20th Century Avant-Garde

Surrealism is the channelling of the sub-conscious that unlocks the power of the imagination. It is the belief that the conscious, rational mind represses the power of imagination and creativity with perceived reality and the taboos of society. The psyche within sub-conscious thought acts as a revelation, exposing the incongruities of everyday living, life and the world around us, and by doing so inspires conscious revolution. As with Romanticism this emphasis was on the power of personal imagination, but Surrealists believed that revelation could be found in the everyday world. The interest in primitivism and myth combined with tapping into the unconscious mind inspired many later movements and styles that remain influential today.

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William Morris

Artist: William Morris Born: 24 March 1834, Essex, England Nationality: English Movement: Pre-Raphaelite Died: 3 October 1896, Middlesex, UK

Erté

Artist: Romain de Tirtoff (Erté) Born: 23 November 1892, St Petersburg, Russia Nationality: Russian-French Movement: Art Deco Died: 21 April 1990, Paris, France

Art Deco

Art Deco, or Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that started in France just before WW1. It influenced the design of buildings, furnishings, jewellery, fashion, transportation, and everyday objects found in many homes. Art Deco is the shortened form of Arts Décoratifs from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925. The combination of modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials had found it heyday. Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progression.

The Pre-Raphaelites

The Pre-Raphaelites The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English artists, poets and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. They were joined by William Michael Rossetti, Frederic George Stephens, James Collinson, and Thomas Woolner. Their principles were hared among other artists such as Ford Madox Brown and Arthur Hughes. Dante Gabriel Rossetti inspired a later, medievalising strain which included Edward Burne-Jones extended into the 20th Century with artists such as John William Waterhouse.

Tamara

Artist: Tamara de Lempicka Born: 16 May 1898, Warsaw, Poland Nationality: Polish Movement: Art Deco Died: 18 March 1980, Cuernavaca, Mexico

Edward Burne-Jones

Artist: Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet Born: 28 August 1833, Birmingham, UK Nationality: English Movement: Pre-Raphaelite Died: 17 June 1898, London, UK

Rossetti and the Women who Loved Him

Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti Born: 12 May 1828, London, UK Nationality: British Movement: Pre-Raphaelite Died: 9 April 1882, Kent, UK

The Original Pre-Raph

Artist: John Everett Millais Born: 8 June 1829, Southampton, UK Nationality: English Movement: Pre-Raphaelite Died: 13 August 1896, London, UK

Nino

Artist: John William Waterhouse Born: 6 April 1849 Rome, Italy Nationality: English Movement: Pre-Raphaelite Died: 10 February 1917 London, England