Painting Schools

The term painting schools is used to describe various styles of painting developed over several centuries. Painting schools are generally described to include works of European and American artists, though they could apply to other groups as well. Among the first of the recognized painting schools is that of Baroque art, which refers to European art of the 16th to 18th centuries, when painting was realistic, but was embellished with a high degree of ornamentation.

The Abstract Expressionist school of painting refers to a style which applied expressionism to abstract art. This painting school is represented by Jackson Pollock who used brilliant colors in totally abstract meanderings across the canvas. Additional painting schools in recent eras include the painting schools of Cubism and Expressionism. Picasso developed the painting school of Cubism, which represents an subject from several perspectives at once. The Expessionism school of painting was developed in Germany and Austria, and is one of the painting schools which uses vivid colors, in this case in distorted images.

Fauvism, another of the painting schools which evolved in France from Impressionism involved formal composition, and included Pointilism. This painting school is represented by Seurat and Pisarro.

Another of the painting schools which originated in France early in the 20th century is that of Neo-Impressionism, typified by the works of Matisse who pained in the bright, violent colors typical of this painting school.

The Pop Art painting school is typified by images taken from modern culture, including advertising themes and images from the media in general. An important artist in the development of this painting school was Roy Lichtenstein.

Another of the painting schools which includes a number of artists, including the famous Grandma Moses is the Primitive school of painting. This school of painting is best described as involving very direct, often powerful images which capture the attention because of their strength rather than as a result of fine technique. Another very different artist representing this painting school is the French painter, Henri Rousseau

All of the various painting schools have avid devotees, and each of the painting schools developed over time has produced masterworks which hang in museums throughout the world. Excellent prints of paintings typifying each of the various painting schools described briefly here can be obtained from museums and art galleries and can be displayed to enhance the homes of art lovers.

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