Artists and the sciences in the birth of Modern life

Franey Nogueira

doi:10.51919/revista_sh.v1i0.72

Abstract

The time comprised in between the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century presented a revolution in the sciences that shaped what came to be defined as Modern life. It influenced and affected all fields of knowledge and social relationships. In this article I analyze how some of the main inventions and discoveries of this period impacted artists and artistic movements in practical and philosophical ways and how they collaborated to the surge of abstraction in the visual arts.

Highlights

In the young and recent field of research of Art and Neuroscience, many studies concentrate in the art produced in the Modern movements, which emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century and lasted for about five decades
Abstract art and Modernism were influenced by changes in the artistic interests and methods initiated by the Impressionists in the nineteenth century and the subsequent movements that came after them
In this article I describe in which context the Impressionist movement appeared and how the Science of the day, and the transformations it brought to society, influenced the artists as individuals and as a group, and its impact in the unfolding of Modernism and abstraction in painting

Summary

Introduction

In the young and recent field of research of Art and Neuroscience, many studies concentrate in the art produced in the Modern movements, which emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century and lasted for about five decades. Among the art styles presented in these studies there seems to be an apparent interest in abstract and Modern art. Abstract art and Modernism were influenced by changes in the artistic interests and methods initiated by the Impressionists in the nineteenth century and the subsequent movements that came after them. In this article I describe in which context the Impressionist movement appeared and how the Science of the day, and the transformations it brought to society, influenced the artists as individuals and as a group, and its impact in the unfolding of Modernism and abstraction in painting

A scientific revolution

Abstraction in art and science

The influence of new technologies

Conclusions