Art Guide
Periods
European and Japanese painting, century by century.
15th and 16th centuries
The age of the Renaissance
The 15th and 16th centuries are the age of the Renaissance in European painting. With the discovery of perspective, the spread of oil paint and a new focus on the human being, painting set out the language of the next five centuries.
17th century
The Baroque age
The 17th century is the Baroque age, defined by dramatic light, strong emotion and the everyday scenes of the Dutch Golden Age.
18th century
The Age of Enlightenment
The 18th century is the Age of Enlightenment, defined by the graceful scenes of the Rococo, views of Venice and, with the rise of scientific observation, natural history illustration.
19th century
From Romanticism to Post-Impressionism
The 19th century, stretching from Romanticism to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, is when modern painting was born. In Japan, ukiyo-e prints enjoyed their golden age.
20th century
1900 – 1930
The first decades of the 20th century are the age of modern painting, from Klimt’s gold to the portraits of Schiele and Modigliani, from the abstraction of Kandinsky, Klee and Mondrian to Grant Wood’s rural America.