Art

Art can take many different forms, from sculptures and paintings to music and drama. These pages concentrate on the visual arts such as paintings and prints.

Visual Art goes back to Paleolithic times. The Paleolithic era is commonly known as the Stone Age, and many examples of the earliest art can be found in caves. Examples of these include art found in caves at Lascaux and Chauvet in France. South Africa also has examples of Stone Age Art and includes an engraved piece of ochre which is about 70,000 years old.

The Ancient Egyptians had a very distinct style of art known as frontalism. These consist of figures where the heads of characters are drawn in profile while the body faces the front.

Medieval art dates approximately between 500-1500 AD and mainly centres around the architecture and icons of the Roman Catholic Church. Medieval Art can take two form, Romanesque and Gothic.

One of the most well known art styles is Renaissance. This art style was believed to have originated around the 14th Century in Italy. This style was adopted in Northern Europe around the 16th Century. Probably the most famous of this style are the paintings and sculptures of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Renaissance Art was more realistic than its predecessors. It was the Renaissance Artists that studied the art of perspective. Perspective is the way objects look from a distance.

Following the Renaissance style of art, came the Baroque and Rococco. Baroque Art has deep roots with the Roman Catholic Church which was an important patron of this art. Baroque Art brought with it a sense of movement and energy.

The 19th Century brought a completely new form of art with it. That of photography. This not only introduced photographs as a new form of art but influenced the painters themselves. With the new competition, came the pressure of painting in styles which were more realistic. This style became known as Impressionist Art. Famous Impressionist Artists include Renoir and Monet.

The 20th Century has seen a variety of art styles. The early part of the 20th Century saw the birth of the Art Nouveau era where flowing lines became a popular art form both in paintings and sculptures. This was followed by Art Deco where more angular lines were used. Picasso was an artist of the 20th Century who adopted the Cubist method of art.

Today, art can vary considerably especially as there are now so many medias. Not only does the modern artist have the conventional materials of paint and canvas, a new media such as computer software can now aid artists with their work. Popular art can consist of abstract works, realism and sometimes fantasy art. Fantasy Art in itself is becoming popular especially since films such as Lord of the Rings have been created. It will be interesting to see what the future will bring to the art world.