Cubism is part of the modern art movement; this special art form was started by two of the greatest artists of the twentieth century: Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the early 1920’s. Both painters were heavily influenced by Paul Cezanne who is considered the catalyst for both artists to break the mold.

Cubism was first coined by an Art Critic; Louis Vauxelles who coined the term after critiquing a series of paintings done by Georges Braques called L’Estague. Pablo Picasso’s first Cubist painting is Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which was done in 1907.

Cubist oil paintings are broken up and re-assembled in an abstract form. The artist depicts the object from multiple viewpoints; often these viewpoints intersect causing the image to seem ambiguous.

Cubism affected not only the visible art world of paintings and sculpture but it was also depicted in other forms of art such as music and literature. Even the automobile industry took a lot of its early ideas from Cubism.

To learn more about Cubism and artists that are considered Cubist please checkout this great post by Breiana Cecil about the Modern Art Movement…

Interior decor is not just putting a picture on the wall; it’s also about capturing the essence of your mood and style.

Decorating the walls of your home with Abstract art adds touches of elegance and energizes your space. Whether you have a bare space on the wall, or a corner in desperate need of something special, abstract art will work.

Abstract art plays with light and color, shape and function. These paintings and sculptures will allow you to experiment with your modern look. Wassily Kandinsky, who many consider the father of Abstract art, used to paint his oil paintings as if he was writing a symphony: full of geometric shapes, passion and a marvelous flow of color.

Abstract art can add splashes of color and elegance to a room. It is a way to expose your visitors to something different.

Abstract art can also create different mood settings to your home, sophisticated pieces can revitalize your room and give it new meaning. “A white wall is simply a white wall… Add some abstract oil paintings and it becomes a showcase of style,” said Dawn Kail, Director of Style at OverstockArt.com.

If you are struggling to find a center piece for your space, abstract art pieces can provide the perfect focal point. Do not think that you have to situate your furnishings around the pieces. Instead, they add such drama and life that eyes will naturally flow to them. They become the center without effort.

Abstract art captures the elegance of contemporary design while also pushing into other boundaries. It can be playful, dramatic, sleek and exciting, all contained in one piece. Your home will never seem more complete, and more in style.

I have been asked many times about Expressionism and what exactly does it mean to paint like an expressionist.

Expressionist artists pretty much are the most hard to define group of artists out there in the modern era. It seems as if the artists that are labeled as Expressionists more or less defined the style as they went along, following their instincts as to the use of color, specifically which colors to use and how often to use them.

Colors where important in Expressionism, but most importantly colors had to be non-realistic.

Henry Matisse who is one of the earliest expressionist painters, believed that “the invention of photography had released painting from the need to copy nature, leaving him free to present emotion as directly as possible and by the simplest means”.

Even Van Gogh, the post-impressionist artist that had influenced Expressionism the most, tried to explain to his brother, Theo about the new way he uses color: “Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use color more arbitrarily, in order to express myself forcibly.”

To learn more about Expressionism and artists that are considered Expressionist please checkout this great post by Breiana Cecil about the Modern Art Movement…

OverstockArt.com has released today a new collection of handmade oil paintings, an expansion to its ever-growing selection of beautiful, hand-painted oil paintings for the company’s growing client base. This latest addition establishes OverstockArt.com as the largest U.S. retailer of handmade oil paintings across the web.

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During the transfer from a Museum in Toledo, Ohio to New York’s Guggenheim the 228 year-old painting vanished mysteriously…

The painting was rediscovered in New Jersey after it was stolen from an armored truck that was parked overnight in a hotel parking lot in Stroudsburg, Pa. as it was making its way to New York, on Nov. 8. It had been scheduled to be displayed in the exhibition “Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: Time, Truth, and History,” which opened at the Guggenheim on Nov. 17.

The painting, “Children with a Cart,” that disappeared and rediscovered is estimated to be worth about $1.1 million.

If you have time, stroll down to the Guggenheim and observe this amazing exhibition.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is hosting an exhibition that looks at the Dutch artist’s influence upon the German and Austrian Expressionist movement of the early 20th century.

Museum directors and private collectors in Germany and Austria were some of the first to buy Van Gogh’s work. By 1914, there were 164 of his paintings circulating in their collections.

One of the earliest purchases was Field of Poppies, which ignited heated debate after the Bremen Museum acquired it.

The many traveling exhibitions organized in Germany and Austria helped to influence an entire generation of young artists, including Wassily Kandinsky, Gustav Klimt and Edvard Munch.

Some artists were particularly drawn by Van Gogh’s technique, intense brushwork and sharp colors while others were influenced more by his emotional approach. This was particularly prominent in Van Gogh’s psychological portraits. Some artists even started to pay tribute to Van Gogh’s paintings, for instance, Egon Schiele painted various versions of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

Vincent van Gogh and Expressionism has been on display since November 24 and will be showing until March 4 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, if you make it down to Amsterdam in the next three months please let us know your impressions…