15 Jan Renaissance – Cubism:

How did we get from Renaissance to Pop Art? How have artists evolved to create artwork that is so seemingly differentfrom each period in art history to the next? This evolution often occurs from taking pieces of one style and continuing to expand it until the style resembles something different. Other times, it’s a purposeful antagonistic reaction and rebellion. For example, Jackson Pollack is famous for his artwork that resembles paint being dripped and dropped all over the canvas. To the novice observer, the response is often “my child could create that”. However, Pollack was deliberate in his approach and method. He also admired and was influenced by artists that created artwork completely different than what he made so iconic. Pollock was influenced by Native American art, the Old Masters, sculpture and muralists to name a few.

Keeping this in mind, we can always trace back similarities and differences between styles throughout history. Understanding the interconnectivity as well as the variances when comparing styles can help us appreciate the global, historical, and stylistic perspective of each genre.

Additional Reading

Preziosi, D. (2009). The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology. Oxford: OUP Oxford

Instructions: There are six different art genres listed horizontally across – African, Renaissance, Impressionism,Cubism, Surrealism, and Pop Art. These same six genres are listed vertically as well. Each box on the grid reflects a common meeting point for the genres listed horizontally and vertically. In these boxes, you are asked to explain either a similarity or a difference between the two genres. Similarities/differences could include artists, time period, style, geographic location, critical response, etc. Using information you included in the grid, write a 1-2 paragraph summary in the area below the grid, for each genre relationship that further analyzes the global, historical, and stylistic perspectives for each genre comparison.

Genre Grid and Summary

African

Renaissance

Impressionism

Cubism

Surrealism

Pop Art

African

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

Renaissance

· DIFFERENCE

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

Impressionism

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

Cubism

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· SIMILARITY

· SIMILARITY

Surrealism

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· SIMILARITY

Pop Art

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

· DIFFERENCE

African – Renaissance:

African – Impressionism:

African – Cubism:

African – Surrealism:

African – Pop Art:

Impressionism – Cubism:

Impressionism – Surrealism:

Impressionism – Pop Art:

Renaissance – Impressionism:

Renaissance – Cubism:

Renaissance – Surrealism:

Renaissance – Pop Art:

Cubism – Surrealism:

Cubism – Pop Art:

Surrealism – Pop Art: