Modern and contemporary art

Modern art and contemporary art are distinct terms used for visual art from the late 19th century until present day. Much contemporary art is abstract.

Understand
"Art is not made to decorate rooms. It is an offensive weapon in the defense against the enemy."

- Pablo Picasso

While the concepts of "modern" and "contemporary" by definition have no clear boundaries in time, they usually refer to some art genres that have emerged since the 19th century. The term "contemporary art" is usually applied to living artists producing works in our current time. Due to tradition, older European art is usually displayed in institutions separate from modern art museums; for instance the Louvre only features work up to the mid-1800s; later works can be seen at Musée d'Orsay.

In the mid-19th century, photography displaced visual art, producing portraits and scenery pictures for cheap. In the meantime, public education, urbanization and industrial printing allowed more people than ever to make, buy and see art. Pre-modern art styles such as romanticism remained in production well into the 20th century. Modern architecture has a similar categorization of periods and styles.


 * Impressionism was a movement beginning in the 1870s, characterized by thin brush strokes which brought out an impression of light and movement. Impressionist paintings had mundane motifs, challenging the convention of European art in which religious, mythological or historical scenes had higher status.
 * Art nouveau, in German known as Jugendstil, was a movement in visual art, architecture and interior design, inspired by simple natural geometric patterns.
 * De Stijl is a 1910s Dutch minimalist movement, found throughout north-western continental Europe, known best for its associated artists, Mondrian and Rietveld. The movement inspires modern day designers and artists and the movement's style and is loved by many others.
 * Cubism was a movement most prominent in the early 20th century, with Pablo Picasso being one of its founders and most famous practitioners.
 * Surrealism was an early 20th century movement pioneered by André Breton, with Salvador Dalí being perhaps its most famous practitioner.
 * Mexican muralism is an artistic movement of the 1920s through 1950s that was strongly supported by post-Revolution presidencies. Its impact was felt far beyond Mexico and it continues to influence contemporary artists decades after the government subsidies ceased.
 * Post-modernism is mainly a post-1945 movement, known for works which reject all conventions of shape, material, medium, decorum, and sometimes legality.
 * Pop art emerged in the 1950s, with sampling of graphics from mass media, such as photography, cartoons, and advertising.

Modern and contemporary art has not just taken use of traditional media such as painting, sculpture and textiles, but also photography, video, sound, and composite installations.

Destinations
Most large cities in the world has some public art on display. This list contains some renowned art museums, academies, and creative scenes.

Europe

 * Paris: contains Impressionist and early Modernist works.  contains post-modern works.
 * Prague:
 * The Stockholm Metro has an impressive art collection, commissioned since the 1960s.
 * Paris: contains Impressionist and early Modernist works.  contains post-modern works.
 * Prague:
 * The Stockholm Metro has an impressive art collection, commissioned since the 1960s.
 * Paris: contains Impressionist and early Modernist works.  contains post-modern works.
 * Prague:
 * The Stockholm Metro has an impressive art collection, commissioned since the 1960s.
 * The Stockholm Metro has an impressive art collection, commissioned since the 1960s.

Buy
Purchase of high-value art usually takes more knowledge than can fit into an article. For art a normal person can afford, the main rule is that if you like it and it fits your living room, then it is good; don't count on getting money from selling it.

Posters and postcards depicting some of the items hosted at a museum can often be bought in a museum shop. For copyright reasons, replicas of modern art usually cost more than replicas of older art. Usually you don't have any right to publish photos of your purchase without making explicit arrangements with the artist (there are some).

Respect
In most countries, the copyright of art expires 70 years after the artist's death, placing nearly all 19th-century art in the public domain but restricting reproduction – including photographing – of newer art. Some countries have a different duration, and in the USA the term is (for the relevant period) instead based on year of publication, as defined in copyright jurisprudence; art published before is free from copyright in the USA. Also where the art is in the public domain, house rules may restrict photography.

Photographing outdoors art, such as architecture and most statues, is in many countries allowed thanks to the freedom of panorama in effect there. These rules vary significantly by country, both in what may be photographed and in what you can do with the photo.