The term Baroque refers to European art of the 17th century, but Baroque styles differed from region to region. French Baroque artists like La Tour, La Nain and Callot often created scenes of humble men and women. According to Helen Gardner's "Art Through the Ages," most French Baroque art showcases dark colors and somber themes. Some Baroque artists also found influence in classical paintings and often depicted scenes from mythology and landscapes.
In 1700, according to Gardner, a softer style called Rococo emerged in France, beginning with interior design and spilling over into the other arts. Rococo artists, such as Boffrand and Watteau, chose graceful, delicate and elegant designs, using lighter colors and softer lines than Baroque artists. Rococo works often featured outdoor entertainment or amusements of the upper class and explored themes of love and joy, in sharp contrast to the sadness and death of the Baroque period.
The Neoclassical movement, from the mid-18th century to the early 19th century, centered on a fascination with Greek and Roman culture. One of the most famous French Neoclassicists, David, took an academic approach to painting, basing his art on rules taken from ancient artists and the Renaissance masters. Neoclassicists sought to imitate nature in her most perfect form.
In the late 18th century, Romanticism emerged, which focused on the desire for freedom of imagination and emotion. Romantic artists often featured nightmarish and grotesque images. The premier French Romanticists, Gericault and Delacroix, centered their work on drama, visual complexity, and emotional force, often using subdued color palettes and lots of shadows to create ominous scenes.
In the 1850s, Realism emerged, which centered on the experiences and sights of everyday contemporary life and shunned the fantastic ideas of Romanticism. Millet and Courbet, two well-known French Realists, often depicted the life of rural workers. Realists typically used a subdued palette to create a dreary tone. Other Realists, such as Manet and Daumier, focused on the plight of the urban poor and, sometimes, painted vulgar scenes in an effort to shed light on the true reality of city life.
Gardner writes that Impressionism, which centered in France from 1860 to 1890, focused on industrialized, urbanized Paris. Most Impressionists depicted scenes of city life, such as busy boulevards, rail stations and cafes, attempting to create an impression of a single moment in time, like a photograph does. Artists often created scenes of leisurely activities also, such as sailing, picnicking, the opera and ballet. Caillebotte, Degas, Pissarro, Manet, Renoir and Monet, some of France's best-known artists, were all Impressionists. They often used fleeting light, blurred lines and rough brushstrokes.
Post-Impressionists, such as Gauguin, Cezanne and Toulouse-Lautrec, enjoyed experimenting with color and form to express emotion. Van Gogh, the father of Post-Impressionism, was born in Holland, but did most of his work in France. This movement, lasting from the 1880s to 1900, features intense color schemes, thick lines and a bit of the abstract. Rather than realistic images, Post-Impressionists focused on memory and imagination, sometimes using unnatural colors and unrealistic forms.
In 1905, according to Gardner, a new movement in painting called Fauvism appeared in Paris under the leadership of Matisse which focused on simplified designs with shockingly bright color. Fauvists produced many types of art: landscapes, portraits, still lifes and nudes, with rich textures, lively patterns and bold colors.
French architect and painter Charles Edward Jeanerer founded the Purist movement in 1918. This style focused on machinery's clean lines and pure forms, with broad simplification and a machinelike finish. Another Purist, Fernand Leger, created works with sharp precision, and motifs of modern city life, like harsh lights, noisy traffic, and robotic people.
In 1924, a new movement called Surrealism emerged in France, which focused on ways to express art in the world of dreams and the unconscious. Surrealist work often featured elements of fantasy and the psyche. Although the style started in France with Andre Breton, the best-known Surrealist is Salvador Dali, a Spaniard.