20th-century art and what it became known as — modern art — really began with modernism in the late 19th century. Nineteenth-century movements of Post Impressionism and Art Nouveau led to the first twentieth-century art movements of Fauvism in France and Die Brücke ("The Bridge") in Germany. Fauvism in Paris introduced heightened non-representational colour into figurative painting. Die Brücke strove for emotional Expressionism. Another German group was Der Blaue Reiter ("The Blue Rider"), led by Kandinsky in Munich, who associated the blue rider image with a spiritual non-figurative mystical art of the future. Kandinsky was a pioneer of abstract (or non-representational) art. Cubism, generated by Picasso rejected the plastic norms of the Renaissance by introducing multiple perspectives into a two-dimensional image. Dadaism, with its most notable exponent, Marcel Duchamp, rejected conventional art styles altogether by exhibiting found objects, notably a urinal. Futurism incorporated the depiction of movement and machine age imagery.
The 20th century is defined as the time period running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000.
The Chinese, Russian, German, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires dissolved in the first half of the century, with all but the British, French, and Japanese empires collapsing during the course of World War I, and Russia transformed into communist state of Soviet Union. The inter-war years saw a Great Depression cause a massive disruption to the world economy. Shortly afterwards, World War II broke out, pitting the Allied powers (chiefly the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom) against the Axis powers (Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, and Italy) which eventually resulted in a total victory for the Allies, at the cost of over 60 million lives (including millions of civilians) and the complete devastation of many nations. Remaining colonial empires dissolved shortly after the war. As a means of preventing future world wars, the United Nations was formed; however, competition between the two new superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, resulted in the Cold War, which would dominate geopolitical life for the next 45 years. The Soviet Union collapsed internally in 1991, resulting in the United States taking on sole superpower status.
Art of the Western World: Into the Twentieth Century
TICE ART 1010 Twentieth Century Art
Art and Artists of the 20th Century : Documentary on 20th Century Artists (Full Documentary)
Art Movements of the 20th Century Song
Top Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Primer
Futurism, Dada, and early 20th century American art
Episode 8: Into the 20th Century part 1
10 Famous 20th Century Artists in Their Studio
Art and Artists of the 20th Century : Documentary on 20th Century Artists (Full Documentar
Looking at 20th Century Art Through the Eyes of a Physicist - Walter Lewin - January 14, 2004
20th Century Art Movements
History of Visual Arts: Timeline of 20th Century Art Movements
The Art Of Piano Great Pianists Of The 20Th Century
History of Visual Arts: Modernism and the 20th Century
Art of the Western World: Into the Twentieth Century
TICE ART 1010 Twentieth Century Art
Art and Artists of the 20th Century : Documentary on 20th Century Artists (Full Documentary)
Art Movements of the 20th Century Song
Top Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Primer
Futurism, Dada, and early 20th century American art
Episode 8: Into the 20th Century part 1
10 Famous 20th Century Artists in Their Studio
Art and Artists of the 20th Century : Documentary on 20th Century Artists (Full Documentar
Looking at 20th Century Art Through the Eyes of a Physicist - Walter Lewin - January 14, 2004
20th Century Art Movements
History of Visual Arts: Timeline of 20th Century Art Movements
The Art Of Piano Great Pianists Of The 20Th Century
History of Visual Arts: Modernism and the 20th Century
Auction Results: Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art, May 2015
Early 20th Century progress - animation from Art in History by Martin Kemp
20th Century Modern Art
Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Mexican Art in the 20th Century (Friday May 15, 2015)
Maurice Bejart - The Art Of The 20th Century Ballet - Part1
Giacometti: Icons of 20th Century Art
Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Hong Kong Spring Auctions 2013
Auction Record Results: Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art
History of 20th Century Art