Art Movements Timeline: From Gothic to Abstract Art

This art movements timeline runs from the Gothic altarpieces of the 1200s to the abstract canvases of the early 1900s, the stretch of art history our studio artists paint by hand. Tap a movement to see when it happened, what to look for, the painters who defined it, and where to see its paintings in our collection.

Dates are approximate. Movements overlap, and many painters belong to more than one.

Middle Ages to Renaissance

1. Gothic paintingabout 1150–1450

   Gold backgrounds, religious subjects, flat space that slowly gains depth. Giotto, Duccio, Simone Martini. See medieval paintings and our guide to famous Gothic paintings.

2. Early Renaissanceabout 1400–1490

   Linear perspective, solid figures, Florence as the center. Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Botticelli. See famous Renaissance paintings and the guide to Renaissance art.

3. Northern Renaissanceabout 1430–1580

   Oil paint used for minute detail, everyday objects full of meaning. Jan van Eyck, Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Dürer, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. See Northern Renaissance paintings.

4. High Renaissanceabout 1490–1527

   Balance, harmony and soft modeling of light. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian. See High Renaissance paintings.

5. Mannerismabout 1520–1600

   Long bodies, twisting poses, cool or acid colors. Pontormo, Parmigianino, Bronzino, El Greco. See Mannerist paintings.

1600s and 1700s

1. Baroqueabout 1600–1750

   Strong light against deep shadow, movement, drama. Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez. See Baroque paintings, our guide to Baroque artists and how to recognize Baroque painting.

2. Dutch Golden Agethe 1600s

   Portraits, interiors, still lifes and landscapes for a merchant public. Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals. See our guide to Dutch Golden Age paintings.

3. Rococoabout 1720–1780

   Pastel colors, playful love scenes, gardens and parties. Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard. See Rococo paintings and famous Rococo painters.

4. Neoclassicismabout 1760–1830

   Clear outlines, calm composition, subjects from ancient Greece and Rome. Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. See Neoclassical paintings and our guide to Neoclassicism.

1800s

1. Romanticismabout 1790–1850

   Emotion over reason, wild nature, storms and ruins. Caspar David Friedrich, J.M.W. Turner, Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Géricault. See Romantic paintings and our guide to Romanticism.

2. Academic artabout 1820–1900

   Polished finish, history and myth, the official taste of the art academies. William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Alexandre Cabanel. See academic paintings.

3. Realismabout 1840–1880

   Ordinary people and work, painted without idealizing them. Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Honoré Daumier. See Realist paintings and our guide to Realism.

4. Pre-Raphaelites1848 to about 1900

   Bright color, sharp natural detail, subjects from poetry and legend. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt. See Pre-Raphaelite paintings and the story of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

5. Impressionismabout 1867–1886

   Light and weather caught quickly, visible brushstrokes, painting outdoors. Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot. See Impressionist paintings and the most famous Impressionist painters.

6. Neo-Impressionismabout 1886–1906

   Color laid down in small separate dots or strokes. Georges Seurat, Paul Signac. See Neo-Impressionist paintings.

7. Post-Impressionismabout 1886–1905

   Each painter pushed Impressionism a different way: structure, symbolism, expressive color. Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin. See Post-Impressionist paintings and our guide to Post-Impressionism.

8. Symbolismabout 1880–1910

   Dreams, myth, death and desire told through images. Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, Arnold Böcklin. See Symbolist paintings.

Into the 1900s

1. Art Nouveauabout 1890–1910

   Flowing lines, ornament, gold and pattern. Gustav Klimt, Alphonse Mucha. See Art Nouveau paintings.

2. Fauvismabout 1905–1908

   Pure, unmixed color used for feeling rather than description. Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck. See Fauvist paintings.

3. Expressionismabout 1905–1925

   Distorted shapes and strong color to show inner states. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Franz Marc, with Edvard Munch as a forerunner. See Expressionist paintings.

4. Cubismabout 1907–1920

   Objects broken into planes and seen from several angles at once. Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris. See Cubist paintings.

5. Futurismabout 1909–1916

   Speed, machines and the modern city. Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla. See Futurist paintings.

6. Abstract artfrom about 1910

   Color, line and shape without a recognizable subject. Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian. See abstract paintings and our guide to what abstract art is.

Many of the best-known works from every period on this timeline are gathered in the 100 most famous paintings in the world, and every painting in our collections is painted by hand in oil on canvas.

Sources: Tate, Art Terms · The Met, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History · Britannica, Western painting