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Articles and Essays on visual arts.


Types of Art
For all the main arts categories, see: Types of Art. For definitions, see: Art Definition, Meaning.
Visual art is a relatively modern term encompassing fine art (eg. drawing, painting, sculpture), as well as contemporary art forms (eg. collage, assemblage, photography, video, animation, concept art, performance, installation, land art, among others), decorative art (eg. ceramics, stained glass and interior design), graphic arts (eg. illustration, calligraphy), and applied art (mainly design), and printmaking (eg. woodcuts, etching, drypoint, engraving, lithographics and silkscreen).

Educational Essays on Art Appreciation

- Art Evaluation: How to Appreciate Art (painting)
- How to Appreciate Paintings
- Famous Paintings Analyzed
- How to Appreciate Sculpture (c.40,000 BCE - 1850)
- How to Appreciate Modern Sculpture (c.1850-2000)


History of Western Art
Includes articles on all types, styles and periods/movements of Western art from the Early Stone Age and early Mediterranean cultures, through Classical Antiquity (Greek, Roman art), and the Middle Ages as far as the Renaissance. Thereafter, the Italian Renaissance is covered in detail, as are several other movements including Impressionism, Expressionism and Cubism. In addition, there are profiles of all major modern and contemporary art styles. See also our detailed "Timeline," and our review of the most influential architectural styles up to the 20th century.
History of Art
Prehistoric Art Timeline
History of Art: Timeline
Architecture: History, Styles
History of Sculpture


Genres and Types of Painting/Sculpture
Since the Renaissance, painting (and to some extent, sculture) has been classified according to five major genres: history (ie. narrative) works, portraiture, genre-painting (ie. everyday scenes), landscapes and still-life. We review the history and styles of all five genres, as well as abstraction and representational painting.

The Main Types of Paintings
Painting Genres
Hierarchy of Genres


Art Education

Best Art Schools (America, Canada, Europe)

Historical European Academies
Academic Style of Art
Academy of Art Florence
Academy of Art Rome

European Postgraduate Art Schools
Royal College of Art (London)

European Colleges of Art
Royal Academy of Arts London
Ecole Des Beaux Arts Paris


Best Artists

For a list of the Top 10 greatest artists in the history of Western art, across all the genres, see:
- Best Artists of All Time: Top 10
- Visual Artists: Greatest
(PART ONE: 1000-1850)
- Modern Artists: Greatest
(PART TWO: 1850-present)
- Best History Painters
- Best Portrait Artists
- Best Genre-Painters
- Best Landscape Artists
- Best Still Life Painters

For biographies of the greatest European painters from the Gothic era to the early 19th century, please see: Old Masters. For details of modern artists - from all the major schools, see: Famous Painters. For the twentieth century artists, see: 20th Century Painters. For biographies of the most important 3-D artists, see: Greatest Sculptors. See also: Greatest Sculptures Ever.


Famous Public Museums
For the world's best, see: Best Art Museums.
For European public galleries, see: Best Art Museums in Europe.
For American public galleries, see: Best Art Museums in America.

For more about arts, crafts and cultures around the world, see: Homepage



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ART
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