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7: Women Artists in the Early 20th Century (1900 CE - 1940 CE)

  • Page ID
    135006

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    • 7.1: Introduction (1900 CE – 1940 CE)
      In the early 20th century, rapid change occurred everywhere; powerful states competed with each other, and other states resisted European domination, leading to significant, later upheavals. With rapid economic and industrial growth came the destruction of the natural environment. Rising economies in non-European parts of the globe and other nationalist movements brought uprisings weakening Europe's control, influence, and power.
    • 7.2: Fauvism (1905-1910)
      During the early twentieth century in France, a groundbreaking art movement known as Fauvism emerged. This revolutionary movement dared to challenge the traditional techniques used by Impressionists and instead, boldly emphasized the use of vibrant, intense colors straight from the tube. The visionaries behind this movement, including Henri Matisse and Andre Derain, brilliantly experimented with color to create a dynamic sense of movement and liveliness in their artwork.
    • 7.3: Cubism (1907-the 1920s)
      Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque created Cubism a few years after the opening of the new century. They developed different ideas of how objects or figures were composed, becoming one of the most influential design concepts of the 1900s. Louis Vauxcelles, an art critic, wrote of Braque's landscape painting as Cubism because the images were formed into geometric shapes or "bizarre cubiques."
    • 7.4: American Modernism (1910-1935)
      American Modernism reflected the worldwide changes in art based on the unique American culture—the movement, along with others in this period, aligned with the experiences of modern industrial existence. Artists rejected the realistic approach to art and moved to more abstraction and experimentation with color and shapes. Artistic themes were based on social agendas, emotional feelings, and political changes. Art was varied, each artist's personal expression as they created new visions.
    • 7.5: Expressionism (1912-1935)
      At the beginning of the new 20th century, European artists were dissatisfied with the academic standards and style of the art community. They began experimenting with new ideas for the modern world and expanding cities. As part of the European transformations, Expressionism was born in Germany; art charged with emotions and subject matter found in urban settings.
    • 7.6: Harlem Renaissance (1918-1930s)
      In 1865, the Civil War ended, and hundreds of thousands of enslaved people were suddenly freed with the promise of participation in American life and an opportunity for self-determination. By the end of the 1870s, white supremacy restructured local and state laws, the "Jim Crow laws," taking away the right of African Americans to the promised Freedom and relegating them to poverty and powerlessness.
    • 7.7: The Bauhaus (1919-1931)
      The Bauhaus opened its doors in 1919 and was considered a radical new design school in Weimar, Germany. Founded by Walter Gropius, developed the school's manifesto: The school would be open to "any person of good repute, regardless of age or sex, and even went on to clarify that there were to be 'no differences between the fairer sex and the stronger sex,' in a time when women could not attend college."
    • 7.8: Surrealism (1920 – 1950s)
      The Manifesto of Surrealism by André Breton was a publication for a literary movement based on experimenting with writing about the subconscious or dream states, the world of imagination, and irrationality. Early artists experimenting with Surrealism were from multiple countries, creating diverse and symbolic images emerging from the subconscious mind, a place of superior authenticity and the absence of control.

    Thumbnail: Caelum 42 (Courtesy of the artist, Jylian Gustlin)


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