Different Types of Art Art has been around for thousands of years, from primitive cave scrawling and pictures to the sophisticated varieties of art we now have. Art exists in many types and genres, and can be made with a wide variety of materials. Artists may make artwork with pastels, oil paints, pen and ink, pencil, collage and acrylic paint and they may apply these media with brushes, sponges and other tools or even their own hands. Some of the genres of art include still life and floral, lanscape and interior, portraiture and figure, abstract and experimental, and animal or wildlife art. Any of these genres may be made of a variety of materials or media and any of these genres may fit into a separate category or type of art. Keep in mind that types of art can overlap, so art does not always fall perfectly into set categories.  While this is not an exhaustive list, here we will look at some of the different types of art. Abstract Art This type of art deals with abstracting an image or having one that may be purely unidentifiable. The purpose of this type of art is to convey a feeling or sensation, rather than simply depicting an image or scene. Rather than a specific image, the focus may be shapes or colors or even lines. Abstract art was developed in the 19 th and 20th century, as a response a renewed trend to classicism and to Impressionism. Abstract art is sometimes also called nonobjective or nonrepresentational art. Famous abstract artists include Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky and Jackson Pollock. Impressionism Impressionism began in the 19th century as a reaction to the requirements of the French Academie des Beaux-Arts, known as The Academie. The Academie demanded realistic, traditional painting that did not reveal the personal style of a painter. The Impressionists used stylized imagery, applying short, thick strokes of paint that remained visible (known as "impasto"), painted bold shadows and didn't mix their paints as previous artists had. Rather, they tended to use opaque applications paint, placed side by side. In this type of art, the artists focused on the way light affected an image during different times of day and in different seasons.To do this, many Impressionist painted outdoors or en plein air to capture the natural effects of light. Famous Impressionists include Monet, Sisley, Renoir and Pissaro. Expressionism This type of art began in the 20th century as a reaction to Impressionism, with the goal of conveying emotion through art. Instead of being painted realistically, objects, landscapes and subjects are often exaggerated or unusually formed. As opposed to abstraction, which may or may not portray an object that is not present, Expressionism does portray real or existing, but alters them with the emotive quality of the artist. The compositions and color choices may seem arbitrary, but they are usually decided by the sense of the artist, as opposed to what is there in actuality. Lines and color may be stronger and with purposeful outlining. Famous Expressionists include Egon Schiele, Edvard Munch and Marc Chagall. Romanticism Romanticism began in the 18th century as a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment, which had brought with it new scientific revelations and the importance of reasoning. This type of art is picturesque and features an emotional aspect, and while being realistic, is heightened with color and feeling. Often subjects appear in a natural environment and the subject of a painting may be nature itself. Unlike Realism, Romanticism is somewhat idealistic, and does not seek portray a subject precisely. Famous Romanticist painters include Thomas Cole, Henry Fuseli and William Blake. Pointillism This type of art is a style made up of tiny dot of color, that as a whole, produce a recognizable image. Pointillism, which arose in the late 19th century, has typically been focused on the genre of portraiture, but some landscapes and even abstract works are done in the style. The way in which the colors work is that the choosing of colors causes the eye to mix spots of color into a more complete range of tones. Famous Pointillists have included George-Pierre Seurat, Vincent van Gogh and Chuck Close Folk Art Folk art often is done by untrained artists who make their art for decorative or utilitarian purposes. Nearly all cultures make art and folk art can come from China, Africa, Latin America and North America. The qualities of folk art include accessible materials such as fabric, paper, metal and clay as well as carvings. Some examples of folk art are carved figures, masks, puppetry, textiles and signs. Sometimes, other forms of art such as naive, primitive and tribal art overlap in folk art. Art Nouveau The term "art nouveau" comes from the French and means "new art." This type of art originated in France and spread to other European countries including Belgium, Italy and German, as well as to the United Kingdom and United States. Art Nouveau involves using curvilinear aspects of line that are done to create a flowing, almost liquid look. It was influenced by floral designs and lines found in nature, as well as by Japanese prints which used a flat perspective and strong colors. Art Nouveau evolved as a response to the cramped style crowded appearance of Victorian art which came before it. Cubism This type of art is based on the geometric appearance of objects in a  painting. Compositions appear to be "broken up" or faceted, yet an object or subject may still be visible in the painting. Cubism evolved in the late-19th and 20th centuries when artist were inspired by art from other non-Industrialized cultures such as African, Native American and Micronesian. famous artist who have worked in the Cubist style include Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris and Georges Braque. Realism Realism is a type of art that focuses on what is seen and not altered by the artist's emotion or other factors, as much as some other styles of art. With its focus on portraying accuracy and objective reality, this type of art grew out of the 19th century, and was a reaction against Romanticism. Subject capture in realism often appear in working situations, whether struggling or not, and often in John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, Gustave Courbet and James Abbot McNeill Whistler.