By: Fletcher Pike

Art has been around since the beginning of humanity, being a way for people to express themselves and their feelings through creating artwork. Throughout many centuries of changing trends, there have been prominent art styles featured throughout the years. In this article, I will cover the different art styles throughout different eras.

Prehistoric Art

The earliest days of art can be traced back to around 100,000 B.C.E, with examples including cave paintings, clay sculptures, and rock carvings. Most of these artworks, especially the cave paintings, depicted some kind of story, using both humans and animals in the artwork. Most of these artworks were symbolic and represented the civilization’s culture.

Ancient Era

After around 4000 B.C.E, art began to evolve when more advanced civilizations like Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, and civilizations in Asia developed more cultural, symbolic items that they incorporated into art. Though the style of art can vary among these different cultures, most of them were made to tell a story of some kind. Some examples of this can be murals, sculptures, and art created on everyday objects such as bowls or weapons.

Medieval Era

The Medieval era, or “The Dark Ages” was a time that spanned from 400-1400 C.E. Art was dominantly focused on Biblical or other religious stories that varied throughout different cultures. Though the art in this distinct period featured bright colors, most of the content being depicted could sometimes be gruesome or unsettling. Most art in Medieval times included flat imagery, rather than using depth.

Some other forms of art in this era include illuminated manuscripts, stained glass windows, and paintings.

Renaissance Era

The Renaissance period (about 1400-1600 C.E.) was an important period in time in European civilizations. Originating in Italy, this was the time that artists began to adapt depth and new imagery into their artworks. The common Biblical or religious themes in art—which was found mostly in the Medieval era—shifted into a focus on the human form or other topics. The Renaissance era was a rebirth following the Medieval era, with revived ideas in economics, education, politics, and art. The art in this period was revived from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilizations. Some important artists from this time were Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Sandro Botticelli.

Art was found in various forms within this time, but was most prominent in paintings, sculptures, and architecture. It was also found in music and literature.

Early Modern Period

The Early Modern period (about 1600-1800 C.E.) was a time where advancements in technology, transport, and manufacturing were very prominent and art began to adapt alongside these changes. Artists no longer had to only focus on art that told a story, and were able to use art to paint whatever they wished. Artists began to open up more to different art styles, which had a more abstract approach. Take ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch for example, it’s unique art style included loose brushstrokes and vivid colors, which was not usually found in art before its time. Art came in numerous forms throughout this period, but once again typically found in paintings or drawings.

Today, art comes in many forms that are unique to their artists. Art is still a very prominent part in society today, and continues to be created by millions of artists around the world. Art has adapted into many different styles or even styles that I showed previously.

I hope you found this article interesting as I covered the basics of art styles from different eras and that it might have inspired you to create your own.