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Impressionism

The history of modern art started with Impressionism. It began in Paris as a reaction to  formal and rigid style of painting - set by traditional institutions like the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The exhibition of Edouard Manet's famous painting, Dejeuner sur l'herbe, in 1863 in the Salon des Refuses (organized by those painter who were rejected by the Academie des Beaux-Arts), caused a scandal. It can be considered as the beginning of Impressionism.The Impressionist painters preferred to paint outside and studied the effect of light on objects. Their preferred subjects were landscapes and scenes from daily life.

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Fauvism

The word Fauvism comes from the French word fauve, which means "wild animals". And indeed - this new modern art style was a bit wild - with strong and vivid colors. Paul Gauguin and the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh had carried Impressionism to its limits by using expressive colors. Fauvism went one step further in using simplified designs in combination with an "orgy of pure colors" as it was characterized by their critics. The first exhibition by Fauvist artists took place in 1905. The best-known fauve artists are Henri Matisse, Andre Derain, etc.

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Expressionism

Expressionism, in simplified terms, was  a German modern art version of Fauvism. The expressionist movement was organized in two groups of German painters. One was called Die Bruecke, literally meaning The Bridge. The group was located in Dresden with the artists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde,  After World War I, this group was followed by another group of artists, calling themselves Dresdner Sezession.The second Expressionist gathering of artists was centered in Munich. The group is known as Der Blaue Reiter, meaning The Blue Rider. The famous names are Franz Marc, August Macke, Gabriele Münter, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Alexei Yavlensky.

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Cubism

Cubism, another modern art movement, was primarily restricted to painting and sculpture. It had a major influence on the development of modern art. Cubism was initiated by the Spaniard Pablo Picasso and the Frenchman Georges Braques in Paris before World War I. Paul Cezanne, usually categorized as a Post-Impressionist, can be considered as their predecessor. Cubism had strong roots in African art. In cubism, geometrical forms and fragmentations are favored. Everything is reduced to cubes and other geometrical forms. As famous artists besides Pablo Picasso and Georges Braques, Robert Delaunay, Marcel Duchamp, Juan Gris and Lyonel Feininger are to be mentioned. Cubism paved the way for abstract art.