Art History

Painting movements

Painting movements reflect shared ideas and approaches to art, from realistic scenes and careful detail to abstract shapes and bold brushwork.

Compare painting movements

Browse painting movements alphabetically and compare their periods, origins, defining traits, and representative painters in one reference table.

Movement Approximate period Origin Defining characteristics Famous painters
'85 New Wave 1985–1989 China Broad avant-garde ferment challenging official academic conventions through experimental painting, conceptual ideas, and many other media Wang Guangyi, Geng Jianyi, Ding Yi, Yang Jiechang
Abstract Expressionism 1940s–1950s United States Large-scale abstraction through expressive gestures and broad color fields Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning
AfriCOBRA 1968 onward Chicago, United States Black artists' collective using vivid colors, rhythmic forms, positive imagery, and legible messages of cultural identity Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Nelson Stevens, Gerald Williams
American Regionalism 1930s–1940s Midwestern United States Recognizable rural communities, farming, regional history, and everyday American life in figurative painting and murals Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry
Art Deco 1920s–1930s France; subsequently international Stylized figures, streamlined geometry, polished surfaces, and decorative luxury; especially prominent in design and illustration Tamara de Lempicka, Jean Dupas, Raphaël Delorme
Art et Liberté / Egyptian Surrealism 1938–1948 Cairo, Egypt Politically engaged, anti-fascist Surrealist network of artists and writers developing unsettling figurative images and experimental responses to war and colonialism Ramses Younane, Amy Nimr, Kamel el-Telmisany, Mayo (Antoine Malliarakis)
Art Informel (including Tachisme) Late 1940s–1960s Western Europe, especially France Gestural, non-geometric abstraction with spontaneous marks and textured materials; Tachisme emphasizes stains and brush gestures Jean Fautrier, Antoni Tàpies, Georges Mathieu
Art Nouveau 1890s–1910s France and Belgium; international variations Flowing botanical curves and decorative forms, mainly in design and illustration but also in painting Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Jan Toorop
Ashcan School 1900s–1910s United States Urban American Realism depicting everyday city life with direct observation and vigorous brushwork Robert Henri, George Bellows, John Sloan, George Luks
Baghdad Modern Art Group 1951–1970s Baghdad, Iraq Modern Iraqi group established to combine international modernist approaches with Mesopotamian, Islamic, and local visual traditions Jewad Selim, Shakir Hassan Al Said
Barbizon School 1830s–1870s Barbizon and Forest of Fontainebleau, France Landscape studies from nature, woodland light, rural subjects, and earthy naturalistic color Théodore Rousseau, Charles-François Daubigny, Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-François Millet
Baroque 1600–1750 (regional variations) Italy, then broader Europe Dramatic light, movement and emotive realism; related Dutch Golden Age traditions differ in subject and style Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, Judith Leyster, Anthony van Dyck
Bauhaus 1919–1933 Germany (Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin) Experimental art-and-design school integrating color theory, geometric abstraction, craft, and functional design; broader than painting Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, Lyonel Feininger
Bay Area Figurative Movement 1950s–1960s San Francisco Bay Area, United States Return to figures and recognizable scenes while retaining the loose brushwork, color, and energy of Abstract Expressionism Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Elmer Bischoff
Bengal School Early 1900s–1930s Bengal, British India (especially Calcutta and Santiniketan) Revival of Indian painting traditions, drawing on Mughal and other Asian art, with wash techniques and cultural-nationalist themes Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Asit Kumar Haldar
Black Arts Movement Mid-1960s–mid-1970s United States Black cultural self-determination expressed through socially engaged painting, graphic art, poetry, and community-centered visual imagery Faith Ringgold, Jeff Donaldson, Wadsworth Jarrell, Emory Douglas
Bombay Progressive Artists' Group 1947–1956 Bombay (now Mumbai), India Independent Indian modernism combining varied local traditions with international experiments in figuration, abstraction, and color F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, M. F. Husain, K. H. Ara
Brazilian Modernism (including Antropofagia) 1920s–1930s São Paulo and other Brazilian centers Modernist painting combining European avant-garde experiments with Brazilian subjects; Antropofagia advocated transforming outside influences into new local forms Tarsila do Amaral, Anita Malfatti, Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, Vicente do Rego Monteiro
Camden Town Group 1911–1913 London, England Short-lived painters' group joining Post-Impressionist color and brushwork with everyday interiors, urban scenes, and modern London life Walter Sickert, Spencer Gore, Harold Gilman, Charles Ginner, Robert Bevan
Capitalist Realism 1963–1966 (principal phase) Düsseldorf, West Germany Short-lived, ironic response to Western consumer culture and mass-media imagery, associated with German Pop and Fluxus; not the same as Socialist Realism Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Konrad Lueg, Manfred Kuttner
Casablanca School 1960s–1980s Casablanca, Morocco Post-independence artistic network joining geometric abstraction and color with Amazigh and Arab visual traditions across paintings, murals, and design Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Melehi, Mohammed Chabâa, Malika Agueznay
Chicago Imagists Mid-1960s–1970s Chicago, United States Loosely associated figurative artists whose vivid colors, exaggerated bodies, comic-book imagery, and surreal humor challenged prevailing minimalist fashions Roger Brown, Jim Nutt, Gladys Nilsson, Ed Paschke
CoBrA 1948–1951 Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam Spontaneous, vividly colored, expressive figures drawing on experimental painting, folk art, and children's art Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, Constant Nieuwenhuys, Corneille
Color Field Painting 1950s–1960s United States Large expanses of abstract color, stained surfaces, and reduced emphasis on gestural mark-making Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett Newman, Morris Louis
Company School Painting c. 1770–1850 British-ruled India, especially major Company centers Indian artists adapting Mughal and regional painting methods to European patrons, with detailed depictions of plants, animals, people, buildings, and daily life Bhawani Das, Shaikh Zain ud-Din, Sita Ram, Ghulam Ali Khan
Concrete Art 1930s onward Netherlands and Switzerland; later international Nonrepresentational painting built from autonomous lines, colors, and geometric planes, rather than abstractions of visible objects Theo van Doesburg, Max Bill, Jean Hélion
Constructive Universalism 1930s–1950s; later influence Montevideo, Uruguay Joaquín Torres-García's fusion of geometric grids and symbolic pictographs, drawing on European abstraction and the art of the Americas; developed through his workshop Joaquín Torres-García, Gonzalo Fonseca, Julio Alpuy, José Gurvich
Constructivism 1917–1930s Revolutionary Russia Geometric abstraction and built forms, increasingly directed toward socially useful design rather than easel painting Aleksandr Rodchenko, Liubov Popova, El Lissitzky, Varvara Stepanova
Contemporary Gond Painting / Jangarh Kalam 1980s onward Madhya Pradesh, central India Contemporary Pardhan Gond painting developed around Jangarh Singh Shyam, translating local stories, deities, and the natural world into richly patterned works on paper and canvas Jangarh Singh Shyam, Durga Bai Vyam, Bhajju Shyam, Mayank Shyam
Cubism 1907–1914 (early phase) France Fragmented geometric forms, compressed space, and multiple viewpoints Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Fernand Léger
Cynical Realism Early 1990s onward China, especially Beijing Ironic or disillusioned figurative painting responding to the social and political changes surrounding 1989 and subsequent reforms Fang Lijun, Yue Minjun, Liu Wei
Dada 1916–mid-1920s Zürich and New York Cross-media anti-art experiments with chance, collage, photomontage, and found objects Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Hannah Höch, Kurt Schwitters, Man Ray, Jean Arp, Raoul Hausmann
Dansaekhwa 1970s onward South Korea Korean monochrome and restrained-color abstraction emphasizing repeated actions, textured surfaces, materials, and meditative process Park Seo-bo, Ha Chong-hyun, Chung Sang-hwa, Yun Hyong-keun, Lee Ufan
De Stijl 1917–1931 Netherlands Geometric painting and design using straight lines, rectangles, and primary colors Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Bart van der Leck, Vilmos Huszár
Der Blaue Reiter 1911–1914 Munich, Germany Loose Expressionist circle exploring spiritual expression, intense color, abstraction, music, and folk-art influences Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Gabriele Münter, August Macke, Alexej von Jawlensky
Die Brücke 1905–1913 Dresden, Germany; later Berlin German Expressionist artists using vivid unnatural color, simplified figures, energetic outlines, and emotionally charged urban and natural subjects Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Max Pechstein
Dutch Golden Age Painting 1600s Dutch Republic (Netherlands) Diverse seventeenth-century traditions of portraiture, still life, landscape, and domestic scenes; overlaps Baroque but is not a single formal school Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, Judith Leyster, Jacob van Ruisdael
Early Netherlandish Painting c. 1420–1550 Burgundian Netherlands (modern Belgium and Netherlands) Highly detailed oil painting with convincing textures, luminous color, religious scenes, and portraits; part of the broader Northern Renaissance Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling
Expressionism 1905–early 1920s Germany and Austria Distorted forms and heightened color conveying emotional experience Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wassily Kandinsky, Egon Schiele, Gabriele Münter, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel, Oskar Kokoschka
Fauvism 1905–1908 France Intense, non-naturalistic color and simplified forms Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck
Feminist Art Movement Late 1960s onward United States; later international Art challenging gender inequality and restrictive traditions through personal narratives, collaborative practices, painting, craft, and other media Judy Chicago, Miriam Schapiro, Faith Ringgold, Harmony Hammond
Figuration Libre Early 1980s onward France, especially Sète and Paris Playful, energetic figurative painting influenced by comics, popular imagery, rock music, and street culture, opposing rigid divisions between high and popular art Robert Combas, Hervé Di Rosa, François Boisrond, Rémi Blanchard
Futurism 1909–1910s (early phase) Italy Movement, speed, machines, and the energy of modern life Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Gino Severini, Carlo Carrà
Group D (D Grubu) 1933–1947 Istanbul, Turkey Turkish modernist artists' collective exploring Cubist, Expressionist, and other international approaches, while developing diverse forms of modern Turkish painting Nurullah Berk, Cemal Tollu, Zeki Faik İzer, Abidin Dino, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu
Group of Seven 1920–1933 Toronto, Canada Bold, simplified landscapes and vivid colors depicting Canadian terrain; an identifiable painters' group rather than a single technique Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, J. E. H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael
Gutai 1954–1972 Ashiya and Osaka region, Japan Experimental painting and performances emphasizing bodily action, unconventional materials, and direct encounters with matter Kazuo Shiraga, Atsuko Tanaka, Shōzō Shimamoto, Sadamasa Motonaga
Hard-edge Painting Late 1950s–1970s United States, especially California Cleanly separated geometric shapes, flat areas of color, crisp contours, and little visible brushwork Ellsworth Kelly, Kenneth Noland, Frank Stella
Harlem Renaissance 1920s–mid-1930s Harlem, New York City, United States African American cultural flowering combining portraits, modern urban scenes, history, and Black identity across several art forms Aaron Douglas, Archibald Motley, Palmer Hayden
Heidelberg School 1880s–1900s Melbourne and Victoria, Australia Australian Impressionist outdoor painting of local light, landscapes, and everyday life; a loose network of artists rather than a formal academy Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin, Charles Conder, Jane Sutherland
Hudson River School 1825–1870s (later influence) New York, United States; Hudson River Valley Romantic wilderness views, detailed mountains and forests, expansive skies, and careful outdoor landscape studies Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Frederic Edwin Church, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Jasper Francis Cropsey
Hurufiyya / Arabic Letterism 1950s onward Middle East and North Africa; transnational Varied modern approaches transforming Arabic letters and calligraphic forms into abstract or semiabstract compositions; a broad tendency rather than one organization Madiha Umar, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Dia Azzawi, Samir Sayegh
Impressionism 1860s–1880s France Changing light, visible brushwork, and fleeting visual impressions Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas
Italian Divisionism 1890s–1910s Northern Italy, particularly Milan Separate strokes of color for optical mixing, often applied to landscapes, symbolism, and social themes; related to but distinct from French Neo-Impressionism Giovanni Segantini, Gaetano Previati, Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, Angelo Morbelli
Jack of Diamonds 1910–1917 Moscow, Russia Avant-garde exhibition and painters' association challenging academic art through boldly colored still lifes, expressive figures, and influences from Cézanne, Cubism, and folk art Ilya Mashkov, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Aristarkh Lentulov, Robert Falk
Kano School Late 1400s–1800s Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo), Japan Influential hereditary painting ateliers combining Chinese-inspired ink techniques with bold color, monumental screens, and decorative compositions Kano Masanobu, Kano Motonobu, Kano Eitoku, Kano Tan’yū
Khartoum School 1960s onward Khartoum, Sudan Post-independence modernism integrating Arabic calligraphy, Islamic design, and African artistic traditions in a search for Sudanese visual identity Ibrahim El-Salahi, Ahmed Shibrain, Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq
La Ruptura 1950s–1970s Mexico City and other Mexican art centers Diverse painters challenging the dominance of nationalist muralism and embracing experimentation, abstraction, and individual expression; not one unified style Manuel Felguérez, Lilia Carrillo, Vicente Rojo, Pedro Coronel
Les Automatistes Early 1940s–early 1950s Montreal, Quebec, Canada Quebec modernist circle influenced by Surrealist automatism, spontaneous gestural abstraction, and the 1948 Refus global manifesto Paul-Émile Borduas, Jean Paul Riopelle, Marcelle Ferron, Marcel Barbeau, Fernand Leduc
Lingnan School Late 1800s onward; influential in the early 1900s Guangdong, southern China Modernization of Chinese ink-and-color painting through selective Japanese and Western influences, naturalistic observation, and innovative brushwork Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, Chen Shuren, Zhao Shao’ang
Lowbrow / Pop Surrealism Late 1970s onward Southern California, United States; later international Playful or unsettling figurative painting drawing on underground comics, hot-rod culture, cartoons, and surreal imagery Robert Williams, Mark Ryden, Todd Schorr, Camille Rose Garcia
Macchiaioli 1850s–1890s Tuscany, Italy, especially Florence Tonal patches of light and shadow (macchie), painting from observation, and contemporary rural or everyday scenes; precedes French Impressionism Giovanni Fattori, Silvestro Lega, Telemaco Signorini, Odoardo Borrani
Madí Art 1946 onward Buenos Aires, Argentina; with Uruguayan founders Geometric abstraction using irregularly shaped supports, movable parts, and playful spatial relationships; extends into sculpture and other media Gyula Kosice, Carmelo Arden Quin, Rhod Rothfuss, Martín Blaszko
Mannerism About 1520–1600 (later Northern expressions into the 1600s) Florence and Rome, Italy; later elsewhere in Europe Elongated figures, twisting poses, surprising color, spatial tension, and self-conscious elegance Parmigianino, Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino, El Greco, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Rosso Fiorentino, Giulio Romano, Jacopo Tintoretto, Giorgio Vasari, Bartholomeus Spranger, Joachim Wtewael, Domenico Beccafumi, Francesco Salviati, Cornelis van Haarlem, Alessandro Allori, Hendrick Goltzius (early Mannerism, later classicism), Karel van Mander, Hans von Aachen, Federico Zuccari; related painters and transitions: Paolo Veronese, Federico Barocci
Maruyama–Shijō School Late 1700s–1800s Kyoto, Japan Related naturalistic schools emphasizing observation of plants, animals, and everyday scenes, combining Japanese brush techniques with selective Western influences Maruyama Ōkyo, Matsumura Goshun, Nagasawa Rosetsu, Mori Sosen
Metaphysical Painting 1913–1919 Italy Enigmatic plazas, classical objects, uncanny stillness, and unusual spatial arrangements Giorgio de Chirico, Carlo Carrà, Giorgio Morandi
Mexican Muralism 1920s–1950s (major programs) Mexico Public murals depicting history, workers, and post-revolutionary society on an architectural scale Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros
Minimalism 1960s–1970s United States Reduced shapes, measured repetition, restrained painted surfaces, and emphasis on materials; also important in sculpture Jo Baer, Agnes Martin, Robert Ryman; early precursor: Frank Stella
Minjung Art 1980s–early 1990s South Korea Politically engaged figurative art addressing democracy, labor, ordinary lives, and national history through painting, prints, and murals Oh Yoon, Hong Sung-dam, Lim Oksang, Lee Jong-gu
Mithila / Madhubani Painting Traditional; widespread modern practice from the 1960s Mithila region, Bihar, India, and Nepal Regional painting tradition of dense patterns, bold outlines, mythological and everyday themes, historically made on walls and later widely on paper Sita Devi, Ganga Devi, Baua Devi, Mahasundari Devi
Mughal Painting Mid-1500s–1800s Mughal Empire, Indian subcontinent Refined court paintings and illustrated manuscripts merging Persian, Indian, and later European influences, with detailed portraiture and natural observation Basawan, Daswanth, Govardhan, Bichitr
Nabis 1888–1899 France Flat color, decorative patterns, and symbolic subjects inspired partly by Gauguin Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Paul Sérusier, Paul Ranson, Félix Vallotton, Ker-Xavier Roussel
Nanga / Bunjinga 1700s–1800s Japan, especially Kyoto and Osaka Japanese literati painting inspired by Chinese scholar-artists, emphasizing expressive ink landscapes, poetry, calligraphy, and individual interpretation Ike no Taiga, Yosa Buson, Gion Nankai, Uragami Gyokudō
Nanyang Art Movement 1930s–1970s Singapore and Malaya (now Malaysia) Retrospectively grouped, stylistically diverse painters exploring Southeast Asian subjects through combinations of Chinese and Western painting approaches Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi, Liu Kang, Georgette Chen
Narrative Figuration 1960s–1970s France, especially Paris Politically engaged figurative images informed by comics, photography, advertising, and contemporary events; not a formally unified school Bernard Rancillac, Hervé Télémaque, Erró, Peter Klasen
Nazarene Movement 1809–mid-1800s Vienna and Rome, especially German-speaking artists Religious and historical painting inspired by late medieval and early Renaissance art, with clear contours, restrained expression, and spiritual themes Johann Friedrich Overbeck, Peter von Cornelius, Franz Pforr, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Neo-Concretism 1959–1960s Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Reaction against rigid Concrete Art emphasizing sensory experience, organic interaction, and viewer participation; often beyond painting Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Pape
Neo-Dada 1950s–1960s United States, especially New York City Everyday imagery, found materials, and hybrid painting-object assemblages challenging Abstract Expressionist conventions Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns
Neo-Expressionism Late 1970s–1980s West Germany, Italy, and United States Revived expressive brushwork, large-scale figurative painting, and historical or personal imagery Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel, Anselm Kiefer, Francesco Clemente
Neo-Geo Mid-1980s–early 1990s New York City, United States Neo-geometric conceptual art using diagrammatic abstraction, commercial materials, and critiques of consumerism, technology, and social systems Peter Halley, Ashley Bickerton, Meyer Vaisman
Neo-Impressionism 1886–1906 France Divided color and optical mixing through distinct strokes or dots; Pointillism is a technique Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Henri-Edmond Cross
Neoclassicism 1760s–1830s Italy and France Classical subjects, balanced compositions, clear contours, and restrained emotion Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Angelica Kauffmann
New Image Painting Late 1970s–1980s United States, especially New York Recognizable figures or objects reintroduced into otherwise abstract-looking, often large-scale painting with expressive surfaces Susan Rothenberg, Jennifer Bartlett, Robert Moskowitz, Joe Zucker
New Leipzig School Late 1990s onward Leipzig, Germany Contemporary painters linked to Leipzig’s art academy, often combining technically precise figurative painting with dreamlike, theatrical, or ambiguous imagery; not a uniform school Neo Rauch, Matthias Weischer, David Schnell, Rosa Loy, Tilo Baumgärtel
New Objectivity 1920s–1930s Germany Unsparing realism and social satire responding to Weimar-era life Otto Dix, George Grosz, Max Beckmann, Christian Schad
Nihonga Late 1800s onward Japan Modern Japanese-style painting developed in dialogue with Western art while adapting traditional ink, mineral pigments, and painting formats Yokoyama Taikan, Hishida Shunsō, Uemura Shōen, Kawabata Ryūshi
Nouveau Réalisme 1960–1970 France, especially Paris; international members Direct use of everyday objects and urban materials through assemblage, altered posters, monochrome painting, and related experiments Yves Klein, Martial Raysse, Niki de Saint Phalle, Arman
Novecento Italiano 1922–1930s Milan, Italy; later nationwide Return to structured forms and classical references in modern Italian painting, including monumental figures and austere compositions; associated with Margherita Sarfatti's circle Mario Sironi, Achille Funi, Piero Marussig, Mario Tozzi
Op Art 1960s Britain and United States Geometric patterns and color contrasts producing optical effects Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely, Julian Stanczak, Richard Anuszkiewicz
Orphism 1912–mid-1910s France Cubist-derived abstraction exploring pure color, light, and rhythmic forms Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, František Kupka
Oshogbo School 1960s–1970s; continuing influence Osogbo (Oshogbo), Nigeria Workshop-centered group of Yoruba artists exploring local myths and imaginative subjects through painting, prints, textiles, and other media rather than one fixed style Twins Seven-Seven, Muraina Oyelami, Jimoh Buraimoh, Adebisi Fabunmi
Ottoman Miniature Painting 1500s–1700s (principal court tradition) Ottoman Empire, especially Istanbul Painted manuscript illustrations and album pages documenting court life, military campaigns, ceremonies, portraits, and histories using precise outlines and decorative color Nakkaş Osman, Matrakçı Nasuh, Nakkaş Hasan, Levni
Pattern and Decoration 1970s–1980s United States Repeating ornamental motifs, vivid color, textile-inspired surfaces, and challenges to the division between fine art and craft Miriam Schapiro, Valerie Jaudon, Robert Kushner, Joyce Kozloff
Peredvizhniki (The Wanderers) 1870s–early 1900s Russia Independent traveling exhibitions and realist paintings of ordinary life, social conditions, national history, and landscapes; a group rather than a single style Ilya Repin, Ivan Kramskoi, Ivan Shishkin, Vasily Perov
PERSAGI 1938–1942 Batavia (now Jakarta), Indonesia Indonesian artists' association seeking an independent modern national visual identity and truthful depictions of local society; not a single uniform painting style S. Sudjojono, Agus Djaja, Otto Djaja, Emiria Sunassa
Persian Miniature Painting 1300s–1600s (with earlier and later traditions) Persia (modern Iran) and neighboring courts Detailed paintings on paper for illuminated manuscripts and albums, combining refined drawing, vibrant color, patterned settings, and literary or courtly scenes Kamal ud-Din Behzad, Sultan Muhammad, Riza-yi Abbasi, Mir Sayyid Ali
Peruvian Indigenism 1920s–1950s Lima and the Andean regions, Peru Modern Peruvian painting emphasizing Indigenous subjects, Andean landscapes, cultural identity, and regional traditions, shaped by varied approaches within the group José Sabogal, Julia Codesido, Camilo Blas, Enrique Camino Brent
Philippine Modernists / Thirteen Moderns 1930s–1940s Manila, Philippines Loose grouping of artists advancing modern Philippine painting through expressive figuration, experimental composition, and challenges to academic conventions Victorio Edades, Galo B. Ocampo, Carlos 'Botong' Francisco
Photorealism Late 1960s onward United States Meticulous painting from photographic references, often emphasizing reflections and detail Richard Estes, Chuck Close, Audrey Flack
Political Pop Early 1990s onward China Juxtaposition of revolutionary-era political imagery with commercial branding, Pop Art aesthetics, and post-reform consumer culture Wang Guangyi, Yu Youhan, Li Shan
Pont-Aven School / Synthetism 1888–1894 (principal phase) Pont-Aven, Brittany, France Artists’ colony that fostered Synthetism: flattened color, bold outlines, simplified shapes, and symbolic interpretations of Breton subjects; not every member worked in this style Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, Paul Sérusier, Charles Filiger
Pop Art 1950s–1960s Britain and United States Advertising, comic books, consumer goods, and mass-media imagery Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney
Post-Impressionism 1886–1905 France Retrospective umbrella for diverse approaches beyond Impressionism, rather than one organized school Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood 1848–early 1850s (later influence) London, England Meticulous painting from nature, luminous color, religious and literary symbolism, and rejection of academic conventions Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, Edward Burne-Jones, Elizabeth Siddal, Ford Madox Brown, John William Waterhouse, Evelyn De Morgan, Marie Spartali Stillman, Frederick Sandys, Simeon Solomon, Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, Arthur Hughes, John Brett, Henry Wallis
Precisionism 1920s–1930s United States Crisp outlines and geometric simplification of modern American subjects, especially buildings and machinery Charles Sheeler, Charles Demuth, Elsie Driggs
Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. 1973–mid-1970s Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Collective of seven First Nations painters seeking recognition as professional contemporary artists; members used varied painting styles, including but not limited to Woodland imagery Daphne Odjig, Alex Janvier, Norval Morrisseau, Jackson Beardy, Carl Ray, Eddy Cobiness, Joseph Sanchez
Purism 1918–1925 Paris, France Post-Cubist paintings of simplified everyday objects, precise contours, harmonious proportions, and machine-age clarity Amédée Ozenfant, Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret); associated: Fernand Léger
Qajar Painting Late 1700s–early 1900s Iran under the Qajar dynasty Court portraiture, decorative painting, and later naturalistic approaches blending Persian visual traditions with European influences and photography Mihr 'Ali, Mirza Baba, Isma'il Jalayir, Kamal al-Mulk
Rajput Painting 1500s–1800s Rajasthan and the Punjab Hills, northern India Diverse Hindu court painting traditions illustrating epics, poetry, devotion, and princely life with vivid color and stylized forms Sahibdin, Nihal Chand, Nainsukh, Manaku
Rayonism 1912–1914 (principal phase) Moscow, Russia Radiating lines and intersecting color suggesting the movement and energy of reflected light; an early form of nonrepresentational painting Mikhail Larionov, Natalia Goncharova, Alexander Shevchenko
Realism 1840s–1880s France Contemporary and working-class life depicted without idealization Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Honoré Daumier, Rosa Bonheur, Ilya Repin, Thomas Eakins, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jules Bastien-Lepage, Jules Breton, Winslow Homer
Renaissance 1400–1600 (Italy; dates vary elsewhere) Italy, spreading through Europe Classical forms, humanist learning, perspective, modeled figures, and oil, tempera, and fresco techniques Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Sandro Botticelli, Albrecht Dürer
Rinpa School Early 1600s onward Kyoto, Japan; later Edo (Tokyo) Decorative screens and scrolls with bold natural motifs, stylized shapes, gold grounds, and inventive ink and color techniques Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Ogata Kōrin, Sakai Hōitsu, Suzuki Kiitsu
Rococo Early 1700s–1770s (regional variations) France; subsequently broader Europe Graceful decorative curves, light colors, courtship, fêtes galantes, idealized pastorals, and mythology Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Jean-Marc Nattier, Pietro Longhi
Romanticism 1800s–1850s Britain, Germany and France Emotional intensity, dramatic landscapes, the sublime, and imaginative subjects Eugène Delacroix, J. M. W. Turner, Caspar David Friedrich
Saqqakhaneh School 1960s–1970s Tehran, Iran Iranian modernist painting drawing on religious and folk motifs, calligraphy, talismans, and popular visual culture in abstract or semiabstract forms Faramarz Pilaram, Hossein Zenderoudi, Sadegh Tabrizi, Mansour Ghandriz
School of London 1940s–1980s (principal period) London, United Kingdom Retrospective grouping of painters who sustained distinctive forms of intense figurative painting and portraiture during the rise of abstraction and conceptual art Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Michael Andrews
Scottish Colourists 1900s–1930s Scotland, with formative links to France Four Scottish painters linked by bold color, confident brushwork, simplified composition, and influences from Impressionism and Fauvism; not a single formal school Samuel John Peploe, Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, John Duncan Fergusson, George Leslie Hunter
Shanghai School Mid-1800s–early 1900s Shanghai, China Commercially flourishing urban Chinese ink-and-color painting that favored lively brushwork, contemporary subjects, portraits, and innovative compositions Ren Xiong, Ren Yi (Ren Bonian), Xu Gu, Wu Changshuo
Sienese School Late 1200s–1400s Siena, Italy Early Italian panel and fresco painting with luminous color, elegant line, gold grounds, and expressive religious narratives; a distinct regional tradition preceding and alongside the Renaissance Duccio di Buoninsegna, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti, Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Skagen Painters 1870s–early 1900s Skagen, Denmark Artists’ colony blending naturalism and Impressionist influences to depict coastal light, fishing communities, domestic interiors, and everyday life Anna Ancher, Michael Ancher, P. S. Krøyer, Laurits Tuxen
Social Realism 1920s–1940s (later influence) International, especially interwar period Accessible figurative art depicting labor, hardship, social inequality, and collective life; distinct from Socialist Realism Ben Shahn, Jacob Lawrence, David Alfaro Siqueiros
Socialist Realism 1930s–1990s (varying by country) Soviet Union; later other socialist states Officially promoted idealized realism celebrating workers, collective achievement, and state ideology; distinct from Social Realism Aleksandr Deyneka, Isaak Brodsky, Arkady Plastov
Spatialism 1947–1960s Milan, Italy Lucio Fontana's experiments with pictorial space, including punctured or slashed canvases and works extending beyond traditional painting Lucio Fontana, Roberto Crippa, Gianni Dova
St Ives School 1940s–1970s St Ives, Cornwall, United Kingdom Loosely connected painters exploring modern abstraction, landscape, sea and light through varied approaches rather than a single unified style Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon, Patrick Heron, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Terry Frost
Street Art / Graffiti Art Late 1970s onward New York City and other urban centers; later international Painted lettering, public murals, and expressive imagery in urban spaces; graffiti art and broader street art overlap without being identical Keith Haring, Lady Pink, Lee Quiñones, Futura 2000
Superflat 2000s onward Japan Takashi Murakami's approach combining flattened pictorial space, manga and anime imagery, and the interplay of art and consumer culture Takashi Murakami, Mr., Aya Takano, Chiho Aoshima
Supports/Surfaces Late 1960s–1970s Southern France and Paris Deconstruction of painting into canvas, stretcher, color, and process, often using unstretched or cut supports Claude Viallat, Daniel Dezeuze, Louis Cane, Patrick Saytour
Suprematism 1915–1920s Russia Nonrepresentational geometric shapes and limited, contrasting colors Kazimir Malevich, Olga Rozanova, Ivan Kliun
Surrealism 1924–1940s France Dream imagery, automatism, and unexpected juxtapositions drawn from the unconscious Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Joan Miró
Symbolism 1880s–1910s France and Belgium Dreams, mythology, spirituality, and suggestive imagery conveying ideas or emotions Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon, Fernand Khnopff, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
Tingatinga Painting Late 1960s onward Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Vividly colored, decorative paintings of wildlife and everyday life, initially using enamel bicycle paint on square hardboard panels Edward Saidi Tingatinga, Simon George Mpata, Abdul Amonde Mkura
Tonalism 1880s–early 1910s United States Atmospheric landscapes, restrained color harmonies, blurred forms, evocative twilight and moonlight George Inness, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Dwight William Tryon, Ralph Albert Blakelock, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, John Henry Twachtman, John Francis Murphy, Charles Warren Eaton; important influence: James McNeill Whistler (not a formal Tonalist member)
Transavanguardia Late 1970s–1980s Italy Italian current related to Neo-Expressionism, restoring figurative painting, expressive color, mythic imagery, and personal symbolism after Conceptual Art Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola De Maria
Ukiyo-e 1600s–1800s Edo (Tokyo), Japan Floating-world images of entertainers, fashionable life, travel, and landscapes, made as original paintings as well as widely circulated woodblock prints Hishikawa Moronobu, Kitagawa Utamaro, Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige
Venetian School 1400s–1600s Venice, Italy Renaissance painting emphasizing rich color, atmospheric light, textured brushwork, and oil techniques, with later influence on European portraiture and landscape Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese
Vienna Secession 1897–1910s Vienna, Austria Break from academic institutions and synthesis of symbolic painting, expressive design, and decorative art; wider in scope than one painting style Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Carl Moll, Max Kurzweil
Vorticism 1914–1918 London, Britain Angular abstraction, geometric fragmentation, and energetic depictions of machines and modern urban life Wyndham Lewis, Edward Wadsworth, Jessica Dismorr, Helen Saunders
Washington Color School Mid-1950s–1970s Washington, D.C., United States Local group within postwar abstraction, emphasizing staining, geometric forms, stripe patterns, and the optical relationships of vivid colors Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Gene Davis, Paul Reed
Western Desert Art Movement 1971 onward (contemporary acrylic painting) Papunya, Northern Territory, Australia; later other Western Desert communities Contemporary First Nations paintings translating older cultural knowledge and Country-related designs into new painting formats Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula
Woodland School Early 1960s onward Great Lakes region, especially Ontario, Canada Indigenous painting tradition popularized by Norval Morrisseau, featuring bold outlines, vibrant flat colors, and imagery linked to Anishinaabe narratives and spiritual knowledge Norval Morrisseau, Carl Ray, Daphne Odjig, Jackson Beardy
Wu School 1400s–1600s Suzhou (historical Wu region), China Ming-era literati landscape painting that revived earlier scholar-artist traditions through expressive brushwork, calligraphic inscriptions, and personal cultivation Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin, Qiu Ying
Yamato-e 900s onward Japan Japanese court painting tradition depicting literature, seasonal landscapes, and local life on scrolls and screens; distinct from Chinese-inspired ink painting and later Nihonga Tosa Mitsunobu, Tosa Mitsuoki, Sumiyoshi Jokei, Tokiwa Mitsunaga
Zaria Art Society / Natural Synthesis 1958–early 1960s; lasting influence Zaria, Nigeria Student-led modernist group advocating the creative synthesis of Nigerian artistic traditions with selected Western techniques, across painting, printmaking, and other media Uche Okeke, Demas Nwoko, Yusuf Grillo, Bruce Onobrakpeya
ZERO 1957–1966 Düsseldorf, West Germany; wider international network Postwar experiments with light, movement, serial forms, reflective surfaces, and monochrome painting, often extending beyond canvas Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Günther Uecker
Zhe School 1400s–1600s Zhejiang region, China, especially Hangzhou Professional Ming-dynasty ink-and-color painters drawing on Southern Song court traditions, with vigorous brushwork and dramatic landscape compositions; distinct from Wu School literati painting Dai Jin, Wu Wei, Lan Ying

Sources: Fitzwilliam Museum: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, National Gallery of Art: Italian Renaissance, The Met: Baroque origins, The Met: Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Symbolism, Post-Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Nabis, Ashcan School, Fauvism, Precisionism, MoMA: Impressionism, Cubism, Orphism, Metaphysical Painting, Dada, De Stijl, New Objectivity, Op Art, MoMA art terms, Guggenheim: Photorealism, MoMA: Art Nouveau, MoMA: Constructivism, NGA: Mexican Muralism, MoMA: Social Realism, MoMA: Color Field painting, MoMA: Minimalism, The Met: Neo-Expressionism, MoMA: Bauhaus, The Met: Art Deco, MoMA: Harlem Renaissance, NGA: American Regionalism, Smarthistory: Socialist Realism, Guggenheim: Art Informel and Tachisme, Stanford: Bay Area Figuration, MoMA: Hard-edge painting, Ludwig Museum: Pattern and Decoration, MFA Boston: Graffiti art, Museums of India: Bengal School, Tate: Vorticism, Art Gallery of Ontario: Group of Seven, MoMA: Concrete Art, TIFR: Bombay Progressive Artists' Group, Lucio Fontana: Spatialism, Museum Jorn: CoBrA, Smarthistory: Neo-Dada, Guggenheim: Gutai, MoMA: Neo-Concretism, Smithsonian: AfriCOBRA, National Museum of Australia: Western Desert art, The Met: Nihonga, Guggenheim: ZERO, Centre Pompidou: Narrative Figuration, MMCA: Dansaekhwa, Whitney: Lowbrow art, M+: '85 New Wave, Ashmolean: Cynical Realism, M+: Political Pop, Walker Art Center: Superflat, The Met: Dutch Golden Age, The Met: Rinpa School, The Met: Ukiyo-e paintings, Uffizi: Macchiaioli, Drents Museum: Peredvizhniki, NGV: Heidelberg School, Banca d'Italia: Italian Divisionism, Belvedere: Vienna Secession, MoMA: Die Brücke, MoMA: Der Blaue Reiter, MoMA: Rayonism, Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Purism, Museo Kosice: Madí Art, National Galleries of Scotland: Nouveau Réalisme, MoMA: Black Arts Movement, National Museum of Women in the Arts: Feminist Art, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris: Supports/Surfaces, National Gallery of Art: New Image Painting, The Met: Neo-Geo, MMCA: Minjung Art, The Met: Early Netherlandish Painting, The Met: Kano School, The Met: Mughal Painting, The Met: Rajput Painting, Musée de Pont-Aven: Pont-Aven School, University of Hong Kong: Lingnan School, The Met: Brazilian Modernism, National Gallery Singapore: Nanyang art, Sharjah Art Foundation: Casablanca School, Madison Museum: Chicago Imagists, Tokyo National Museum: Yamato-e, The Met: Nanga / Bunjinga, Long Museum: Shanghai School, MoMA: Constructive Universalism, Desain Grafis Indonesia: PERSAGI, Tate: School of London, MFA Houston: La Ruptura, Guggenheim: Khartoum School, Smithsonian: Oshogbo School, MAXXI: Transavanguardia, Smithsonian: Wu School, The Met: Company School Painting, Skagens Museum: Skagen Painters, Museo de Arte de Lima: Peruvian Indigenism, Reina Sofía: Art et Liberté, St Ives School of Painting: St Ives School, Smithsonian: Zaria Art Society, Drents Museum: New Leipzig School, The Met: Persian miniature painting, History of Istanbul: Ottoman miniatures, National Galleries of Scotland: Scottish Colourists, National Galleries of Scotland: Camden Town Group, Barjeel Art Foundation: Baghdad Modern Art Group, National Gallery of Art: Washington Color School, Barjeel Art Foundation: Hurufiyya, The Met: Saqqakhaneh School, The Met: Sienese School, National Gallery of Art: Venetian School, Qatar Museums: Qajar Painting, Alte Nationalgalerie: Nazarenes, Turkish Culture Portal: Group D, Philippine NCCA: Thirteen Moderns, McMichael Collection: Woodland School, MacKenzie Art Gallery: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., The Met: Zhe School painter Lan Ying, The Met: Maruyama–Shijō School, Tretyakov Gallery: Jack of Diamonds, MART: Novecento Italiano, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec: Les Automatistes, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf: Capitalist Realism, Smithsonian: Tingatinga Painting, British Museum: Mithila Painting, Centre Pompidou: Figuration Libre, LACMA: Contemporary Gond Painting.

Dates describe early activity or prominence, not fixed boundaries. Movements can overlap, and some labels describe loose schools, retrospective groupings, or art across multiple media. Painters listed are representative examples, not exhaustive memberships; linked names have PaintZeal profiles.

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