Netherlands VWO 6 (eindexamenjaar) Arts (general)

1. Cultural periods (part 2)

Romanticism and realism, 19th century · Modernism, first half of the 20th century · Mass culture since 1950

• Art History: From Cave Walls to Today – People have made art for at least 40,000 years. Prehistoric art shows animals and hands on cave walls. Ancient civilisations made art for rulers, gods and the afterlife. Classical traditions arose in Greece and Rome, India, China, Africa and the Americas. The Renaissance brought perspective and realism; modern art (from about 1860) broke those rules; contemporary art uses any material. To appreciate any artwork, describe it, analyse its elements, interpret its meaning in its context, and judge why it works.
• Modern Art and Modernism – Between about 1880 and 1945, artists stopped copying reality and asked what art itself could do. Colour and brushwork showed feeling (Post-Impressionism, Expressionism); objects were seen from many sides (Cubism); speed and machines were celebrated (Futurism); art became pure shape and colour (abstraction, De Stijl, Constructivism); chance and dreams came in (Dada, Surrealism); and design followed function (Bauhaus, the Modern Movement). The same break happened in music, theatre and dance, and modernism spread worldwide through exchange, including India.
• Popular Culture: What Millions Enjoy, and Why It Matters – Popular culture is the music, films, TV, games, fashion, sport, memes and celebrities enjoyed by large numbers of ordinary people. Mass media spread it to millions at once, especially since 1950. Some thinkers see it as a "culture industry" that sells standard products to a passive public; others see audiences as active, choosing and remixing. Subcultures create their own styles, which can later join the mainstream and spread worldwide.