Modern art is a broad concept that contains many styles. It usually refers to works of art produced between 1860 and 1970. During this period numerous artists let go of the traditional techniques and tried to explore new artistic universes. These movements were generated by the many changes that were occurring during that period. As cities became more crowded artists started to feel overwhelmed and felt that they were losing their individuality. Thus they tried to explore new artistic techniques in order to create original works of art that will set them apart from the rest of the world.
It is very hard to pinpoint the most famous modern artists. Due to the fact that modern art is so diverse it entangles many styles and it was defined by representatives of various artistic currents. It is believed that the pioneers of modern art were impressionists, romantic and realists. The modern artists of our time are called contemporary although they belong to the same group of artists that created modern art in an effort to educate the world to abandon what we are comfortable with in order to search for what inspires us. One of the most important modern artists of all times is Vincent van Goth. His impressionist foundation served as a pathway towards post impressionism and helped him explore the spiritual side of art. Other post impressionist and neo impressionism painters such as Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin and Henri de Toulouse Lautrec were influential to the development of modern art.
Following the impressionism movement other modern artists gave birth to a new style called Fauvism. The name of this current came from the french word fauves which means wild beasts. This was the art community’s first impression when they laid eyes on the fauvist paintings. This is but a proof of the many obstacles that modern art had to endure in order to break the boundaries of traditional techniques. Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck along with other fellow artists founded this current which featured lively and expressive colors.
By far one of the most important names in the artistic world is Pablo Picasso. He is also one of the most famous modern artists as his cubism was a revolutionary artistic current. Along with Georges Braque he developed analytic cubism followed by synthetic cubism which was beautifully expressed by Juan Gris, Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger and many more. These are but a few of the artists that influenced modern art but there are many more who are yet to be discovered. Given the history of modern art we can agree that what truly defines a modern artist is vision as well as strong the will to stick with his instincts even when his works are criticized by the whole world. A lot of famous modern artists struggled for years before getting the right recognition. Eventually even the most conservatory people managed to see the beauty of modern art.
