19th Century ArtDuring the 19th century, a number of revolutionary changes forever altered the face of art and those who produced it. Compared to earlier artistic periods, the art produced in the 19th century was a mixture of restlessness, obsession with progress and novelty, and questioning, testing and incessant contestation of all authority. Old certainties about art gave way to new ones and all traditional values, systems and institutions were subjected to relentless critical analysis. At the same time, discoveries and inventions were progressing at an astonishing pace and making what was once impossible possible and real. But above all, old ideas quickly became obsolete, which created an entirely new artistic world highlighted by such extraordinary talents as Vincent Van Gogh, Eugène Delacroix, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec and Claude Monet. American painting and sculpture appeared around the 19th century. The art originated in Paris and other European cities. However, it became more popular in the United States around the 19th century. Nineteenth-century painting, still heavily influenced by the spirit of Romanticism, proved to be a much more sensitive medium for the kind of personal expression that could be expected from the artist's Romantic subjectivity. time. At the very beginning of the “modern period” stands the imposing figure of Francisco Goya (1746-1828), the great independent Spanish painter. Goya owes much to Velazquez, Rembrandt and the wonders of the natural world. He occupies the status of an artistic giant. His artistic range extends from the late Venetian Baroque through his brilliant impressionist realism to a late expressionism in which a dark and powerful distortion...... middle of paper ...... which contains subtle expression but explicit of two lovers kissing closely. In conclusion, 19th century art was comprised of a sequence of competing art movements that sought to establish its superiority, ideologies, and style within the European art community. These movements, namely Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, eventually spread far beyond the confines of Europe and made modern art an international entity that is still felt in the today's art world.Works CitedHolt, Elizabeth G. From the Classical to the Impressionists: Art and Architecture in the 19th Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1966. Needham, Gerald. Realistic art of the 19th century. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. Peillex, Georges. History of art: 19th century painting. New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964.