Art movements at a glance, from the Renaissance to Pop Art
Seventeen movements in one compact guide: when they happened, what they wanted, how to recognise them on a museum wall and which artists to look for first.
Tool
Art Style Finder
Six quick questions about how you like to look. The result points you to movements, artists and articles worth your time.
Taste is not a talent, it is a habit of looking. The six questions above are deliberately simple: they ask what you are drawn to in a room, in light, in surfaces and in subjects. Each answer adds weight to one of eight broad families of art, and the result shows the two that fit you best.
What the result means
A result is a starting point, not a box. Many people who love the calm of Vermeer also love the quiet of a large colour field painting, because both reward long looking. Use the suggestions to plan a museum visit: go to those rooms first, while your eyes are fresh, then wander.
Turn a result into a habit
Pick one work from your result and look at it for a full minute with our Slow Looking exercise. Then read about the artist. The combination of looking first and reading second is the most reliable way to develop your eye. If you plan to buy, our guide to a first artwork explains how to move from liking to living with art.
Questions
Is my result stored anywhere?
No. The Style Finder runs entirely in your browser and sends nothing to us. If you reload the page, it starts again. You can take it as often as you like, and many people find that their answers change after a few museum visits.
Read more
Behind the tool
How to look at a painting, a ten minute method for slow looking
Most of us give a painting less than half a minute. Here is a simple method that turns ten unhurried minutes into the best part of a museum visit.
Buying your first artwork, a calm guide from first look to delivery
Look a lot, set a budget, ask good questions and keep the papers. A practical walk through your first purchase, from the first gallery visit to the day the work is on your wall.