Art Glossary

A post-WWII American art movement defined by large-scale abstract paintings emphasizing spontaneous, gestural mark-making and the direct expression of emotional or psychological states.

Art Nouveau is a decorative art movement known for flowing lines, plant shapes and patterned borders. In posters, the lettering and frame around the picture often belong to the design.

A German school of design (1919-1933) that unified fine art, craft, and industrial design under a philosophy of functional beauty -- geometric form, primary colors, and total integration of art and life.

A primarily German and Central European art movement of the early 20th century that distorted reality for emotional effect, using intense color, exaggerated form, and raw psychological energy.

Fauvism is a French art movement that uses bold, unnatural colors and simplified shapes. The subjects are often recognizable; the colors do not have to match real life.

A late 19th-century French painting movement that prioritized capturing fleeting light, color, and atmosphere over precise realistic detail.

A broad cultural and artistic movement of the late 19th to mid-20th century that rejected tradition in favor of experimentation, abstraction, and new approaches suited to industrial-age life.

A broad term for the diverse movements that extended and reacted against Impressionism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasizing structure, emotion, and symbolism.

A 20th-century literary and visual art movement that explored the unconscious mind, dreams, and irrational imagery as a means of liberation from rational constraint.

A late 19th-century art and literary movement that used symbolic imagery, myth, and spiritual or psychological content to express ideas that lay beyond the reach of realism or direct description.