Art Education Schools

Making the decision to take various courses in an art education school can be a wonderful way to discover more about the history of art. As you progress through your arts program, you will be exposed to many different styles of artistic expression. There have been several important movements in the past several hundred years.

One of the most common styles of art is Realism. Realism started in the 18^th century and hit its peak in the mid 19^th century. Realism is a style that attempts to capture things exactly as they appear in real life.  Some realist paintings are almost indistinguishable from photographs. This style was popular in France and America, and some of the most famous artists include Toulouse-Lautrec and Courbet.

Most art education schools will include Impressionism in their curriculum. This style of art began in France at the end of the 19^th century. Impressionist artists often painted landscapes and other outdoor scenes, and usually did not include a lot of detail. The conceit with this style was to have the painting look as though the artist took only a quick glance at the subject and used bright colors to present a general impression of the subject.

Surrealism is another popular style of art. Surrealist artists, such as Salvador Dali and Max Ernst, got inspiration for their art from their dreams. They would often take the mundane objects of everyday life and paint them to look unusual or mysterious. They were attempting to strike an emotional chord with people and get them to look at their lives in new ways.

Abstract art, sometimes called Non-objective art, is a style that does not attempt to paint real world objects at all. The painters would generally use color and shape in their works to show emotions. Some people dismiss abstract art as not being a real art form, as they do not represent any distinguishable people, places or things. Often they could be little more than lines or blotches on a canvas. This style challenges both the artist and the viewer to see reality expressed in highly unusual ways.

Pop art, made famous by Andy Warhol, takes everyday objects and recontextualizes them by presenting them using bright, saturated colors. Pieces in this style can often look cartoonish, as though from a comic book.

This is just a small overview of the different styles you can learn about while taking courses in art education schools. You can focus on one of these as a specialty, or learn as much as possible about all of these styles and many more.