
Tempera is an extremely colorfast paint, evidenced by the many centuries-old, yet still vibrant, tempera paintings which survive today. A painting is created on a two-dimensional surface (ground) a wall painting or fresco is also considered to be a painting. Oil, acrylic, and watercolor are some of the most common types of paint used today.īefore oil became the predominant paint of choice by European painters around the turn of the 16th century, tempera was the reigning medium. Paint is a liquid mixture of pigment and a binding agent such as oil or water. One of the most famous Picasso paintings, “Guernica,” is a powerful anti-war piece which depicts the bombing of innocent civilians during the Spanish Civil War. Pablo Picasso is perhaps the most noted artist of the 20th century. Notable 20th century painters include Pollock and Rothko of the Abstract Expressionist movement, as well as by Kahlo, Dali, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Richter, and Doig. Other famous Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists include Degas, Cassatt, Morisot, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Seurat.
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Perhaps the best known of the Impressionist artists is Claude Monet, whose "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) is a series of approximately 250 art paintings that depict Monet’s flower garden in Giverny. Romanticism, which is encapsulated by the works of Goya, Delacroix, Turner, and Constable, was followed by Realism, of which the French artists Courbet and Manet are most recalled today. The Baroque movement of the 17th century included Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and Rubens, which was followed by the Rococo movement (Boucher and Fragonard), and the French neo-classical movement (David and Ingres). Other famous artists of the Renaissance include Raphael, Michelangelo, Van Eyck, and Titian.

The Renaissance saw the rise of master artists who created a great number of the world's most famous paintings including “The Last Supper” and "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci, and “Primavera” by Sandro Botticelli. Modern art movements, such as Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism and Pop Art, are far more concerned with art concepts and technique, than in a need to accurately record one’s surrounding world. The art movements of the late 19th century and early 20th century, including Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, and Cubism, were steps away from previous art movements that were rooted in realism and capturing the surrounding world with paint. As photographic processes advanced, photography took away painting's historic purpose of recording the world. The invention of photography in the 19th century greatly affected the course of painting. The genres were organized into a hierarchy, and include history painting, portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and genre painting.

It has been used since antiquity, and examples from the first century AD still exist today.ĭuring the Era of Enlightenment, five genres of paintings were advocated by art academies, including the French Academy and the Royal Academy in London. Tempera paint was the preferred medium of choice in Renaissance Italy. Oil paint is a more flexible medium, and allows for a greater range of optical effects this in turn led to new expressive techniques for artists. It seems humans have been drawn to artistic expression for millennia. Some of the oldest known paintings can be found at the Chauvet Cave in France, which are estimated to be about 32,000 years old.ĭuring the late Renaissance, oil painting techniques were developed in the Netherlands, which quickly spread across Europe. Others specialize in a particular style, be it fine art, street art, or expressionist paintings.Īs the world’s largest online art gallery, Saatchi Art is thrilled to help people everywhere discover, fall in love with, and own one-of-a-kind paintings by some of the most talented emerging artists from around the world.įor a bit more help finding the perfect artwork from our selection of original paintings for sale, we also invite you to take advantage of our expert Art Advisory service. As Vincent Van Gogh once said, “Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter’s soul.” Some collectors focus on media, such as oil paintings on canvas, or watercolors. Paintings both reflect the artist’s point-of-view and possess an independent voice which speaks a unique message to each beholder. Whether you are looking for an original abstract painting, a modern art painting, or a limited edition watercolor print signed by the artist, Saatchi Art has over 370,000 original paintings and prints for sale.
