Style refers to a means of classification in art that categorizes art works according to some form of distinction.

    An artists' style is measured in an 'ongoing resemblance' of qualities defined by the individual way in which an artists uses the materials, makes the individual marks, expresses the perspective of ideas, that comprise the art work.

    As each individual is unique in the way they express themselves, an artistic expression is no different.

    How an artists holds a brush, makes a line, the subject matter they choose to pick are all unique. The significance of some artist's work over others is how different their work was from their contemporaries and of what impact this work had during their time and after.

    How artistic contemporaries compare to other artists in different time periods creates an identifiable period style.

    Period styles are a reflection of the social climate, social pressures and artistic leaders of the day and are always explainable according to those conditions.

    Period styles are not specific to any one media and so the expressions of painters tend to be mirrored in the expressions of architects, sculptor's etc. and all contribute to the period style.

   Individual artists as well as periods of art tend to undergo developmental changes as a result of the experience of the art produced and the changes in the individual or social conditions over that period of time.

    When changes have taken place in the social realm, contributing to a significant change in the social outlook or philosophy of the time, this is almost always reflected in the art produced.

    Creating a new social climate creates the conditions for new ways of human expression. As artists invent new ways of expressing this philosophy and their reaction to the social change, the sum total of their works creates and an example of a new period style.

   Individuals tend to change much more dramatically in their short lives than does a whole society and so individual artists work undergo more significant changes in style and content in a period of time than do period styles.brachio_lrg_wte.gif (15507 bytes)

    Once a period style has been established in the global society, it adds to the tools of expression of all artists from that point. For example, artists of today might choose to paint in a realistic or impressionistic style, even though the styles themselves were initially created by artists working in a much different social climate, different social pressures and philosophy and long before the artists of today were born.

    All period styles were started by a small group of talented individuals who influenced the artists of their day enough to change the way in which artists expressed themselves within their time and from their time onwards.

    Great artists developed their personal styles over a period of time and a body of work. It usually takes experience, knowledge of the media and knowledge of oneself to be able to express thoughts in a significantly unique way as to have a consistently different way of working than other artists.

    Many artists were in themselves very deeply committed to a particular philosophy or point of view, which contributed to their going their own way artistically. All of this takes time and experience.

    As a student, learning as much as you can about the techniques of working with various media, about other artists lives, philosophies and working styles, and learning who you are and what is your point of view, will contribute to your ability to create ongoing artistic personal statements and the development of your own personal style.paint20brush.gif (2418 bytes)

    Painting period styles since the 19th century may be summed up as: