5 centuries of art, made explorable.
Move through periods, artists and masterpieces. ArtAtlas is a visual guide to the ideas that changed how people made—and saw—art.
Move through time
Start with an era, then follow the links between movements, people and works.
Renaissance
Rebirth, observation and humanismEuropean artists revived classical ideas while transforming painting through perspective, anatomy and close observation of the natural world.
→1600–1750Baroque
Drama, movement and lightBaroque art turned space into theatre, using movement, contrast and emotional intensity to pull viewers into the scene.
→1780–1850Romanticism
Sublime nature and inner lifeRomantic artists challenged reason alone, turning toward emotion, imagination, revolution and the overwhelming power of nature.
→1860–1890Impressionism
Modern life in changing lightLoose brushwork, new pigments and outdoor painting helped artists capture fleeting light and the rhythm of modern life.
→1880–1910Post-Impressionism
Beyond the optical impressionA loose generation of artists pushed beyond Impressionism toward structure, symbolism, expressive color and personal vision.
→1900–1970Modernism
Breaking the inherited rulesModern artists fragmented form, embraced abstraction and repeatedly redefined what a painting, sculpture or art object could be.
→Masterpieces
Familiar works become more interesting when you see what they changed—and what changed around them.
Artists to know
A compact route through very different answers to the question: what can an image do?
Leonardo da Vinci
Observation made visible.
Caravaggio
Sacred drama at street level.
Rembrandt van Rijn
Light, character and human ambiguity.
J. M. W. Turner
Weather dissolving the world.
Claude Monet
Painting light as an event.
Edgar Degas
Modern bodies, unexpected viewpoints.
Vincent van Gogh
Color charged with feeling.
Paul Cézanne
Rebuilding nature through color.