5 Famous Painting Styles Every Artist Should Know [Part 2]

 For all the artists that struggle to find their own style, here’s an article to guide you in the vast range of painting styles, so that you may be one step closer to finding the one.

Painting Styles

In the first article, we reached the style of Neoclassicism. Moving forward :

Romanticism

Time of Popularity : Late 18th and 19th Century

Region Of Popularity : Europe

Romanticism! The name may already give you a vague idea of what kind of a painting style this is. This style focuses on themes such as emotions, nature and individualism. It connects with the artists soul and depicts their emotions, this portrays a sense of individuality in the painting while also being centered in natural settings. As seen in the work of Casper David Friedrich, "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog". You can feel the sense of thrill and wonder emanating from this work while also feeling admiration for the beautiful depiction of nature. It sparks the viewers interest in the natural world, while also leaving room for imagination.

This style of painting tries to make the viewer undergo all kinds of moods including feelings of spirituality, imagination and mystery. It goes against the constraints of rationalism and tries to express individual feelings regardless of whether they obstruct social norms or concepts of rationale. Take a moment to really peer into the painting above, look at it for about two minutes and observe it's features. Try to stir the emotions in your heart.

Look at the spectacular sky with the ever-beautiful formations of clouds. The thrashing sea waves at the feet of the rocks. The man that stands in front of this spectacle, his back facing us, not allowing us to see the expressions on his face, but his posture is enough to tell us of his emotions. The steady footing at the edge of the rocks, the firm and straight posture all hint to us of the determination, and sense of adventure in the man.

This style of painting truly makes one feel refreshed and positive about the world. The famous artworks of this style include the one above "Wanderer Above the sea of Fog" by Casper David Friedrich and "Liberty Leading The People" by Eugène Delacroix.

Realism

Time of Popularity : Mid 19th Century

Region Of Popularity : France

I have to sadly admit my taste in paintings lies more towards the imaginary and the wonderous themes, not boring realistic ones. However, realism is quite a famous and widely used painting style. Realism is exactly what it's name suggests, depiction of real scenes or events with accurate detail. Paintings that focus on realism are rather boring in my eyes, because they mostly depict everyday life, of course the catch is that they're quite realistic and precise. Take the one above as an example, if you look at it from afar you might mistake it to be a picture at first. Take a closer look and you'll realize it's actually a painting, one done with a lot of effort. I mean, look at all the details! The stones with all their shadings, highlights and shadows. The background with the bushes and shadows. It seems quite realistic to me.

Realistic paintings are amazing. They take a lot of hard work, patience and consistency to make. But the only thing that makes me not a big fan is it's boundaries. It depicts reality and leaves no room for imagination or personal feelings. I find them quite hard to like due to their strict nature. But you may see them in a different light.

Famous Artworks of this painting style include "The Stone Breakers" (The one above) by Gustave Courbet , "The Gleaners" by Jean-François Millet .

Impressionism

Time of Popularity : Late 19th Century
Region Of Popularity : France

Oh are we finally here? Impressionism! Now this is something more like my taste. The biggest contributor and inventor of this art style was Claude Monet. If you're an artist you may or may not have heard his name. He's called the father of impressionism. Impressionism is a style of painting that focuses on capturing light and momentary impressions with visible brushstrokes. An Impression is an idea, feeling, or opinion about something or someone, especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence. Therefore, impressions are formed after consultation with the heart. 

Impressionism suggests the same. It does not bind you to realistic thought and lets you decide your own impressions. The painting above is a prime example, it does not seem realistic for it is merely an impression of the artist. Impressionism does not ask to be real, it simply asks to be acknowledged. The key features of this painting style is that it made an unfinished look in paintings, reflected fleeting moments, painted scenes that looked fuzzy and unrefined as if in a dream. It used short , quick brush strokes and vibrant, bright colors.

Famous Artworks of this style include "Impression, Sunrise" by Claude Monet (The one Above), and "Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette" by Auguste Renoir.

Post-Impressionism

Time of Popularity : Late 19th Century
Region Of Popularity : France

Oh the art style of the great painter himself, Post-Impressionism! You must've heard about Van Gogh or William Vincent Van Gogh. A world famous Dutch painter, who created this beauty above, "The Starry Night". I always find myself speechless when viewing this masterpiece.

Let's start by defining Post-Impressionism, it came after impressionism and it further extended the art of impressionism while going against its limitations. The artists of this style continued using the same methods as in Impressionism, with the only difference being the emphasis on geometric forms, distort forms for an expressive effect and used seemingly unnatural and random colors. 

As observable in the celestial spectacle of the Starry Night, the use of unnatural colors to depict the brightness of the stars and the moon. The focus on geometrical forms such as the wave-like lines in the sky or the loop-ish trees shown in the bottom right side corner of the painting. I'm not a fan of geometry but this painting, oh it has such a great balance of geometry and impression. The Starry Night is simply Van Gogh's impression of that night, but sometimes impressions are better than the reality.

Famous Artworks of this painting style include "The Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh and "Mont Sainte-Victoire" by Paul Cézanne. 

Expressionism

Time of Popularity : Early 20th Century
Region of Popularity : Germany

Okay, the last on our list is here! Expressionism!

The name says it all, doesn't it? Expressionism, literally having the word expression in it. I'm sure you have an idea of what this style is all about. It's another one of my favorites, one that depicts emotional experiences instead of reality. Look at the painting above, what do you see? 

A scene with a wavy human-like figure with his hands on his head. This painting is called "The Scream". This painting is often seen as a symbol of anxiety towards the bleakness of human condition and anxiety. This painting often symbolizes despair as well. Many viewers find it disturbing and scary. And that's all what expressionism is about, you express certain emotions through it and the viewers receive them. This painting's disturbing nature stems from the fact that the person at the center is screaming and the people behind him seem indifferent. It depicts the anxiety of life, the despair of having no one. 

Expressionism strives to express things, feelings and emotions. It's an art style that goes to the realm of imagination and brings out the artists deepest emotions in the form of paintings. I absolutely love these kinds of art styles. What about you?

Famous Artworks of this art style include "The Scream" by Edvard Munch and "Portrait of Wally" by Egon Schiele.

Conclusion

Painting styles vary person to person. It takes a lot of courage and determination to create a unique painting style and to honor and remain loyal to it. If you don't have a painting style yet, that's totally fine, I also struggle with finding my own style. I personally find that adding something common to all your paintings helps reserve it and makes people recognize the artist easily. For example the use of a specific shade in every painting regardless of what your painting. 

Throughout the history of painting, many painting styles were born and many died out without even being recorded. Many artists painted but their paintings got lost amidst the fog of history. Which painting style in this list intrigued you the most? Which one do you think suits your aesthetic the most? 

Thank you for reading!