Visual Arts: Baroque and Modern Era

Running head: VISUAL ARTS
VISUAL ARTS
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VISUAL ARTS
Intricate details and clear movements classify the Baroque period. The visual arts
intended to produce high dramatic effects, ebullience, magnificent sculptures and paintings. The
period is well known for its use of the ‘chiaroscuro technique’ (Zirpolo, 2018). This technique is
the interplay between the light and dark. This was used to create a highly contrasted dramatic
atmosphere. Rubens, Caravaggio and Rembrandt are the famous painters of this era
(Flint,2016). ‘The Massacre of the Innocents’, a very renowned painting by Rubens depicts the
application of the chiaroscuro style. The Baroque style of painting was overtly sensuous and
dramatic to appeal to the senses. This art style aimed at evoking the emotional states if the
human mind.
The Baroque style of art is characterized by elements of naturalism, realism and
classicism. Caravaggio excelled in the depiction of Naturalism. Whereas, Jan Vermeer depicted
Realism like no other. Religious works best know Rubens for his contribution. Architecture and
ceiling paintings were at its best during the Baroque period (Frith & Horne2016). The walls in
the Churches are distinguished with beautiful murals and fresco made by the artists of the
Baroque period. The walls were marked by grandeur and motion. However, Modern Art is
different from the Baroque art form. The works from the period of 1870 to 1970 is defined as
Modern Era. The postmodern works are also considered a Modern Art. The society was
undergoing a huge change during this period. The Industrial Revolution led to significant
changes in art, science, literature and society as a whole. This in turn affected the forms of art in
the modern age. The Impressionism movement characterizes the modern age. Impressionism first
took place in Paris. Though painters of the late nineteenth century, like Vincent Van Gogh had
used impressionism in his paintings. Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude

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VISUAL ARTS
Monet, Gustav Klimt, Andy Warhol are some of the renowned painters of the Modern Age
(Shuaib, A. & Enoch,2014).
The Impressionists used loose brushstrokes, lighter and pure colors. The impressionist’s
idea was to capture an ethereal moment. Impressionism was not about creating a piece of art that
was perfect rather to create and construct imperfect art. During that time, scientific thought was
gaining popularity. It was realized that what the eye perceives and what the brain interprets are
two completely different things (Nochlin,2018). The Impressionists attempted to capture the
optical illusions of light - to convey the passing of time, changes in seasons and climatic
conditions, and other changes in the atmosphere in their artistic display. The art of that era did
not rely on realistic presentation. The major characteristics of the modern age other than
Impressionism were Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Pop Art and a few
others. The Modern Art has no single feature or characteristic (Sitwell, 2013). Instead, it has
several features and art forms. Andy Warhol introduced Pop Art.
The last part of the 19th century was dominated by the Impressionist style of painting, in
reality there were various pioneering examples of modern art, each had its own characteristic.
The final years was a witness to a number of revolts against the Academies and their 'Salons'.
The late-1890s saw the decline of "nature-based art", like Impressionism, that lead to the rise in
"message-based" art (Suárez et al.,2013). This period was the most enthralling period of modern
art. This was the era when everything was achievable and the "machine" was man’s best friend.
The artists in Paris imbibed fauvism, Cubism and Orphism styles of art. The German artists
introduced their own school of painting. All these movements rejected the traditionalist attitude
towards art and championed their own specific agenda of modernism (Szalapaj,2014). For