The main question that torments all novice artists is where does the author's style come from and how to develop it?
Most established artists answer this question like this:
The author's style is something that you shouldn't think about. You just need to draw and it will come by itself.
In fact, this answer never suited me, and I decided to figure it out myself.
How should you form your author's style?
It seems to me that initially you need to figure out what the illustration style is all about. What are they and what are their features.
There are an incredible number of styles in illustration! They are all very closely intertwined with each other. But among them, five main ones can be distinguished:
- Realism
- Decorative style
- Grotesque
- Minimalism
Realism
Realism is a style according to which the artist's task is to fix the depicted object as accurately and objectively as possible.The main focus is on maximum image fidelity. Working in the genre of realism, the artist must strictly observe proportions, the laws of chiaroscuro and perspective. However, there is still some degree of simplification in this style. The simplification effect is achieved due to the execution technique - pencil shading, abundant and careless strokes of paint, as well as a certain neglect of drawing individual elements in the digital painting technique to highlight the main object. Who is realism for?
- To all lovers of academicism
- Concert for arteurs
- Academic drawing
- Painting
- Anatomy
- Chiaroscuro
- Realistic textures
Decorative style
Decorative style is a style that has a paradoxical combination of decorative conventionality and the realism of the depicted object. The main strength of the decorative style is the contrast of realism and convention. This effect is achieved by dense spot filling of some elements of the object, that is, curling with a pure color and the obligatory realistic rendering of other elements.
To enhance the effect, you can use the ornament decoration of individual objects. When working in a decorative style, it is very important not to overdo it and maintain a balance of convention and realism so that the image evokes as many mixed feelings as possible in the viewer.
Who is the decorative style suitable for?
- To all rebels who have a good school of academic drawing behind them
- Magazine illustrator
- Artists who want to create super conceptual and challenging work
- Anatomy
- Ornament and other decorative elements.
Grotesque
Grotesque is an artistic image and style based on quirkiness and a combination of the real and the unreal. Some distortion of the image and plot.
Grotesque is one of the most popular styles in illustration. It is characterized by a significant distortion of proportions, perspective, as well as unusually unusual angles, which, thanks to the laws of perspective, significantly distorts the depicted object.
However, it is very important not to deviate drastically from the original image in order to maintain its recognizability. The grotesque is characterized by a certain metaphor and surrealism of the plot and the image of the character.
Who is grotesque for?
- Most illustrators
- For animators
- Character Concept Designers
- Composition
- Plastic anatomy
- The fantasy of the author himself
Naive
Naive is a style, the main characteristic of which is the simplification of the form for perception on the subconscious and emotional level. The main distinguishing feature is the primitiveness of forms with a practical rejection of anatomy and proportions. It is often referred to as childish or cartoonish style.
The main task of illustrations in the naive style is to evoke positive emotions and tenderness in the viewer.
When drawing in a naive style, it is important not to oversimplify, preserving the properties and recognizability of the depicted object.
Who is the naive style suitable for?
- Most illustrators
- Children's illustrators
- Artist - animators
- Concert Designers for Cartoon Characters and Environments
- Shaping
- Works with silhouette
- Texture softness
- Various ways of decorative shading
Minimalism
Minimalism is a style that is characterized by the maximum simplification of the form of the depicted object, the use of minimal means of expression to convey the artistic intent. Now it is very popular and has another name - Flat Design, that is, "Flat".
Minimalism is characterized by the absence of perspective, the laws of chiaroscuro. Objects are simplified to geometric shapes, or they are composed of them. Also, objects can be depicted with only a few lines and spots. In order to breathe some life into their work and add charm to it, illustrators often use nice and rough textures.
Who is the minimalist style suitable for?
Illustrators wishing to work with:
- Infographics
- Motion design
- Magazine illustration
- Composition
- Shaping
After we have analyzed all 5 styles and learned about their features, the time comes for the most important question:
How to shape your style in illustration?
It is necessary to form the author's style from what you do best. But now that you already know about what styles of illustration there are, you can compare your drawings with the examples that I gave and see which style your drawings belong to. And to add flavor to your style and make it more memorable, I advise you to combine the characteristics of two different styles into one style of your own. If you are best at drawing in a naive style, adding elements from the decorative style to it, you will already have contributed your own signature style.
There is simply a huge variety of trends and styles in the visual arts. Often they do not have any pronounced boundaries and can smoothly move from one to another, while being in continuous development, opposition and confusion. Most of the directions in painting coexist at the same time precisely for this reason - there are practically no "pure styles". We present you the most popular painting styles today.
Impressionism
Claude Monet “Impression. Rising Sun"
It got its name from the painting "Impression, soleil levant" by Claude Monet. Impressionism is a painting style that tends to focus on outdoor work. Painting in this direction is intended to convey the light sensation of the master.
The key characteristics of impressionism include: subtle, relatively small, barely visible strokes; accurately rendered lighting change; open composition; the presence of any movement; unusual vision of objects.
Bright representatives of impressionism: Pierre Renoir, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet.
Expressionism
Edvard Munch "The Scream"
One of the modern trends in art that originated in Germany around the first half of the 20th century. At the beginning, Expressionism encompassed only poetry and painting.
Expressionists usually portray the world around them only subjectively, completely distorting reality for even greater emotional effect. Thus, they make their viewer think.
Among its representatives: Amedeo Modigliani, Edvard Munch, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, etc.
Cubism
Pablo Picasso "Dora Maar"
Cubism is an avant-garde art movement that originated in the 20th century thanks to the famous Pablo Picasso. Therefore, it is he who is the most prominent representative of this style. Note that this trend has revolutionized the sculpture and painting of Europe, also inspiring similar trends in architecture, literature and music.
Works of art in this style are characterized by over-combined, broken objects in an abstract form.
Modernism
Henri Matisse "Dancer in a Blue Dress"
Modernism demonstrates the totality of different cultural trends, as well as a number of united areas of art that originated in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Painters call modernism "another art", the goal of which is to create unique, unlike anything else, paintings, that is, they show a special vision of the artist.
Notable representatives: Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
Neoclassicism
Nicolas Poussin "Parnassus"
Neoclassicism was the main trend in Northern Europe around the 18th and 19th centuries, characterized by the art of the Renaissance, antiquity and even classicism.
Thanks to their deep knowledge of church laws, the masters of neoclassicism tried to reconstruct and also introduce canons into their works.
Outstanding representatives are: Nicolas Poussin, Franz Joseph Haydn, Raphael.
Pop Art
Andy Warhol "Dollar"
Romanticism
Francisco Goya "Tribunal of the Inquisition"
Romanticism as a direction of art originated in the 18th century in Europe. Strong emotions were considered the true source of aesthetic knowledge. Emotions such as awe, fear, terror, and awe were valued most.
Among its representatives: Francisco Goya, Isaac Levitan, Ivan Shishkin, Ivan Aivazovsky, William Turner.
Realism
Ilya Repin "A peasant from the timid"
Surrealism is the exposure of psychological truth by separating objects from their everyday meaning in order to create a strong image in order to evoke the viewer's empathy.
Famous representatives of this style: Max Ernst, Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali.
Symbolism
Mikhail Vrubel "Defeated Demon"
Symbolism is a kind of protest in favor of spirituality, dreams and imagination, which developed in some European countries at the end of the 19th century.
Symbolist artists made a fairly strong influence on surrealism and expressionism in painting. These two directions originated directly from symbolism.
Among the representatives of the style: Mikhail Vrubel, Gustave Moreau, Hugo Simberg, Viktor Vasnetsov, etc.
Style (trends, trends) in art is a historically established community of artistic features in one form of art or simultaneously in several arts, characteristic of different eras and peoples and due to the unity of the ideological and aesthetic aspirations of the creative minority. At present, a number of stable designations have traditionally been formed for objectively existing (and existing) trends in European art, the main features of which every cultured person needs to know. Let us consider the basic terminology in this regard, while adhering to the chronological principle.
The Romanesque style (from Lat. Romanus - Roman) manifested itself in the X-XIII centuries. in architecture and sculptural decoration. Buildings of the Romanesque style inherit many features of Roman architecture, are distinguished by their simplicity and rationality. The thickness and strength of the walls were the main criteria for the beauty of the building. The main architectural buildings of the Romanesque are the knight's castle and the monastery church.
The Gothic style (from Italian Gotico - Gothic, barbaric) is associated primarily with religious architecture, sculpture and decorative and applied arts of the 12th-14th centuries. The main architectural structure of the Gothic is the cathedral. Gothic cathedrals are characterized by an aspiration upward, towards God, an organic connection between architecture and sculpture, pointed arches; windows decorated with multicolored stained-glass windows, lush decor.
Baroque (from Italian Barocco - strange, bizarre) style in architecture, music, painting, literature, decorative arts of the late 16th-mid-18th centuries. It is characterized by aesthetic affectation, richness of decor, usually curvilinear forms. In music and literature - mannerism, capriciousness, ornateness, an abundance of ornaments. In baroque art, put at the service of religion, the Jesuits saw a powerful tool for influencing the emotional world of a person and forming new ideas of Europeans about the wealth, complexity and variability of the world around them.
Classicism (from Latin classicus - correct, exemplary) style and direction in art and literature of the 17th and early 19th centuries. which marked the return to the ancient heritage as the norm and the ideal model. The main aesthetic postulate of classicism is loyalty to nature, the natural rationality of the world with an objectively inherent beauty in it, which is expressed in symmetry, proportion, measure, harmony, which must be recreated in art in a perfect form.
Rococo (from the French rocaille - shell) is a style that occupies, as it were, an intermediate position between baroque and classicism. Distributed mainly in France during the time of Louis XV, the style is sometimes called by his name - “Louis XV style”. The defining feature of this style is the desire for grace, the abundance of decor and the contrast between the external austerity of buildings and the sophistication of their interior decoration. It was most vividly expressed in architecture, painting, arts and crafts.
Sentimentalism (from the French Sentiment - feeling) is an artistic movement of the second half of the 18th century, which developed as a result of disappointment in the positive role of “civilization”, “the kingdom of reason” proclaimed by the ideologists of the Enlightenment. Ideologically sentimentalism goes back to the famous statement of J.J. Rousseau "Reason can be wrong, feeling - never!" Sentimentalism has not developed its own aesthetics and is rather a special state of mind, melancholic daydreaming, a tendency to solitude, and increased sensitivity. His credo is the rejection of any sophistication and depravity, the so-called. "Civilized" society.
Romanticism is a broad ideological and artistic trend in world culture, which embraced all types of art and the humanities in the late 18th and early 20th centuries. Romanticism was a reaction to the results of the French Revolution, which heralded capitalist "progress" and the spirit of universal bargaining.
The credo of romanticism is “an atypical hero in atypical circumstances”. Romantics opposed utilitarianism and depersonalization of the individual with a striving for unlimited freedom, the pathos of personal and civil independence.
Realism (from Lat. Realis - real, real) is a style that has formed an attitude towards depicting life in the forms of life itself - "a typical hero in typical circumstances." As a creative method, realism manifested itself most fully in the 19th century and was embodied, first of all, in painting and literature.
Naturalism (from Lat. Natura - nature) is a creative direction that appeared in the last third of the 19th century. under the influence of the philosophy of positivism of O. Comte and G. Spencer. The aesthetics of naturalism, transferring the principles of positivism to the sphere of art, was based on the proposition that the artist should reflect the world around him without any embellishment, typification, conventions and taboos, with maximum objectivity. Representatives of naturalism pretended to tell "the whole story" about a person, showing special attention to the biological aspects of his life. An extreme manifestation of naturalism, already going beyond the bounds of art, is all sorts of pornography, the depiction of the "dirty" sides of life and scenes of violence, which have been aptly labeled "chernukha" among the people.
Modernism (from the French Moderne - new, modern) - is a combination of aesthetic schools and trends of the late XIX-XX centuries. (Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Constructivism, Fauvism, Dadaism, Abstractionism, etc.), opposing themselves to the art of the past and affirming a new approach to depicting social life.
Postmodernism - (formed in the second half of the twentieth century). It is a special type of worldview focused on the formation of such a living space in which all kinds of norms and traditions are denied and the main values are freedom in everything, spontaneity of activity, playfulness, cultural orientation, towards “deconstruction”, “decentralization”, absolutization of “novelty »As a way of assessing the world (R. Barth).
Style is the general direction of development of art, representative samples of which are united by ideological meaning, transmission technique, characteristic techniques of creative activity. Styles in the art of painting were closely intertwined, developed into related directions, existed in parallel, enriching each other.
Painting styles and trends were formed under the influence of ideology, political and economic development of society, religion, traditions.
The history of development
The history of the development of styles demonstrates the complex cultural evolution of society.
Gothic
It originated in France in the XI-XII centuries. The style developed in Western, and from the XIII - XIV centuries - in Central Europe. The origin and evolution of this trend was under the significant influence of the church. The Middle Ages was a period of domination of church authority over secular authority, so Gothic artists worked with biblical subjects. Distinctive features of the style are: brightness, pretentiousness, dynamism, emotionality, pomp, inattention to perspective. The picture does not look monolithic - it looks like a mosaic of several actions depicted on the canvas.
Renaissance or Renaissance
Came from Italy in the XIV century. For about 200 years, this trend was dominant and became the basis for the development of Rococo and the Northern Renaissance. Typical artistic features of the paintings: a return to the traditions of antiquity, the cult of the human body, interest in details, humanistic ideas. This direction was not focused on religion, but on the secular side of life. The Northern Renaissance of Holland and Germany was different - here the Renaissance was perceived as a renewal of spirituality and Christian faith, preceding the Reformation. Representatives: Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael Santi, Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Mannerism
Direction in the development of painting in the 16th century. Ideally opposite to the Renaissance. Artists moved away from the idea of human perfection and humanism towards the subjectivization of art, orientation towards the inner meaning of phenomena and objects. The name of the style comes from the Italian word "manner", which fully reflects the essence of mannerism. Representatives: J. Pontormo, J. Vasari, Brozino, J. Duvet.
Baroque
A lush, dynamic, opulent style of painting and culture that originated in Italy in the 16th century. For 200 years, the direction has developed in France, Germany, Spain. Baroque painting is full of bright colors, special attention is paid to details and decorations. The image is not static, emotional, therefore the baroque is considered the most intense and expressive stage in the development of painting.
Classicism
It arose in Western European countries in the 17th century, after 100 years it reached the countries of Eastern Europe. The main idea is a return to the tradition of antiquity. Portraits, landscapes, still lifes are easy to recognize, thanks to dogmatic reproduction, the implementation of clear rules of style. Classicism was reborn into academicism - a style that absorbed the most striking features of antiquity and the Renaissance. N. Poussin, J.-L. David, and the Russian Itinerants worked in this style.
Romanticism
Replaced classicism in the second quarter of the 19th century. Artistic features: striving to convey individuality, even if it is imperfect, emotionality, expressiveness of feelings, fantastic images. The art of romantic artists denies the norms and rules of the classical stage in the development of painting. Interest in folk traditions, legends and national history is reviving. Representatives: F. Goya, T. Gericault, K. Brullov, E. Delacroix.
Symbolism
The cultural direction of the end of the XIX - XX centuries, the ideological basis was gleaned from romanticism. In the first place in creativity was the symbol, and the artist was a mediator between reality and the fantastic world of creativity.
Realism
Artistic research that prioritizes the accuracy of conveying forms, parameters, shades. Characterized by naturalness, precision of the embodiment of the inner essence and outer shell. This style is the most ambitious, popular and versatile. Its offshoots are modern trends - photography and hyperrealism. Representatives: G. Courbet, T. Rousseau, Wanderers, J. Breton.
Impressionism
It was born in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Homeland - France. The essence of the style is the embodiment of the magic of the first impression in the picture. The artists conveyed this short moment with the help of short strokes of paint on the canvas. Such pictures are best perceived not from close range. The artists' works are filled with colors and light. Post-impressionism became a phase in the development of the style - it is characterized by greater attention to form and contours. Artists: O. Renoir, C. Pissarro, C. Monet, P. Cezanne.
Modern
An original, bright style that became the basis for the formation of many pictorial trends of the XX century. The direction collected the features of art from all eras - emotionality, interest in ornaments, plasticity, the predominance of smooth, curvilinear outlines. Symbolism became the basis for development. Modern is ambiguous - it developed in European countries in different ways and under different names.
Avant-garde
Artistic styles characterized by the rejection of realism, the symbolism of the transmission of information, the brightness of colors, individualization and freedom of creative design. The avant-garde category includes: surrealism, cubism, fauvism, futurism, expressionism, abstractionism. Representatives: V. Kandinsky, P. Picasso, S. Dali.
Primitivism or naive style
A direction characterized by a simplified depiction of reality.
The listed styles have become the main milestones in the development of painting - they continue to transform into new forms of artists' creative self-expression.
They are very diverse and multifaceted. The single principle of artistic thinking is the very key feature according to which the works of masters can be attributed to one or another trend. Historically, the main directions in painting replaced each other depending on the change in the perception of art. Certain events also played a role in this issue.
Directions in painting of the 19th century
In the nineteenth century, France remained a leading country that made a significant contribution to the development of European culture. Painting took the first place in artistic life. The trends in painting of the 19th century are classicism, romanticism, realism, academicism and decadence. Eugene Delacroix was considered the main figure of romanticism. His most famous painting "Freedom on the Barricades" was written based on real events. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the main directions in painting are classicism and realism. The position of realism in Europe was strengthened by Gustave Courbet. And in the second half of the century, the same currents moved from France to Russia. Directions in art, painting, architecture and other spheres of the cultural life of Europe this century are quite diverse. The last third of the nineteenth century balanced on the brink of realism and decadence. As a result of such balancing, a completely new direction arose - impressionism. But the main trend in Russian painting of this period was still realism.
Classicism
This trend developed in France from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. It was characterized by harmony and striving for the ideal. Classicism defined its own hierarchy, according to which the religious, historical and mythological genres were ranked as high. But the portrait, still life, as well as the landscape were considered insignificant and even everyday. It was forbidden to combine genres. Many traditions of artists owe their appearance to classicism. In particular, we are talking about the completeness of the composition and coordinated forms. The works of classicism call for harmony and consonance.
Academicism
Directions in painting did not just change over time in turn. They penetrated each other, closely intertwined and followed for a while together. And it often happened that one direction arose from another. It happened with academicism. It arose as a consequence of classical art. This is all the same classicism, but more elaborate and systematized. The key points that fully characterize this trend were the idealization of nature, as well as high skill in technical performance. The most famous artists in this direction were K. Bryullov, A. Ivanov, P. Delaroche and others. Of course, modern academicism no longer occupies the (leading) role that was assigned to it during the inception of this style.
Romanticism
It is impossible to consider the main directions of painting of the 19th century without mentioning romanticism. The era of Romanticism originated in Germany. Gradually, it penetrated into England, France, Russia and other countries. Thanks to this introduction, the world of painting and art has been enriched with bright colors, new storylines and a bold depiction of nudity. The artists of this trend depicted all human emotions and feelings in bright colors. They turned all inner fears, love and hate inside out, enriching the canvases with a huge number of special effects.
Realism
Considering the main directions of painting in the second half of the 19th century, realism should be mentioned first. And although the emergence of this style dates back to the eighteenth century, its greatest flowering occurs in the middle and second half of the nineteenth century. The main rule of realism of this period was the depiction of modern reality in all the variety of its manifestations. The revolution, which took place in France in 1848, had a great influence on the formation of this trend in painting. But in Russia, the development of this trend in art was closely connected with the trend of democratic ideas.
Decadence
The period of decadence is characterized by the image of hopelessness and disappointment. This style of art is imbued with a decline in vitality. It emerged in the late nineteenth century as a form of resistance to public morality. And although in painting decadence did not form into a separate direction, art history nevertheless distinguishes individual creators in this field of art. For example, Aubrey Beardsley or Mikhail Vrubel. But it should be noted that decadent artists, not afraid to experiment with reason, often teetered on the brink. But this is precisely what allowed them to shock the public with their vision of the world.
Impressionism
Although impressionism is considered the initial stage of modern art, the prerequisites for this trend originated in the nineteenth century. The origin of impressionism was romanticism. Because it was he who put the individual personality at the center of art. In 1872, Monet painted his painting Impression. Sunrise". It was this work that gave the name to the whole direction. All impressionism was built on perception. The artists who worked in this style were not going to cover the philosophical problems of mankind. The most important thing was not what to portray, but how to do it. Each painting was supposed to reveal the inner world of the artist. But the Impressionists also wanted recognition. Therefore, they tried to find compromise topics that would be interesting for all segments of the population. On their canvases, artists depicted holidays or parties. And if everyday situations found their place in their paintings, then they were presented only from the positive side. Thus, impressionism can be called "inner" romanticism.
The main directions of Russian painting of the 19th century (first half)
The first half of the nineteenth century is considered a particularly striking page in the culture of Russia. At the very beginning of the century, classicism remained the main trend in Russian painting. But by the thirties, its significance was lost. The whole culture of Russia sighed in a new way with the advent of romanticism. His main postulate was the affirmation of the individual personality, as well as human thoughts as the main value in all art. There was a special interest in the inner world of man. The directions of Russian painting of the first half of the nineteenth century were headed by romanticism. Moreover, at first he had a heroic character, and later transformed into tragic romanticism.
Speaking about the first half of the nineteenth century in the history of Russian culture, researchers divide it into two quarters. But no matter what divisions exist, it is almost impossible to determine the time line between the three styles in the visual arts. The directions of Russian painting of the 19th century (classicism, romanticism and realism) in the first half of it were so strongly intertwined that it was possible to distinguish between them only conditionally.
We can say with confidence that in the first half of the nineteenth century, painting in the life of society took much more place than in the eighteenth century. Thanks to the victory in the war of 1812, Russian self-awareness received a strong impetus for development, as a result of which the people's interest in their own culture increased greatly. For the first time, organizations arose in society, which considered their primary task to develop domestic art. The first magazines appeared, in which they talked about the painting of contemporaries, as well as the first attempts to arrange exhibitions of works by artists.
Outstanding achievements during this period were achieved by portrait painting. This genre united the artist and society in the greatest way. This is due to the fact that the largest number of orders during that period was precisely the portrait genre. One of the outstanding portrait painters of the first half of the 19th century was Vladimir Borovikovsky. Also worth noting are such famous artists as A. Orlovsky, V. Tropinin and O. Kiprensky.
It was at the beginning of the century that Russian landscape painting also developed. Among the artists who worked in this genre, first of all, Fyodor Alekseev should be distinguished. He was a master of urban landscape, as well as one of the ancestors of this genre in Russian painting. Other famous landscape painters of the period mentioned were Shchedrin and Aivazovsky.
The best artists in Russia in the second quarter of the nineteenth century were considered Bryullov, Fedotov and A. Ivanov. Each of them made his own special contribution to the development of painting.
Karl Bryullov was not only a bright enough, but also a highly controversial painter. And although the main trend in Russian painting in the second quarter of the nineteenth century was romanticism, the artist nevertheless remained faithful to some of the canons of classicism. Perhaps that is why his work was so highly valued.
Alexander Ivanov managed to enrich not only Russian, but also European painting of the nineteenth century with the depth of philosophical thought. He had a very wide creative potential and was not only an innovator of the historical genre and landscape painting, but also an excellent portrait painter. None of the artists of his generation knew how to perceive the world around him in the same way as Ivanov, and did not possess such a variety of techniques.
An important stage in the development of realistic painting in Russia is associated with the name of Pavel Fedotov. This artist was the first to be able to give a critical expression to the everyday genre, since he had the talent of a satirist. The characters in his paintings were usually townspeople: merchants, officers, the poor and others.
Second half of the 19th century
At the end of the fifties of the nineteenth century, a completely new chapter began in the history of realistic painting in Russia. The defeat of Tsarist Russia in the Crimean War had a global impact on these events. It served as the reason for the democratic upsurge and peasant reform. In 1863, fourteen artists rebelled against the demands to paint on given themes and, wanting to create exclusively at their own discretion, created an art artel headed by Kramskoy. If realism in Russia in the first half of the nineteenth century strove to reveal the exceptionally beautiful in man and was called poetic, then the one that replaced it in the second half of the century was called critical. But the poetic beginning has not left this trend. Now it manifested itself in the indignant feelings of the creator, which he invested in his work. The main trend in Russian painting in the second half of the nineteenth century was realism, which followed the path of criticism and denunciation. In essence, it was a struggle for the recognition of the genre of everyday life, which would reflect the natural state of affairs in Russia.
In the seventies, the direction of painting changed somewhat. The artists of the sixties in their works reflected the belief in the coming of the common good after the disappearance of serfdom. And the people of the seventies who came to replace them were disappointed with the disasters of the peasants that followed the reform, and their brushes were already directed against the approaching new future. One of the brightest representatives of this genre painting was Myasoyedov, and his best picture, reflecting the whole reality of that time, was called "Zemstvo is having lunch."
The eighties shifted the attention of art from a person who worried about the people to the people themselves. This is the heyday of I. Repin's creativity. All the strength of this artist lay in the objectivity of his works. All the images of his paintings were vitally convincing. A number of his canvases were devoted to revolutionary themes. With his art, Repin tried to answer all the questions that worried him and the rest of the people that arose in the everyday life of that era. At the same time, other artists have looked for the same answers in the past. This was the peculiarity and strength of the art of the great painter. Another famous artist of this period was Vasnetsov. His work was based on folk art. Through his canvases, Vasnetsov tried to convey the idea of the great power of the Russian people and its heroic greatness. Legends and traditions served as the basis of his works. In his creations, the artist not only used stylization elements, but also managed to achieve the integrity of the image. As a background in his canvases, Vasnetsov, as a rule, depicted the landscape of central Russia.
In the nineties, the concept of creative life changed again. Now the bridges built between painting and society are called upon to be mercilessly destroyed. An association of artists called "The World of Art" is formed, which promotes the purity of works of art, that is, separating them from everyday life. A feature of the creative nature of the artists who were part of this association was the limited scope of intimacy. Museum activities are actively developing, the main task of which is to stir up interest in cultural monuments. Thus, by the beginning of the twentieth century, more and more artists are striving to convey the historical past of Russia on their canvases. The leaders of the World of Art association played a special role in the development of the art of book illustration, as well as theatrical and decorative creativity. Somov was considered one of the best artists in this direction. He never depicted modern life in his works. As a last resort, he could convey it through a historical masquerade. Following the "World of Art", other associations began to form. They were created by artists who have a different point of view regarding painting.
The masters who criticized the work of the creators from the above union created (in opposition to it) the Blue Rose association. They demanded the return of bright colors to painting and said that art should only one-sided convey the inner feelings of the artist. The most talented of these figures was Sapunov.
In spite of the "Blue Rose", another union soon appeared, which was named "Jack of Diamonds". It was distinguished by its frank antipoetic meaning. But his supporters did not want to return to real things at all. They subjected them to all kinds of distortion and corruption (in their own way). Thus, thanks to all these warring alliances, Russian modernism arises.
Modern trends
Time passes, and everything that was considered modern before becomes the property of history, and art is no exception. Today, the term "contemporary art" is applicable to everything that has been created by creative individuals since one thousand nine hundred and seventieth year. New directions in painting developed in two stages. The first is modernism, the second is postmodernism. The seventieth year of the twentieth century is considered a turning point in all art. Since this year, artistic movements have practically defied classification. The only thing that can be said with absolute certainty is that the social orientation of art over the past thirty years has been expressed much more intensely than in all past eras. At the same time, painting ceased to occupy a leading place in contemporary art. More and more artists are now turning to photography, as well as computer technology to realize their designs and ideas.
Despite the versatile trends in painting, we can say that the main task of the artistic life of the nineteenth century was to bring all genres of art as close as possible to everyday life. And it was successfully realized through the appeal of the masters of the brush - and not only - to the contemporary problems of mankind and the inner world of the artist himself. All directions in painting of this time allow you to feel the spirit of the era and get an idea of what people lived and felt at that time.
