Art History Timeline

  • Cave Art
    15,000 BCE

    Cave Art

    Ancient style, charcoal and dirt were used on the walls of caves
  • Dipylon Vase
    1000 BCE

    Dipylon Vase

    Egyptian style, founded by Jerusalem, made with papyrus
  • Acropolis Grecian Urns
    400 BCE

    Acropolis Grecian Urns

    Greek style, during the time of Greek's Golden Age and Alexander the Great
  • Nike of Samothrace
    200 BCE

    Nike of Samothrace

    Roman style, Chinese invented the paper during the time, Rome dominates near east
  • Pompeii Wall Art
    100 BCE

    Pompeii Wall Art

    Roman style, during the peak of the Roman Empire
  • Fayum Mummy Portraits
    50 BCE

    Fayum Mummy Portraits

    Continued until about 250 CE
  • Pantheon
    400

    Pantheon

    Byzantine style, Rome falls at this time
  • Medieval Art
    500

    Medieval Art

    Panel painting, Orthodox icon painting, and mosaic art flouring during this time
  • Lindisfarne Gospels
    600

    Lindisfarne Gospels

    Byzantine style, paper making introduced from China,
  • Carolingian Art
    800

    Carolingian Art

    Charlemagne builds famous Palatine Chapel in Aachen
  • Bayeux Tapestry
    1000

    Bayeux Tapestry

    Romanesque style, paper first manufactured in Europe Tempera, Normans invade England at this time
  • Ottonian Art
    1000

    Ottonian Art

  • Chartres Master Builder, Giotto, Lorenzetti
    1250

    Chartres Master Builder, Giotto, Lorenzetti

    Gothic style, was the revival of paint-making, happened during the Magna Carta
  • Botticelli de Vinci, Piero, Lippi
    1400

    Botticelli de Vinci, Piero, Lippi

    Early Renaissance Style, oil paint and pastels were used, printing press was introduced, Columbus reached the Americas, and the Holy Roman Empire de Medici rules Florence during this time
  • Michaelangelo, Raphael, Arcimboldo, Bruegel, Titan
    1500

    Michaelangelo, Raphael, Arcimboldo, Bruegel, Titan

    High Renaissance, Northern Renaissance style, first use of canvas, Elizabeth I Magellan circles the globe at this time
  • Mona Lisa
    1503

    Mona Lisa

    Leonardo paints the Mona Lisa, one of the greatest Renaissance paintings
  • Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin, Leyster

    Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin, Leyster

    Baroque style, modern pencil was invented at this time and the British colonized America
  • Boucher, Watteau, Hogarth

    Boucher, Watteau, Hogarth

    Rococo style, steam engine was invented and Franklin experimented with electricity at this time
  • Fragonard, David

    Fragonard, David

    Neoclassism style, during the time of the American and French Revolution
  • Louvre Museum

    Louvre Museum

    Opening of the Louvre Museum, one of the greatest art museums
  • Goya, Ingres, Constable

    Goya, Ingres, Constable

    Romanticism and Realism styles, photography and watercolor was introduced during this time, this was during the time of the Louisiana Purchase
  • Louis Daguerre

    Louis Daguerre

    The first photo is taken
  • Bierstadt

    Bierstadt

    Pre-Raphaelites style, tube paints and fountain pen was introduced at this time
  • Cassatt, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Morisot, Seurat

    Cassatt, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Morisot, Seurat

    Impressionism, Post-Impressionism style, ballpoint pen was introduced at this time along with the telephone, lightbulb, and automobile
  • Hartley Macdonald-Wright, Dali, Lange

    Hartley Macdonald-Wright, Dali, Lange

    Abstraction, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism styles, acrylic paint and crayons were introduced at this time, also during this time the airplane was invented along with the theory of Relativity, World War I and the Great Depression took place
  • Albers, Pallock de Kooning, Rothko, Stella, Warhol

    Albers, Pallock de Kooning, Rothko, Stella, Warhol

    Abstract Expressionism style, Pop art and Op art become popular, Vietnam War and Apollo landing on the moon took place at this time