What are the major art movements before 1900, and how did each change the way artists worked?
Art movements before 1900: the Renaissance, Baroque, the Pre-Raphaelites, the Arts and Crafts movement, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and their defining ideas.
An Edexcel A-Level Art and Design guide to the major art movements before 1900. Explains the Renaissance, Baroque, Pre-Raphaelites, Arts and Crafts, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, their defining ideas, key artists and how each changed practice, supporting contextual understanding for AO1 and the related study.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point surveys the major art movements before 1900: the Renaissance, Baroque, Pre-Raphaelites, Arts and Crafts, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. For each you should know its defining ideas, key artists and how it changed the way artists worked. This contextual knowledge is the raw material for AO1 artist studies and the related study, and it lets you place any artist you research in a tradition.
The answer
Renaissance and Baroque
The Renaissance gave Western art its tools for convincing space and form; the Baroque used those tools for emotional and theatrical effect.
Pre-Raphaelites and Arts and Crafts
Both were British-led reactions against the art and industry of their time, one about how pictures should look, the other about how things should be made.
Impressionism
Impressionism (1870s to 1880s) broke decisively with academic painting. Instead of smooth, finished, studio-made historical scenes, the Impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Degas, Berthe Morisot) painted modern, everyday life outdoors (en plein air), using visible, broken brushstrokes and lighter palettes to capture fleeting light and atmosphere, the sensation of a moment. It was radical because it valued perception and the contemporary world over polish and grand subjects.
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism (1880s to 1900s) is a loose grouping of artists who started from Impressionism but pushed beyond optical impression. Van Gogh used colour and mark for emotion; Cezanne sought underlying structure and form; Gauguin used flat colour and symbolism; Seurat developed pointillism (small dots of pure colour). Together they opened the door to twentieth-century modernism by treating colour, form and feeling as ends in themselves.
Examples in context
A model contextual study would place an artist accurately in their movement, explain the movement's defining ideas, analyse a work in that light, and connect the understanding to the student's own practice.
Try this
Q1. Explain how Impressionism broke with the academic painting before it, referring to named artists and their methods. [14 marks]
- What the marker wants. The contrast with academic convention (subject, finish, studio versus outdoor work), named Impressionists, their methods (broken brushwork, light palette, en plein air, fleeting light), and why this was radical.
Q2. Name the Post-Impressionist artist associated with pointillism and explain what the technique involves. [4 marks]
- Cue. Georges Seurat; pointillism builds an image from small dots of pure colour that the eye blends, giving a shimmering, structured surface.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 9AD0 critical-analysis prompt14 marksExplain how Impressionism broke with the academic painting that came before it, referring to named artists and their methods.Show worked answer →
The task rewards contextual understanding of a movement and its break with tradition (AO1).
The break. Academic painting valued smooth finish, historical or mythological subjects, and studio work. Impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot) painted modern, everyday life outdoors (en plein air), capturing fleeting light and atmosphere.
The methods. Visible, broken brushstrokes, lighter palettes, and rapid execution recorded the sensation of a moment rather than a polished, detailed scene.
A strong answer names artists, describes the new subject matter and technique, and explains why this was a radical departure from academic convention.
Edexcel 9AD0 critical-analysis prompt12 marksCompare the aims of the Arts and Crafts movement with those of the Renaissance, with reference to named figures.Show worked answer →
A question testing understanding of two different movements' aims.
Renaissance (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael) revived classical ideals: humanism, anatomy, proportion and linear perspective, raising the artist to a learned creator.
Arts and Crafts (William Morris) reacted against industrial mass production, valuing handcraft, honest materials, good design for everyday objects and the dignity of the maker, often inspired by medieval craft.
A strong answer contrasts the Renaissance pursuit of idealised representation with the Arts and Crafts social and craft-based aims, naming figures for each.
Related dot points
- Analysing a work of art: a structured approach moving through formal analysis, content, context and meaning to reach a critical interpretation.
An Edexcel A-Level Art and Design guide to analysing a work of art. Explains a structured approach (formal analysis, content, context, mood and meaning), the difference between description and analysis, useful analytical vocabulary, and how strong critical analysis supports AO1 and the related study.
- Modern and contemporary movements: Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Bauhaus, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism and the Young British Artists.
An Edexcel A-Level Art and Design guide to modern and contemporary art movements. Explains Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Bauhaus, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism and the Young British Artists, their defining ideas and key artists, supporting contextual understanding for AO1 and the related study.
- Studying named artists: researching an artist's intentions, methods and context, analysing specific works, and extracting techniques and ideas to develop your own practice.
An Edexcel A-Level Art and Design guide to studying named artists. Explains how to research an artist's intentions, methods and context, how to analyse specific works rather than biographies, how to make practical responses that extract techniques and ideas, and how artist study drives AO1 and AO2.
- Annotation and referencing: writing analytical, reflective annotation that makes thinking visible, and acknowledging primary and secondary sources properly.
An Edexcel A-Level Art and Design guide to annotation and referencing. Explains how to write analytical and reflective annotation rather than a diary, a describe, analyse, contextualise, evaluate, apply formula, how to reference artists and sources, and how good annotation and integrity support every assessment objective.
- Colour theory and use: the colour wheel, primary, secondary and tertiary colours, hue, saturation and value, complementary and analogous schemes, warm and cool, and colour as mood and meaning.
An Edexcel A-Level Art and Design guide to colour theory and use. Explains the colour wheel, primary, secondary and tertiary colours, hue, saturation and value, complementary, analogous and harmonious schemes, warm and cool colour, and how artists use colour to create mood, depth and meaning.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel A-Level Art and Design (9AD0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2015)