EUROPE

The art of Europe is extremely expansive, but I will attempt to give a brief history. All over the continent, from Spain and France to Russia, cave paintings and human figures have been found, proving that art existed as early as 25,000-10,000 years before Christ. During the last Paleolithic period, cold, dry climates forced people to caves and mountain holes, and thus the art of painting. These paintings were not purely decorative, but there existed a relationship between what was painted on the walls and what could become reality. Cave paintings took advantage of natural vaulting in the cave walls to create relief's and the use of earth paints. Sculpture was often an important, although lesser known, art form. Prehistoric sculptors paid no attention to the face or limbs, but concentrated on the body.

The Danube was an important way to spread culture on the continent. Similarities between different areas of European art have been seen and are attributed to the river. The Danube spread the art and culture of the Eastern Mediterranean northwards.

It has been said that Europe was born in and with Greece. What made the new World different from the old world was the importance in intellect. The meeting of East and West is what has created our current world. "The rational character of the west met the spiritual legacy of the east and its great creative activity came from the conjugation of mental clarity and deep emotionalism. With the coming of the Greeks came the world as we know it."

It is possible that the Greeks had been in contact with the Egyptians and took examples form Egyptian culture. There is a huge difference between the two, though, Egyptian sculpture is solid, frontal and symmetrical, while Greek sculptures were freed from such rigidity. The two cultures attitude toward society also differed. While Egyptians focused on the afterlife, Greeks were interested in life. Greek style places the utmost importance on freedom. The Greek creative spirit flourished and progressed with astonishing speed. Early on, art in Europe could be said to have existed as 'art for art's sake'.

After Etruscan rule, the Romans took over. They too exhibited the Greeks lust for life and created many artistic pieces that still survive today. When Christianity was accepted by the emperor Constantine the Great, it was immediately favored as temples were Christianized. Early Christian art shows similarities to earlier Roman art, adapted to the new religion. Eventually, poverty art disappeared as art was demanded, for the construction of churches led to commissions and the development of a style. These churches were important in developing the unified style of Europe. Pilgrimage routes were erected between cities, and the road was lined with churches and chapels.

Gothic architecture and art saw a move to certain realism in expression. Gothic architecture seems lighter and more open than Romanesque, and introduced the importance and beauty of stained glass. Gothic art took a step toward naturalism, and movement, rather than the stoic Romanesque period. Subjects for painting and sculpture were no longer limited to the religious realm. Common people and scenes of daily life began too show up. Landscapes also started to be themes for works of art.

The Renaissance is the rebirth of art, linked with classical antiquity. Subjects mixed Christianity with some tones of ancient Greek art. The Renaissance applied classical lessons to the problems of the time. It was not a time of imitation, but rather originality. More than ever before, the importance of the individual is what drove the Renaissance. Religion no longer dominated the art scene, but rather in painting artists once again used history and legends as subjects for their art. The human body was studied in depth and represented realistically in both painting and sculpture.

Many artistic discoveries were made during the Renaissance. Perspective was first figured out and used, landscapes were correctly painted, for example objects farther in the distance were not as bright and focused as closer objects.

Around 1470 the climate of culture changed. People like the Medici family retreated to their villas where they enjoyed the company of artists and poets. There became more of an interest in fashion and women. Later work of the Middle Ages was no longer piously simple, but full of irony, skepticism and doubt. Artists of this time were commonly not just artists, but scholars, scientists, inventors and philosophers. With Michaelangelo art was given spirit, consciousness, felling and thinking. This painter/sculptor/philosopher brought art alive.

European art continued to change throughout the continent. Many different styles evolved after the Renaissance, like Baroque, Mannerism, Rococo, ect. All built upon the ideas of the previous. They brought with them more portraits, landscapes and the new 'still life'.

In the 1800's a critic coined the phrase "Impressionism" to describe the paintings of Manet, Boudin, and Monet. Originally it was meant to be a criticism, but it stuck. Such painters often painted scenes while outside. This was unheard of before impressionism. The paintings, as their style name suggest, merely give a quick impression of a scene. Impressionist Henri Toulouse-LaTrec raised the art of the poster to a new level. He brought advertising to an artistic level.

These newer eras in art mark one important change, artists became more mobile. It was not unheard of for a French artist to live and work in Tahiti, and it certainly was common that a Dutch artist traveled to and lived in Paris. The impressionists met eachother and became friends, encouraging eachother in their endeavors.

The twentieth century saw totally new, modern styles emerging. Previously art and architecture consisted of many revivals; Gothic Revival, ect. What had now started was Art Nouveaux. The style was decoratively oriented. New materials were being introduced and a new century had dawned. Many artist, like Gustav Klimt, exaggerated the decorative aspects of art in a way that had never been seen before. Artists began using subjects as never before, Munch explored death, others politics. Expressionists explored their subjects in depth and prevented them with a certain boldness and truthfulness. Expressionists turned their backs on society and tried to find a security that would end their isolation through art. Some explain the expressionists as people whose striving for self-realization was prevented and their energy then flowed down destructive channels. An expressionist artist destroys reality in order to reach irrational and spiritual values.

Cubism is an art of pure harmony of shapes. Here, a type of collage-work was introduced into painting. Cubism started as an experiment, but eventually became a creative language of art where the complex thinking and abstract ways of the twentieth century came together. Later, Futurism started in Italy. It is distinguished from Cubism by its dynamic character.

Artist's styles were changing often as they 'jumped' between cubism and classicism and back, for example. This age is difficult to sum up in a few short sentences due to this shifting of styles and the multitude of creative arts that existed. This still remains today. Subjects can range from reality to total absurdity. Some new art has freed itself from any of the experiments of the first half of the century. Artists are looking to separate themselves from cultural associations, and find art that is not related at all to what was considered characteristic.

Modern artists are searching for deeper meanings to life and art than their predecessors. Art is no longer utilitarian, but its purpose is purely emotional. Artists strive for the ultimate expression of themselves, not neccesarily that of another being or god, as earlier art did. Modern art explores our sense of reality and challenges our senses. Today's art is an extension of the artist; their offering of themselves to the viewer; a way for them to be heard. Since the Renaissance, art has changed to focus on the individual, the personal dream.