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introduction to the 2001-2002 CLIP & cup a savE art prints
One way of learning about art is to study the work of individual artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, since art is very personal and each artist's work is unique. Another way is to look at art named after the places and times it was made, such as Egyptian or Victorian.
Yet another useful way of learning about art is to describe it as belonging to a particular set of ideas. For example, a popular art movement that spread all over the world is called "Impressionism."
Other artists have joined together in groups, also with names ending in "ism"; but these names can often be confusing. For that reason, this year's Clip & Save articles will explain what artists belonging to some of the more important "isms" of art have been trying to do.
Art movements are not new. The oldest are Classicism and Romanticism. Classical art was invented in ancient Greece and later adopted by the Romans; and it was revived more than 1,000 years later during the Italian Renaissance. Since then, Western artists have been guided by the rules of Classicism, and the shapes, patterns and proportions they use are similar to those first invented by ancient Greek artists. People and animals are likely to be handsome, well-proportioned and posed in well-thought-out groups that are in ways either athletic or elegant The proportions and designs of Classical buildings are also similar to those found in Greece and Rome, and are equally elegant Classical designs of clothing and decoration have similar origins.
Of course, all artistic styles show themselves differently in the work of every artist, and changes occur every time a style is rediscovered; but with practice, students will be able to identify them. They will also know about a style by the way it is named. A newer kind of Classicism in art is likely to be called Neoclassicism. The statue shown in this article by the sculptor, Horatio Greenough, is an example of American Neoclassical art of 150 years ago.
A very different kind of art from Classicism is named Romanticism. Like Classical art, it has ancient origins. Unlike Classicism, however, it usually emphasizes themes that are passionate or violent,...