist, cubist, fauvist, surrealist, and other sub-movements.
Modern Art movement artists: Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and Jackson Pollock.
Art Styles Examples
Neoclassicism
Art Styles Examples • Neoclassicism, Explained by Art History With Alder
Neoclassicism – which translates to “new classicism” – was a Western art movement that sprouted in the wake of the rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Neoclassicism reintroduced (renovated) artistic characteristics of the Classical era: particularly that of Greece and Rome.
Neoclassical artists: Jacques-Louis David, Antonio Canova, and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.
Learn more about Neoclassicism →Art Style Names
Op Art
Art Styles Examples • Op Art, Examined by The Richest
Op art is an art style that uses optical illusions. Op art is a popular component of installation art and surrealist art.
Op artists: Marina Apollonio, Richard Anuszkiewicz, and Bridget Riley.
Types of Art Styles
Performance Art
Different Art Styles • Performance Art, Explained by TateShots
Performance art is an art style that is predominantly defined by its performative elements. Performance art is generally presented to a live audience.
Performance artists: Marina Abramović, Nick Cave, and Adrien Piper.
Learn more about Performance Art →
Art Style Names
Photorealism
Art Styles Examples • Photorealism, Examined by GamingBolt
Photorealism is an art movement that seeks to replicate the look of real-life photographs through another medium. In the 21st century, new technology has made photorealism nearly indistinguishable from photographs.
Mediums of photorealism: painting, illustration, and game design.
List of Art Movements
Pop Art
Art Styles List • Pop Art, Explained by Art Gallery of NSW
Pop art was a Western art movement that was popularized in The United States and Great Britain in the 1950s. Pop art – known for its bright, attention-catching colors – was used in advertising, merchandising, and graphic design during an era of rapid consumer growth.
Pop artists: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Richard Hamilton.
Art Style Names
Post-Impressionism
Art Styles Examples • Post-Impressionism, Explained by Philinthecircle
Post-impression was a French art movement that took place at the end of the 19th-century. Post-impression was an exaggerated extension of the Impressionist movement; defined by artist interpretation of a moment in time.
Post-Impressionist art: The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh, The Centenary of Independence (1892) by Henri Rousseau, and Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897-98) by Paul Gauguin.
Art Movements List
Precisionism
Different Art Styles • Precisionism, Explained by Art History 101
Precisionism was an American art movement that was founded in the 1920s. Precisionist art is characterized by sharp lines; sometimes referred to as cubist-realism.
Post-Impressionist artists: Charles Delmuth, Charles Sheeler, and George Ault.
Art Style Names
Primitivism
Different Art Styles • Primitivism, Explained by Open College of the Arts
Primitivism is an art style that seeks to depict elements of primitive life. Primitivism is largely viewed as a Western art movement.
Primitivist art: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) by Pablo Picasso, Bathers in a Room (1909) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and The Seed of the Areoi (1892) by Paul Gauguin.
Art Style Names
Renaissance Art
Art Styles Examples • The Renaissance, Explained by Crash Course World History
Renaissance art refers to art produced during the Renaissance period (late 14th to early 17th century), primarily in Italy. Renaissance translates to “rebirth” – which is apt as Renaissance art is considered a rebirth of style and form.
Renaissance artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
Art Style Names
Rococo
Different Art Styles • Rococo, Explained by April Goeke
Rococo was an art style that dominated European art after the reign of King Louis XIV ended in 1715. Rococo art – sometimes referred to as Late-Baroque art – is playful in nature; focusing on idealized subject matters; depicted with bright, pastel characters.
Rococo artists: Francisco Goya, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and François Boucher.
Art Movements List
Romanticism
Different Art Styles • Romanticism, Explained by The School of Life
Romanticism was an art movement that sprouted in the late 18th-century in Europe. Romantic art is perhaps best viewed as the antithesis to industrialization.
Romantic art examples: Wanderer Above the Sea (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich, The Raft of the Medusa (1819) by Théodore Géricault, and Liberty Leading the People (1830) by Eugène Delacroix.
Types of Art Styles
Street Art
Different Art Styles • Street Art, Examined by Ted-Ed
Street art is art made on public streets, walls, and objects. For example, graffiti is a famous example of street art.
Street art examples: We the Youth (1987) by Keith Haring, My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love (1990) by Dmitri Vrubel, and Girl With Balloon (2017) by Banksy.
Art Style Names
Suprematism
Different Art Styles • Suprematism, Explained by Jackson Kliewer
Suprematism was an abstract art movement that was founded by Polish-Ukrainian Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich in 1913. Suprematism is meant to communicate “feeling” through geometry.
Suprematist art: Black Square (1915) by Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition (1916) by Kazimir Malevich, and Composition 8 by Wassily Kandinsky (1923).
Art Movements List
Ukiyo-e
Art Styles List • Ukiyo-e, Explained by Jackson Kliewer
Ukiyo-e is a Japanese art style that was especially popular from the 17th-20th century. Classical Ukiyo-e, which translates to “pictures from the floating world,” sought to show Japanese life and history.
Ukiyo-e art examples: The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1830-1833) by Hokusai, Fine Wind, Clear Morning (1830-1832) by Hokusai, and No. 57, Grounds of Kameido Tenjin Shrine (from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo) (1856) by Hiroshige.
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This was just one of many fascinating segments of art history. There are many eras, styles, artists, and movements to discover. Let's continue our study by choosing the next stop on your way to becoming an art aficionado. Below you can visit our Art Styles Index, our Art History Timeline, or choose an individual movement.
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