History of Fine Art

Italian Renaissance

Dec 22, 1450

The Renaissance began around this time in Florence, Italy. The wealth of the Medici and Sforza families helped spur a flowering of the arts in Europe.

Michelangelo's David

Dec 22, 1500

Michelangelo's work spanned six decades and many artforms, among them sculpture, painting, architecture, poetry and engineering.

1550

Dec 23, 1550

The Reformation, counter-reformation and Inquisition were tearing Europe apart at this time, as Northern Europe went Protestant, Southern remained Catholic and Central Europe was engulfed in conflict. All the while, the establishment of schools and Universities continues, as does exploration of far-flung continents.

William Shakespeare

Dec 23, 1600

Shakespeare's works were in part a reaction to the reflectiveness and reasoning growing in Europe after the Renaissance and leading to the Enlightenment.

1650

Dec 23, 1650

Religious strife still is plaguing Europe, as anti-Semitism results in various pogroms and exclusions. Parliamentarianism struggles in England, while the rest of the continent retains monarchies. America is expanding, as is the slave trade. Colonial expansion is one reason for the conflict between the Dutch and the English.

The Glorious Revolution

Dec 22, 1688

This event created a Parliamentary Government and diminished the power of the Monarchy for the first time in a European nation. This event set the stage for the English Bill of Rights in 1689.

The Dutch Masters

Dec 23, 1700

This group of Dutch and Flemish painters reflected the middle, merchant and peasant classes in the Low Countries. This was unprecedented in art. This new class consciousness was the result of a maturing artistic culture created by the affluent Dutch nation.They drew from the chiaroscuro traditions of the Renaissance, and the simple pleasures of the peasants. Rembrandt, Hals, Vermeer and Van Ruisdael were among the most notable.

The Enlightenment

Dec 22, 1750

This period of establishing new intellectual and socio-political paradigms in Europe began in the late 1700's emphasizing reason and individualism as opposed to tradition. Spinoza, Newton and Locke were among the first thinkers, Rousseau, and Diderot among the last of the era. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were influenced by this movement.

Mozart in Vienna

Dec 22, 1780

Mozart composed many of his best known works while in Vienna in the 1780's, including the Requiem.

1825

Dec 23, 1825

America is growing economically and geographically, with the Erie Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio RR under construction. The Native Americans are being moved west as settlers advance.
In Europe, old-line aristocracy still rule, with constitutional challenges from workers and peasants. European colonialism is spreading and encountering resistance from native peoples.

Industrial Revolution

Dec 22, 1870

This came about as the result of technological advances in the production of both raw materials and finished products, which provided the growing population with material goods. Colonialism and the rise of cities also fuelled the period.

Camille Claudel - The Waltz

Dec 22, 1893

Camille Claudel was said to be in "a revolt against nature: a woman genius," by art critic Octave Mirbeau. Her work at the turn of the 20th century is renowned for its lyrical quality and imagination.

The Jazz Age

Dec 22, 1920

This era was created by the financial boom in the West after the First World War. America, in particular, had become a bona fide world power, with wealth and industry burgeoning.

The Depression

Dec 23, 1930

The global capitalist boom bottomed out as millions lost jobs and breadlines grew in major cities. The underside of global growth was wrought on the working and middle classes in the West.

Diego Rivera - Man: Controller of the Universe

Dec 23, 1932

Diego Rivera espoused Socialism,the empowerment of the common man, the value of science and the wonder of nature in this mural. His tête-à-tête with Nelson Rockefeller over its placement is one of the bellwether events of the 20th century.

Wassily Kandinsky

Dec 22, 1935

Kandinsky was a modernist painter credited with the first truly abstract paintings. His message was of spirituality and transformation, and imagining the scientific realm. The upheaval of the Great Depression influenced his turn toward spirituality.

The 1950's

Dec 23, 1950

America seems to be the land of opportunity and promise, wealth and harmony. The Great Depression is over, the war has been won and a new conformity sets in.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Dec 22, 1959

Miles Davis' landmark album is released, changing the sound of jazz and popular music, and making a statement about popular culture.

Diane Arbus

Dec 23, 1960

Arbus documented characters who were marginalized in society. The timing of her work was in response to the conformity of the era.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Dec 23, 1970

Baryshnikov's freedom and grace on stage was a reflection of his era. His novel interpretations of the classics, brave choices and move to NYC exemplified the spirit of the age.

David Mamet

Dec 23, 1980

In the era of Reagan and the rearrival of the American cowboy, Mamet made us reconsider all of that. His jaundiced look at American maleness was a cold shower to the overheated male of the Me generation.

Taryn Simon

Dec 23, 2013

Simon's post-feminist work reveals the unwillingnes of modern society to look at the real issues facing women. Her bravery and frank assessment of current trends help define post-modernism.