Evolution Of Painting As An Art Form

downloadDownload
  • Words 713
  • Pages 2
Download PDF

Painting has been a form of expression human beings have used since the beginning of pre-historic humans that extends across all cultures. Starting around 40,000 years ago, cave paintings done by what are suspected to be Neanderthals were the beginning of paintings. They would utilize the recourses around them, including grounding up charcoal, earth, and minerals, then sometimes mixing them with animal fat or saliva to create a liquid. The first of these paintings were hunting scenes. Very rarely, these pre-historic artists would paint what are depicted to be human-animal hybrids, stencils, and handprints. Forwarding to the history of Eastern paintings, it was comprised of diverse influences that are from an assorted amount of religions and cultures. Although starting a few centuries before, Eastern painting is parallel to Western painting; such as Ancient Egypt having a strong influence of sculpture and architecture with bright colors heavily inspired their paintings. They had a symbolistic, graphical, flat bold outlines of figures that incorporated written language; their paintings were intended for the deceased Egyptians to create a sense of a pleasant afterlife, including activities in their tombs they wished to carry into their afterlife.

Chinese paintings were also more decorative than representational. This includes designs or patterns instead of pictures. In early pottery, animals, dots, spirals, and zigzags were painted onto them. It was not until during the Warring States period was when artists began representing the world around them in their paintings. Japanese painting is described to be the most refined and oldest art forms in Japan. Korean painting artworks included evolved into different styles that demonstrated royalty, including Korean-style facial features, landscapes, astronomy, and Buddhist themes. East Asian artwork was heavily attached to printmaking and calligraphy influenced the style of paintings. Water color-based techniques that were described to include less realism, graphical depiction, stylized subjects, and elegant landscapes. Gold on lacquer was a common medium used, tomb murals that were on rock, stone, or brick, along a more expensive medium being silk until the invention of paper in 1st century CE. Painting became a common form of artistic expression. Landscape paintings that used more of the environment, objects, and people that they began to include more realism. During the Chinese Song dynasty, portrait paintings were improving and becoming more sophisticated and standardized. Different styles being invented were more and more introduced to other styles, including incorporating them with traditional styles. Western techniques of oil painting were also being more introduced in China and becoming more engaged with the Western world of painting.

Click to get a unique essay

Our writers can write you a new plagiarism-free essay on any topic

With the rise of Christianity and the Byzantine art style from the Roman and Greek Orthodox Icon-painting being introduced on mosaics and frescos played a huge role in the painting world during the Middle Ages. Gothic painting and Medieval art grew to be more realistic, including more dramatic. During the Renaissance artists became captivated by the world around them and started painting significantly more naturalistic. Oil painting was primarily used due to the richer colors that left a more “porcelain-like” finish compared to the matte finish of tempura paint. Artists played more with the human anatomy, perspective, and proportion, and became more realistic than idealistic. Some focused more on the unity of effect and richness of color to portray a more spontaneous perspective in their paintings than the precision of the drawing. Artists in the Renaissance also incorporated the advances in science and astrology during that time into their paintings. The 20th-century artwork evolved into expressive, multi-colored, figure, and landscape paintings that were described as “wild” called Fauvism. Artists used more contrasting colors and painting more expressively. They focused more on objects, textures, surfaces, and explored expression through color called Cubism. Abstraction art, including Symbolism and Expressionism, allowed artists to be even more experimental and is described to be visual language. They took a more geometrical approach and utilized objects in their paintings; artists also began painting what they saw in their imagination and dream imagery. There were still artists who worked on super-realist styles to the new abstract style. Social realism or social consciousness and photorealism played a role in the artist’s work as well. Whether using a traditional or classical style or taking a modern expressionist approach to their artwork, painting throughout history has been a form of expression for human beings.

image

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy.