Through the centuries art has evolved and become redefined in numerous ways giving art depth, complexity and so much more. There is a great deal of evidence of this, but especially within impactful art periods, styles, artists, and so much more.
Firstly, the Ancient period around 3000 BC to 400 AD includes parts of the 3rd millennium BC through to the 4th century. During this period art was displayed as engraved inscriptions on stones, utensils, and bowls in different languages found in places like Rome, Persia, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, India, and China. The majority of this art detailed stories, religious/ symbolic images, and an insight into what daily life was like in civilizations during this time. Additionally, a notable artist during this time was Bularchus who was a painter.
Next, another amazing period in art was the Renaissance which is French for “rebirth” that took place during the 14th to 17th centuries. Beginning in Florence, Italy the movement soon spread to northern Europe by the 16th century. Renaissance art is often described as a body of art including literature, paintings, sculptures, architecture, and music. This art emphasized themes of realism, representational form, symmetry, harmony, Christianity (which artists were beginning to deviate from), and humanism/ naturalism that was developed through studying the human form making it represented in art more realistically. Renaissance arts’ general purpose was capturing individuals’ experience and the natural beauty of the world, no longer limited to being seen as a decoration, but seen as something people could interpret and learn about. Also, a major painting style during this time was fresco which was a technique used for murals using water-based paint and then applying it to wet plaster creating a permanent mural on a wall and some other painting styles used tempera and oils. Furthermore, the key elements in Italian Renaissance paintings were perspective drawing, new media, new techniques, one point also linear perspective which was an important technique that furthered three-dimensions giving artists the ability to depict new spaces and compositions, contrapposto which was a popular technique used to enhance the realism of figures and how they existed in space, chiaroscuro which was Italian for “light-dark” this technique played with the contrast of light and dark colors creating yet again a three-dimensions effect that heightened the emotional intensity of paintings therefore adding realistic composition depicting light and shadows cast, and sfumato which was a technique of blurring sharp outlines, so all these techniques and elements elevated art in this era. To conclude this period in art some of the most influential artists during the Renaissance were Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Filippo, Brunelleschi, and sculptor Donatello.
Moreover, another important time for art took place directly after the Renaissance during the 17th and 18th centuries, but most prominent from 1600 to 1750, the Baroque period, baroque deriving from a Portuguese word, Baracoco that meant irregular pearl or stone. This period originated in Rome and then immediately spread to places like France, Spain, northern Italy, Russia, Germany, Portugal, and Austria. Baroque artists introduced the cartouche which was a carved tablet or drawing that represented a scroll with rolled-up ends to be used decoratively or to have an inscription. Artists during this period also introduced marquetry which was small pieces of wood with an array of colors and materials mainly used for decoration or furniture. Stucco, a plaster used for surfaces and architecture, was also created during this period. Furthermore, baroque artists had baskets of fruit or flowers, or carved trophies and weapons in their work, and played with shadows and highlights in their art. This type of art was powerful, extravagant, dynamic, emotionally intense, and grandeur, it helped people draw their ideas and create very imaginative pieces. Consequently many movements after this time showed Baroque influence. Overall some notable artists here were Caravaggio, Peter Pual Rubbens, and Rembrandt.
Additionally, a movement that may have not been as long as its predecessors, but was incredibly influential was the Rococo period that took place during the 18th century emerging from France in the 1720’s. Rococo style influenced paintings, sculptures, furniture, fashion, and silverware. This style centered on theoretical art evoking emotion instead of simply depicting a subject also taking the elevated or pompous manner of Baroque art and making it better. Rococo was characterized by gaiety, lightheartedness or cheerfulness, curvaceousness, and how pleasing it was to the senses. Rococo art references classical antiquity, specifically Ancient Roman and Greek art. Although this art was influential not everyone enjoyed it as some people found it to be superficial, degenerate, and illogical. Finally leading Rococo artists for this period were Thomas Gainsborough, François Boucher, and Jean-Antoine Watteau.
Then there was also the Romanticism period that made major waves within the art world taking place during the late 18th to the early 19th century. Up till today, we have had a touch of Romanticism in literature, music, and art. This period had an emphasis on individual aspects and emotions of an individual that preferred the medieval age as artists captured the beauty of human personality, mental potential, and mood. Moreover, previous art movements somewhat stayed within the boundaries of rationality, but Romanticism took things further than before as this movement emphasized imagination and dramatization of events creating a mood rather than simply portraying an object or event. Additionally, what makes this era so unique is that many artists ventured outside attempting plein-air painting where they show reverence for nature and the world around them. Although this era did peak around 1800 to 1850, romanticism marked a shift away from the dominant classical tradition, emphasizing imagination and emotion, also individualism, rejecting calm, instead portraying a far deeper appreciation of nature and a preference for emotion/ senses over reason. To conclude for the era some famous works from this moment are Caspar David Freidrich’s Wanderer above the Sea and Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People.
Moreover, another major era that marks the intro of modern art is realism which took place during the mid-to-late 19th century but began in France around the 1840s initially meant to capture everyday life, this era also began alongside the development of naturalism. Although realism decreased in the 1900’s this movement created the foundation for many others in the following century. Also, this movement saw the subject matter transition from aristocracy to all individuals in every social class. Furthermore, the focus of realism art was on subjects painted from everyday life in a naturalistic manner as it brought about a more open and frank treatment of the body and romantic subjects. Some of the most recognizable pieces from this movement include Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners and Édouard Manet’s Olympia. Lastly, realist artists such as Honoré Daumiercaused, Jean-François Millet, and Gustave Courbet shocked primarily upper- and middle-class audiences that typically viewed and purchased art.
Another major art movement was impressionism and post-impressionism taking place during the late 19th and early 20th centuries around the same time as realism. The rise of Impressionism was a radical movement that was the first modern period focused on nature as a subject. Notably, the most famous impressionist French artist Claude Monet known for works such as The Water Lily Pond and Woman with a Parasol, by profession gave the idea of Impressionism. Moreover, impressionist artists sought to capture their subjects’ immediate impression of a moment, doing so with quick brush strokes, so some impressionist art may seem unfinished, but the artist has successfully captured the view of that moment. Also, this art movement was characterized by small thin brushstrokes, an emphasis on light, spontaneity, painting outdoors, and everyday subject matter. Impressionist artists focused largely on landscapes and everyday scenes in life, often with the use of small but easily visible brush strokes that emphasized movement and the shifting nature of light. Additionally, impressionism’s focus was to capture momentary feelings, but using personal feelings from the outside world used to achieve an abstract form of art, post-impressionism elevated this as it was critical in creating the foundation for personal expression after the 1940 decline of impressionism. The most well-known post-impressionist painter was Vincent van Goh with his works like the Starry Night and his self-portrait which all illustrate his search for personal expression. Also from around 1886, a group of artists began to expand and develop impressionism in distinctly different directions, becoming known as post-impressionists most famously Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Other notable artists during this time included Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas.
Additionally, surrealism was another major time for art that transcended traditional art, expanded philosophy, and rejected rationality. Though surreal art came before the surrealist movement, this art style peaked from 1916-1950. Also, philosophers and artists alike questioned cultural conventions and accepted norms of the time. Artists during this time like Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst pushed imagination to extremes with their works. This was an artistic movement that aimed to express the creative potential of the unconscious mind that majorly featured what could be described as dreamlike imagery as surrealism sought to tear down our grasp of rational thought altogether. This period was led by the French poet André Breton who had defined this movement in 1924 written in his Manifesto of Surrealism that changes societal imposed values and norms bringing to the forefront the power of the unconscious mind and dreams. Overall surrealism fundamentally aimed to revolutionize the human experience. Some notable artists of this period included René Magritte and Joan Miró.
Lastly, another major art period was postmodernism taking place during the late 20th century, beginning in Europe in 1914 to 1962 or 1968 in America. This movement was very broad as it rejected modernist principles of subjectivity, pastiche, and irony instead often blurring the boundaries between high and low culture making abstract expressionism, but the majority is a rejection of rules and traditions. Notably this movement attempted to reclassify what people understood as art. During this period notable artists were Jackson Pollock, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, and Marcel Duchamp.
Art has changed, evolved, grown, and transcended expectations making so many more eras than listed, but even touching the surface of art through the centuries helps us understand how far society has come and how we got to recent art.

Work Cited
Partners, O. C. M. &. (2021b, October 25). The 10 most famous art periods. Our Culture. https://ourculturemag.com/2021/10/25/the-10-most-famous-art-periods/
Jesse Nusbaum. (2022, May 4). The 9 most influential art movements throughout history. https://www.jessenusbaum.com/blog/2022/5/4/the-9-most-influential-art-movements-throughout-history