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Art has always been considered as a creative medium of expression. One such creative medium of expression that people often sought to narrate stories and spruce up the aesthetical appeal of their living space is modern art. Though more and more galleries are putting modern art for sale and more and more people are buying modern artworks, not many people know the significance of modern art and how it came into existence.

The aim of this blog is to acquaint our readers and art lovers how this radical approach called modernism came into existence and the role modernism and modern art paintings played in shaping up the society.  

The Rise of Modernism

The dawn of the twentieth century witnessed a league of rebellious people, mainly thinkers, and artists who rejected the European culture for it had become unethical, complacent, sluggish and sick. This rebellious approach flourished between 1900 and 1930. As a consequence of this rebellious disposition, the twentieth century witnessed the rise of a radical approach that longed to revive the way present day civilization saw life, literature, art, politics, and science. This league of extraordinary gentlemen was of the opinion the society and its people were full of artificialities, were way too much concerned about social image and scared of changing themselves for good. No doubt, modern thinker, and artists were disappointed because of the moral bankruptcy of the European society. Their dissatisfaction led them to scout for and explore other options, especially primitive cultures. The result of their search was a catastrophe for the governing bodies and establishment, for the alternative option they came up was an emerging culture that defied established traditions and authorities in the anticipation of renovating the modern society.

This radical thinking brought a paradigm shift in how artists view society and perceived art. Now, more and more artists were defying the years old establishments and traditions. Their paint brushes and canvases became their weapons in this battle of ideologies. They started creating modern art paintings through which they yearned to condemn and defy traditional ways of representation, mainly religious and figurative works that were commissioned by governing authorities, by mixing basic elements of various cultures and incorporating the basics of newly urbanized everyday life in their works of art.

Characteristics of Modernism

The key characteristic of modernism is nihilism i.e. the denunciation of all sacred, spiritual and ethical values as the sole means of attaining social progress. Their dismissal of traditional morals was founded on its uncertainty, its conformity and the control that they placed over human feelings. The new-age thinkers and artists were of the opinion that for an individual to feel complete and to participate in the revival process of the society, the individual needed to be free of all the burdening baggage of pretense that has been there for hundreds of years.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, as a result of the new industrial dynamics, the modern artists sensed a need for continual eagerness and did not want to settle for or commit to any one defined system that would bind their creativity and imaginations within a set of rules that would eventually limit and annihilate their imaginative powers and mental faculties. They challenged academic art for it gave little or no freedom to experiment. Rebellious artists defied the set norms, experimented and came up with various art movements ranging from secessionism to fauvism, expressionism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, dada and surrealism. All these art movements fell under the umbrella of modern art. Modern artists like Pablo Picasso and others were never too contented with any one style, so they experimented and took risks of trying almost all the styles that these art movements had to offer. They were keen to achieve the aim of producing a purely visual world that could only exist on a flat canvas.

While creating modern art paintings, artists make a shift from traditional subjects and styles like portraiture, still lives and realism and experimented with creativity, imagination, and art, without essentially denoting objects from the real world. They yearned to display exclusive elements that were particular to each artistic medium. 

Today, modern art paintings are one of the most sought after genres of paintings that art lovers love to adorn their living space with. If you too want to defy the traditions and want to make aa bold statement in your home, you can explore modern art paintings offered by our gallery and buy some to make a striking statement.