Innovative Techniques in Painting Essay Example

on paper. In this style, the paint is loosely applied to the canvas and features elevated vantage points. This technique is significant today and in history because it realistically depicts our surroundings without being tied by Renaissance/Academic tradition which was slower and laborious.

Other painting techniques that showinnovativeness in France’s art history emerged after impressionism and were categorized as post- or neo-impressionism.

One of the main styles used was Divisionism (or Chromoluminarism) where dots of colors are used to depict different perspectives depending on eye of the observer. The aim of this technique is to achieve high luminosity. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande 1884-86 by George Seurat is a perfect example Portraying Parisians engaging in public. Neo-impressionism features contemporary subject matter. The Night Café 1888 by Vincent van Gogh brings out the impasto or sketchy characteristic of post-impressionism French art. His piece has bright mixture of colors that are aggressive as the subject matter.

Synthetism is a post-impressionism style introduced by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) that depicts the combination of what the artist sees and his or her emotional reactions through 2-D color schemes(Visual Arts Cork). Gauguin’s piece titled Vision After the Sermon (1888, National Gallery of Scotland) gives an abstract representation of reality and dream. Another example is Gauguin’s, Manaotupapau (The Spirit of the Dead Keep Watch), 1892.

Another innovative technique in as far as painting is concerned is abstract painting. This is composed of different styles of painting that became prevalent in the late during and after the 20th Century. It is believed that Picasso and Georges Braque were the main pioneers of this anti-academic style between 1912 and 1914 (Winsor

Newton).

Cubism falls under this style and it is where objects and figures are painted in planes (Winsor Newton). A good example here is Gerhard Richter’s January, 1989 which is exhibited in the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Another method called collage was also introduced. This style involved sticking pieces of papers on a platform. An example of collage painting is Kurt Schwitters’sDas Undbild, 1919, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.

Surrealism (pioneered by Salvador Dalí and René Magritte)has also gained popularity as an innovative technique. This is a method that visually expresses both reality and illusion in one piece. Some aspects might not make sense at first glance. A good example is René Magritte’s The Future of Statues, 1937 (exhibited in Paris and London) which evokes the observer’s subconscious imagination.

From this unit, I have learnt that there have been a number of innovative methods of painting after the 19th Century. These techniques helps us passive contemporary subject matter through a modern lens unlike Renaissance/Academic techniques. Artists paint what they feel and their pieces are inspired by their personal lifestyles.

Works Cited

1. Samu, Margaret. "Impressionism: Art and Modernity." Timeline of Art History. N.p., 2004. Web. 28 Feb. 2016..
2. Visual Arts Cork. "Synthetism: Style of Painting." Visual Arts. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
3. Winsor Newton. "Techniques and Materials in Abstract Painting." The World's Finest Artists' Materials & Paints. N.p., 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.