Art movements timeline
Thirty-two movements in order, from the Renaissance to Photorealism.
This timeline lists the major Western art movements in chronological order. Dates are approximate because movements overlap and artists move between them. Each movement links to an in-depth guide on our sister site Art Movements, and to the artists on Art Icons who belong to it.
- c. 1400–1600
Renaissance
A revival of classical ideals that began in Italy. Linear perspective, the study of anatomy and oil painting transformed European art.
- c. 1520–1600
Mannerism
A late-Renaissance style of elongated figures, complex poses and artificial elegance.
- c. 1600–1750
Baroque
Drama, movement and strong contrasts of light and dark. The Dutch Golden Age of painting belongs to this period.
- c. 1760–1830
Neoclassicism
A return to the clarity, order and restraint of ancient Greek and Roman art.
- c. 1800–1850
Romanticism
Emotion, imagination and the overwhelming power of nature, in reaction to the age of reason.
- c. 1825–1875
Hudson River School
American landscape painters who celebrated the wilderness of the Hudson Valley and, later, the American West.
- c. 1840–1880
Realism
Ordinary people and everyday life, painted without idealisation.
- 1848–c. 1900
Pre-Raphaelites
A brotherhood founded in London in 1848 that rejected academic convention in favour of sharp detail, bright colour and literary subjects.
- c. 1860s–1880s
Impressionism
Light, colour and modern life caught with quick, visible brushwork. The group held its first exhibition in Paris in 1874.
- c. 1885–1905
Post-Impressionism
Artists who built on Impressionism but pushed towards structure, symbolism and expressive colour.
- c. 1886–1900s
Pointillism
Pictures built from small dots or dabs of pure colour, pioneered by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.
- c. 1880–1910
Symbolism
Dreams, myth and mood rather than the observed world.
- c. 1888–1900
Les Nabis
A group of young Paris painters, including Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard, inspired by Paul Gauguin.
- c. 1890–1910
Art Nouveau
Flowing, organic lines in painting, posters, design and architecture.
- c. 1905–1908
Fauvism
Bold, non-naturalistic colour. Critics called Matisse, Derain and their circle "les fauves" (the wild beasts) after the 1905 Salon d'Automne.
- c. 1905–1920s
Expressionism
Distorted form and intense colour used to express emotion rather than describe the world.
- c. 1907–1920s
Cubism
Developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, Cubism broke objects into geometric facets seen from several viewpoints at once.
- 1909–c. 1916
Futurism
Launched by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's 1909 manifesto, celebrating speed, machines and the modern city.
- 1911–1914
Der Blaue Reiter
A Munich circle led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc that explored the spiritual power of colour.
- c. 1915–1920s
Suprematism
Kazimir Malevich's abstract art of pure geometric forms.
- c. 1915–1930s
Constructivism
Russian avant-garde art and design that served industry and society.
- c. 1916–1924
Dada
An anti-art movement born in Zurich during the First World War that mocked logic and tradition.
- 1917–1931
De Stijl
A Dutch movement led by Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, reduced to straight lines and primary colours.
- c. 1920s–1930s
Art Deco
Sleek geometry and luxury in design, posters, painting and architecture.
- 1924–1960s
Surrealism
Launched by André Breton's 1924 manifesto, Surrealism explored dreams and the unconscious.
- c. 1920s–1930s
Harlem Renaissance
A flowering of African American art, music and literature centred on Harlem, New York.
- c. 1940s–1950s
Abstract Expressionism
The New York School of large, gestural "action painting" and meditative colour fields.
- c. 1950s–1960s
Colour Field
Large, flat areas of colour that envelop the viewer.
- c. 1955–1970s
Pop Art
Emerging in Britain and the United States, Pop Art borrowed imagery from advertising, comics and consumer culture.
- 1960s
Op Art
Optical art that uses pattern and colour to make the eye see movement.
- 1960s–1970s
Minimalism
Art pared back to simple geometric forms and industrial materials.
- late 1960s–1970s
Photorealism
Paintings made from photographs with meticulous, camera-like precision.
Frequently asked questions
What is the order of art movements?
In broad order: Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Hudson River School, Realism, Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Pointillism, Symbolism, Les Nabis, Art Nouveau, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Der Blaue Reiter, Suprematism, Constructivism, Dada, De Stijl, Art Deco, Surrealism, Harlem Renaissance, Abstract Expressionism, Colour Field, Pop Art, Op Art, Minimalism, Photorealism.
What came after Impressionism?
Post-Impressionism (about 1885–1905), followed in the early 20th century by Fauvism, Expressionism and Cubism.