Europe Timeline
c. 28,000 BC–c. 16,000 BC
The 'Venus' of Willendorf is one of the most famous carvings from Europe's Palaeolithic period. Its extremely corpulent figure and emphasis on the female reproductive anatomy and lack of facial features have long inspired speculation that its function was as a fertility figure. Read more...
21,000 BC
Stylized female figurines made of mammoth ivory from Maltá, Siberia are representative of portable carvings found over a wide region stretching from Western Europe to North and Central Asia, suggesting cultural exchange over these vast areas. Read more...
c. 13,000 BC–c. 11,000 BC
The images of horses, bison, mammoth and other local animals painted on the walls of a cave at Lascaux are not only among the earliest known examples of painting found in Europe, but they are also striking for the keen observation and skilful rendering of their animal subjects. Read more...
c. 7000 BC
Small, portable carvings of animals such as elk, bear and wild boar are made in Denmark and southern Sweden of materials such as amber. Read more...
c. 5000 BC
The earliest known pottery in Europe, produced by the Linear Pottery culture in Central Europe, is decorated with incised lines, a technique that spread throughout much of Europe. Read more...
c. 3200 BC–c. 1600 BC
Stonehenge, the awe-inspiring circle of massive stones topped by lintels arranged according to astronomical configurations, is unique among Neolithic sites in Europe and was built and rebuilt in several phases. Read more...
c. 3000 BC–c. 2500 BC
Stones used to construct the Neolithic tombs at Newgrange, Ireland are decorated with an extensive array of complex geometric patterns. Read more...
2300 BC
Highly stylized white marble figurines, usually depictions of women with simplified geometric shapes for bodies and almost no facial features, are made on the Cycladic islands in the Aegean Sea. The stream-lined appearance of these statues has appealed to and influenced modern artists and viewers. Read more...
c. 2150 BC–c. 1300 BC
The massive Palace at Knossos on the island of Crete is built to serve political, economic, religious and social functions. The word labyrinth comes from the name given to the palace, with its complex layout, by Greek visitors. Reconstructed murals from the palace walls reveal the Minoan fondness for colourful and lively pictorial decoration. Read more...
c. 2000 BC–c. 1900 BC
Among the Minoan potters' finest achievements is the so-called Kamares ware, which is in demand throughout the eastern Mediterranean world. These utilitarian containers are characterized by colourful geometric patterns painted exhuberantly and dramatically against a black-slip background. Read more...
c. 1650 BC–c. 1450 BC
Two gold cups, made by Minoan craftsmen but found in a tomb at Vapheio near Sparta, are decorated with scenes of muscular bulls and heroes, creating a sense of power that is in contrast to the containers' diminuitive size. Read more...
c. 1500 BC–c. 1450 BC
A flask from Palaikastro, vibrantly painted in the Marine style, celebrates the Minoan civilization's close connection with the sea and the peak of their maritime power. Small sea creatures swim energetically in between the tentacles of a large octopus, which fan out over the surface of the flask. Read more...
c. 1400 BC–c. 1300 BC
A short wool skirt found in the grave of a young girl in Egtved exemplifies the practice of weaving in Bronze Age Denmark. Read more...
c. 1300 BC–c. 1200 BC
One of the most visually striking and technically complex works from Europe's Bronze Age is the ceremonial statue of a horse pulling a chariot bearing a gilded sun disk found in Trundholm, Sweden. Read more...
800 BC–700 BC
Vases by the Dipylon Master form one of the high-points in the development of the ancient Greek Geometric painting style. Set amid bands of key fret and geometric patterns are human figures, themselves reduced to abstracted assemblies of shapes. Read more...
c. 600 BC–ca. 520 BC
Greek sculptors create free-standing statues of striding, nude males (kouroi) that effectively convey volume, movement and heroic physiques. Read more...
c. 600 BC–c. 500 BC
Ancient Etruscans placed portraits of the deceased modelled in terracotta on top of their sarcophagi. These figures, which are painted and often depict a couple, are striking for their animation, individuality and cheerful expressions. Read more...
c. 540 BC–c. 520 BC
Exekias paints a drinking cup with a scene of the god of wine and merriment Dionysos in a boat surrounded by grapes and dolphins. The rounded sails suggest that they are being blown by the wind, which indicates a new sense of awareness of nature in ancient Greek painting. Read more...
c. 480 BC
The Kritios Boy reveals Greek sculptors first attempts to achieve a new degree of naturalism by accurately capturing the shift of weight that takes place throughout the human body when it moves. Read more...
c. 478 BC–c. 474 BC
The Delphi Charioteer is one of the most naturalistic bronze statues made in ancient Greece. The drapery of the young aristocratic driver is detailed and falls naturally, his body stands erect as he manoeuvres the reigns and his glass eyes are surrounded by eyelashes of fine pieces of bronze. Read more...
c. 450 BC–c. 440 BC
The great Greek sculptor Polykleitos develops a posture in which the statue stands in an asymmetrical pose with the body's weight on one leg, while still maintaining an overall sense of balance and stability. This posture, which is termed contrapposto, is described in the artist's Canon and demonstrated in such sculptures as the Doryphoros ('spear bearer'). Read more...
447 BC–432 BC
The Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, is built as the primary temple on the Acropolis. Constructed by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, the building is a marvel of mathematics and technology. Pheidias, the renowned sculptor and highly effective organizer, supervises and produces a complex sculptural programme of religious and historical scenes to ornament the temple. Read more...
c. 350 BC
Praxiteles sculpts Hermes Holding the Infant Dionysos and creates a marble image of the gods that is playful and lovingly interactive. The presence of a supportive strut and the style of Hermes' sandals suggests that the surviving statue is a later copy, which is how many 5th-century BC Greek masterpieces survive to the present. Read more...
c. 220 BC
The marble sculpture of the Dying Gaul, a dramatic image of a warrior succumbing to death and defeat, is one of the most poignant ancient works of art. While his thick hair and necklace identify his ethnicity, his powerful physique gives added credit to the invincible Roman army that killed him. Read more...
c. 200 BC–c. 33 BC
The Louvre's famous Nike of Samothrace is carved out of marble in Greece to celebrate the winged personification of Victory. Samothrace refers to the island on which the statue is discovered in 1863. Read more...
c. 150 BC–c. 120 BC
Many great ancient Greek masterpieces, such as the marble Venus de Milo in the Louvre, survive only as copies made by Roman craftsmen. When Greek statues and other works of art are imported into Rome, they spark such enthusiasm that local sculptors produce copies to satisfy market demands. Read more...
c. 100 BC
Mosaic-makers of Pompeii produce elaborately detailed pictures with millions of small marble pieces. The earliest examples are derived from Greek paintings, such as Philoxenos' 4th-century BC depiction of the Battle of Alexander the Great and Darius III. Read more...
c. 100 BC–50 BC
The Romans build an aqueduct that consists of three tiers of arches across the River Gardon in south-eastern France. This large bridge survives nearly intact today and is known as the Pont du Gard. Read more...
c. 75 BC
The Great Torc, a thick rope-like necklace made of gold and found in Snettisham, England exemplifies Celtic ornaments made of metal and decorated with elaborate geometric designs that may have been made for personal use or as an offering to the gods. Read more...
c. 75 BC
Ancient Rome's greatest amphitheatre, the elliptical Colosseum, is built to accommodate between 45,000 and 73,000 viewers for the gladiatorial games and contests between men and beasts. Read more...
c. 75 BC–50 BC
Romans honour respected members of society by commissioning and displaying their portraits in public places. These images, such as the marble statue of a wrinkled old patrician with a bulbous nose and worried expression, are usually extremely realistic. Read more...
c. 60 BC
Pompeii's Villa of Mysteries is decorated with wall paintings that use such painting devices as shading and perspective to create the illusion of mythological figures set among architectural elements. Read more...
c. 19 BC
Emperor Augustus effectively employs architecture and sculpture to legitimize and glorify his reign. His imposing statue at Prima Porta develops a new iconography in which small appliquéd images of deities and conquered enemies adorn his battle armour. Read more...
c. AD 5–c. AD 25
The Portland Vase is the best-known example of cameo glass from antiquity. Probably made in Rome from white glass overlaying deep blue glass, the romantic scene indicates the vase may originally have been a wedding gift. Read more...
AD 100–AD 200
Artisans in distant regions of the Roman Empire, such as Gaul and Britain, employ Roman techniques to make ornate and intricate silver tableware. Read more...
AD 113
Trajan's Column, set in the Forum of Trajan–Rome's largest forum–celebrates the victorious battles of Emperor Trajan with a long narrative of his military conquests that spirals up the surface of the column. Trajan himself is depicted 60 times in this visual history. Read more...
AD 118–AD 125
Emperor Hadrian commissions the building of the Pantheon to revere the Roman gods. This concrete structure, which is one of the chief accomplishments of Roman architects, consists of a circular domed temple and a rectangular entry porch. Read more...
AD 122–AD 128
Hadrian's Wall is constructed across 50 kilometres of the British countryside to defend the Roman Empire's northern frontier. Read more...
c. AD 150–c. AD 250
The painting of the Good Shepherd on the walls of the catacomb of Priscilla in Rome typifies the preference for scenes from the Old and New Testaments as decoration for early Christian places of burial and worship. Read more...
AD 161–AD 180
The bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius depicting the emperor astride his war horse exemplifies developments in Roman sculpture styles which exaggerate the subject's facial expressions and uses deeper carving to create effects of shading and light. Read more...
c. AD 300
The relief sculpture of the Tetrarchs, set into the corner of the façade of the cathedral of S Marco in Venice, is a study in political art. Echoing the royal perogative to wear purple cloth, the material used is porphyry, a purple stone imported from Egypt. The political unity of the four rulers of the Roman Empire is expressed by the hands that clasp each other, while their other hands hold their swords, representing their bravery and military might. Read more...
AD 313–AD 330
A basilica is built over the tomb of the apostle Peter in Rome to honour the Christian saint. Over the centuries St Peter's is greatly expanded beyond its origins as a place for common prayer and burial. Read more...
c. AD 400–c. AD 550
Taking advantage of stocks of elephant tusks and skilled craftsmen, Early Christian icons depicting saints and sacred narrative scenes are carved onto ivory plaques. Read more...
c. AD 425–c. AD 450
The Vatican Virgil is one of the earliest known Latin Bibles. Produced in Rome, the illustrations follow an illusionistic style and resemble Roman Christian mosaics of the period. Read more...
c. AD 450–c. AD 500
One of the earliest Christian basilicas in France is rebuilt on the burial and pilgrimage site of St Martin in Tours, replacing the original church constructed just after the death of St Martin in AD 397. Read more...
c. AD 450–c. AD 750
Glassmaking, having been established in France under the Romans, continues to prosper under the Merovingians, with such new forms emerging as the 'claw beaker' decorated with blobs of molten glass. Merovingian glass is exported widely and up until the 7th century AD these highly prized vessels are often included in burials. Read more...
c. AD 546–c. AD 547
Emperor Justinian and his retinue are shown in full majesty in the opulent mosaic on the walls of S Vitale in Ravenna. Justinian's rule, marked by enthusiastic art patronage, is considered the first golden age of Byzantine art. Read more...
c. AD 625
A high-ranking man is entombed in a burial-ship with an abundant supply of jewellery, metal vessels and armour. When this grave at Sutton Hoo in England is discovered in 1939 it provides one of the most important assemblies of early Anglo-Saxon art and trade goods. Read more...
c. AD 698
The Latin Lindisfarne Gospels are written and illustrated at a monastery on an island in Northumbria, England. The illustrations combine striking geometric patterns with figural images inspired by Mediterranean prototypes. Read more...
c. AD 750-c. AD 800
The Book of Kells is one of the most elaborately illustrated versions of the Latin Gospels produced in the British Isles and combines Christian iconography that originated in the Mediterranean region with a local fondness for exhuberant and dense decoration and colour. Read more...
AD 769-AD 787
Charlemagne builds a great palace complex in Aachen that reveals the strong influence of Roman architecture; a reflection of Charlemagne's political aspiration to be regarded as a Roman emporer. Read more...
c. AD 800
Monumental stones are incised with scenes of ships and battles at Gotland in Scandinavia. Related to Viking burial practices, these scenes are thought to represent the journey to the afterlife in Valhalla. Read more...
c. AD 880
The Carolingian Lindau Gospels are produced in Switzerland and covered with an elaborately decorated gold plaque inlaid depicting the Crucifixion and inlaid with gemstones. Read more...
c. 1000
The Gospels of Otto III are produced on the island of Reichenau, Germany. Included among the accomplished illustrations of New Testament text is a presumed portrait of the emperor. The cover is decorated with a Byzantine ivory plaque. Read more...
1037
The Cathedral of St Sophia in Kiev is founded. Modelled on Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, St Sophia's design diverges in the addition of 13 domes symbolizing Christ and his 12 apostles; a practice probably inspired by local Russian wooden architecture. Read more...
c. 1063
Doge Domenico Contarini orders the reconstruction of the basilica of S Marco to reflect the new wealth and power of Venice. This building's architecture and elaborate mosaic programme blends Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic features. Read more...
1066–1097
The Bayeux Tapestry is embroidered, probably in England, with an illustration of the Battle of Hastings. Not only is this textile an important early work of art but it is also a valuable historical document, as the military events are described in abundant detail. Read more...
c. 1080–1100
The awe-inspiring mosaic portrait of Christ Pantokrator in the central dome of the katholikon in Dafni, Greece presents a stern and powerful judge, as well as saviour, rendered in dark stones against a glimmering gold ground. Read more...
1088
The immense third church constructed at Cluny, mother church of the powerful Benedictine monastic order, sets a new standard of size in early Romanesque architecture. Read more...
c. 1125
Church porches, such as the one at St Pierre in Moissac, decorated with complex figural scenes are one of the primary innovations of Romanesque art and represent the earliest examples of large architectural sculpture in Europe since ancient times. Read more...
c. 1131
Painted by a Byzantine artist and taken to Kiev, the Virgin Eleousa, also called the 'Virgin of Vladimir', is one of the early icon paintings in Russia, establishing a tradition that continues long beyond the fall of the Byzantine empire in 1453. This painting is taken to Moscow in 1395 to protect the city from invasion by the Mongols. Read more...
c. 1150
King Suryavarman II builds the magnificent temple-mountain of Angkor Vat, dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and expressive of his own position as god-king. Read more...
1135
Reconstruction begins on the Saint-Denis Abbey Church, near Paris by Abbot Suger, transforming it into the first full example of Gothic architecture. This shrine, which is the burial place of the first bishop of Paris, becomes the main monastery, treasury and burial place of French royalty. Read more...
1163
Construction of the famed Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris begins. Eventually this soaring structure comes to epitomize Gothic architecture, boasts the first use of the architectural technique of flying buttresses and for a long time it is the tallest building in the Western world. Read more...
1174
An eight-storey bell-tower is built next to the cathedral in Pisa. Because it sits on marshy land, the tower begins to tilt during construction, which the architect tries in vain to rectify. Read more...
1194
After a fire in 1194, Chartres Cathedral is rebuilt. The elaborate programme of brightly coloured stained glass includes religious and historical scenes, as well as images of common people at work. Read more...
c. 1198
Master goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun creates the Three Kings' shrine, bringing a renewed interest in classicism to a structure made of exquisite gilded bronze, silver, gemstones and enamel. Read more...
1211
The exterior of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Reims is decorated with a great many sculptures, many of which depict the Virgin Mary, reflecting the increased attention being paid to the mother of Jesus. The sculptures reveal a heightened sense of movement and interaction that foretells the greater realism of later Gothic art. Read more...
1260–1280
Italian painter and mosaicist Cimabue paints Virgin and Child Enthroned in which he combines aspects of Byzantine painting traditions with an interest in volume and human emotions that influences later artists. Read more...
1294
The Cathedral of S Maria del Fiore in Florence, with its soaring dome and classical forms and construction techniques, is one of the earliest precursors of the Renaissance style in Italy. Read more...
1300–1400
In the frescoes he paints for the Arena Chapel in Padua, the Florentine painter Giotto develops a new naturalism and emphasis on emotion that exerts a strong and lasting influence. Read more...
1325–1328
The richly illustrated prayer book known as the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, is made for the use of the Queen of France during her daily private devotions. Read more...
1411
The Limbourg brothers begin the brilliantly coloured and highly detailed Très Riches Heures (Book of Hours) for the illustrious patron Jean, Duc de Berry. Left unfinished at the time of the deaths of the duke and the artists, it is completed by later masters. Read more...
1411–1427
Andrey Rublyov, one of Russia's most talented and influential religious painters, depicts three archangels with Abraham in his Old Testament Trinity. Read more...
c. 1427
Masaccio produces some of the earliest Italian Renaissance paintings, such as the frescoes painted for the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. His paintings incorporate classical proportions and express complex emotions. Read more...
1434
Jan van Eyck paints the full-length portraits of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, two of his wealthy patrons. An example of van Eyck's mature work, the painting is highly polished, full of symbolism and treats light and shadow in a sophisticated and consistent manner. Read more...
1436
Filippo Brunelleschi completes the ribbed dome of Florence Cathedral and creates a structure of unprecedented size and design. Read more...
1441
Angelo Borovier takes over the family glassmaking business in Murano, Italy and invents several new types of glassware, including cristallo, lattimo and chalcedony. Read more...
1452
Lorenzo Ghiberti, a versatile Renaissance artist and foremost bronze-caster of his day, completes his masterpiece the Gates of Paradise, the east doors of the Baptistery in Florence. In these panels Ghiberti not only develops a new form of pictorial narrative in low relief but also merges idealism and realism. Read more...
1456
Johann Gutenberg produces the first printed Bible using movable, metal type. Read more...
c. 1459
Drawing on a lifetime of studying Roman statues and observing the human form, Donatello casts his innovative statue of a nude David for his patron Cosimo de' Medici. Read more...
1469
Lorenzo 'the Magnificent' de' Medici assumes power in Florence and gathers to his court the period's best philosophers, poets and artists, including Botticelli and Michelangelo. Read more...
1470–1480
Martin Schongauer creates the Temptation of Saint Anthony and contributes significantly to the development of the art of engraving and its expressive potential as an artistic medium. Read more...
c. 1478
Sandro Botticelli paints Primavera, which draws its imagery from contemporary vernacular love poetry and is a manifestation of the learning and culture espoused at the court of Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence. Read more...
1484–1489
The current Cathedral of the Annunciation is built in Moscow and serves Russia's princes and later tsars. While incorporating a number of innovative features, the cathedral, with its brick domes and cross-shape layout, is typical of other churches built in the region during the period. Read more...
c. 1498–1550
Large, elaborately woven tapestries, such as the Lady and the Unicorn series, are made and used in great numbers during the late medieval and Renaissance periods to decorate and insulate castles and churches. Read more...
1500
Albrecht Dürer, one of Germany's most accomplished, versatile and influential artists, paints his last and most arresting self-portrait in which he presents an idealized version of himself and promotes the recognition of artists as creators rather than craftsmen. Read more...
c. 1500
Andrea Mantegna paints Dead Christ, a work ground-breaking in its use of dramatic foreshortening and overwhelming emotion. Read more...
1500–1507
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa, perhaps the world's most well-known painting. Leonardo combines expressive painting techniques with keen observation and attention to the human form and psyche to create one of the Renaissance period's most evocative portraits. Read more...
c. 1504
Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch paints the Garden of Earthly Delights, which employs fantastic and disturbing imagery to warn against the evils of human error. Read more...
1510–1512
Raphael, one of the foremost painters of the Italian Renaissance, executes for the private quarters in the Vatican the School of Athens, an intellectually complex fresco depicting an assembly of ancient sages. Read more...
c. 1512–1515
Matthias Grünewald paints panels for a sculpted altarpiece in the Chapel of Antonines at Isenheim, creating one of the most important paintings of the German Renaissance. The dark and contorted image of Christ is one of the most gruesome Crucifixion scenes. Read more...
1536
Hans Holbein the younger, the most important painter of the English court, paints several portraits of the Tudor royal family, including sumptuous and regal paintings of Henry VIII. Read more...
1536–1541
Michelangelo creates a striking and poweful representation of the human form when he paints the Last Judgement on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Read more...
1538
Titian, one of the most versatile artists of his time, paints the Venus of Urbino for the private rooms of his patron the Duke of Urbino. While the subject of Venus is drawn from classical mythology and her flawless appearance is idealized, her attitude, accoutrements and environment lends a human quality to the portrait that is erotic and worldly. Read more...
1540–1560
Agnolo Bronzino executes technically superlative, highly rational and refined portraits for his patrons, the most important of which is Cosimo I de' Medici. Read more...
1555–1561
Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) gives thanks for his military victories by building the Cathedral of St Basil. Dedicated to the eight saints whom he believed assisted him, the church consists of eight stone chapels around a central unifying tower. Read more...
c. 1568
Peter Bruegel the elder paints the Peasant Wedding, in which he describes with great attention to detail and fidelity a boisterous weddingfeast. Bruegel is among the first to emphasize daily life and seasonal landscapes over religious themes. Read more...
1586
El Greco's distinctive painting style reflects the diverse traditions that influenced him, notably the mystical quality of Byzantine religious paintings, the bold colour of Venetian art and the dynamic compositions of Roman Mannerism. His masterpiece, the Burial of Count Orgaz, combines these attributes in a complex and visionary scene. Read more...
1599
Caravaggio paints the Martyrdom of St Matthew and develops a bold style for religious paintings that creates three-dimensional settings for dramatic scenes that emphasize the humanity of saints and martyrs. Read more...
c. 1613
Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the earliest female artists to achieve recognition and influence, paints her best-known and most violent image, Judith Beheading Holofernes. She is especially well known for her dramatic history paintings. Read more...
1622–1624
The most famous sculptor of the 17th century, Gianlorenzo Bernini carves his Apollo and Daphne, in which he brings to life the moment that Daphne turns herself into a laurel tree to escape the affections of the pursuing god. Read more...
c. 1638
Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens paints The Garden of Love, one of his late and fully-realized pictures of a theme drawn from Classical literature set in a complex outdoor tableau. Read more...
1642
Rembrandt produces one of his most famous paintings, the 'Night Watch', in which he succeeds in rendering a commissioned portrait of local militiamen as an arresting historical drama. Read more...
1656
Working for the Spanish court, Diego Velázquez paints his masterpiece Las Meninas, in which he depicts members of the royal family, their attendants and himself with his characteristic acute sense of observation. Read more...
1665
Johannes Vermeer paints Girl with a Pearl Earring and imbues the portrait with delicacy and stillness, as well as emphasising the effect of light. Read more...
1669
Louis XIV orders the construction of a new palace at Versailles, outside Paris. The massive and ornately decorated buildings, myriad sculptures and lavish gardens all underscore the grandeur of the Sun King. Read more...
1737
The influential Salon is established in Paris at the Palais du Louvre and exhibits paintings and sculptures chosen by members of the Académie Royale. Read more...
1768
The Royal Academy of Arts opens in England and becomes one of the most important professional art schools and exhibiting galleries in Europe, introducing new artists to potential patrons and setting official standards. Read more...
1768–1772
Jean-Honoré Fragonard creates a series of technically accomplished figure paintings known collectively as figures de fantaisie, in which he sets models, many of whom were famous individuals, in settings with distinctive yet varied moods. Read more...
1793
The most important painter in 18th-century France, Jacques-Louis David, dramatizes the assassination of the revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat in his bath with a stark and cold portrait. Read more...
1794
English poet, painter and printmaker William Blake produces The Ancient of Days as the frontispiece of his illustrated epic poem Europe: A Prophecy. Blake combines his writings and pictures, which he calls 'illuminated printing', into philosophical and prophetic compositions. Read more...
1814
Francisco de Goya immortalizes the Spanish resistance to French occupation with Third of May 1808, in which he focuses the viewer's attention on the heroism and agony of those about to be executed by flooding them with a bright, white light. Read more...
1814
Grande Odalisque reveals Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres's exceptional ability to render the details and textures of the clothing and accessories that surround his models. Read more...
1819
Théodore Gericault depicts the horrendous events of a shipwreck in the Raft of the Medusa, an early Romantic composition that unflinchingly represents human suffering and man's struggle against the forces of nature. Read more...
1830
Depicting an actual historical event in an allegorical manner, Eugène Delacroix celebrates the heroism of a group of freedom-fighters in the July Revolution, a three-day battle calling for a republic. Ironically, Liberty Leading the People is later purchased by the aristocrat who is chosen to lead the constitutional monarchy. Read more...
1834
Honoré Daumier protests against the brutality of the French government with his lithograph Rue Transnonain. Throughout his career he paints and draws satirical cartoons and coldly observant depictions of the poor. Read more...
1837
Artist Louis Daguerre produces one of the first workable photographic processes, which he terms the daguerreotype. Read more...
1838
J. M. W. Turner completes his last masterpiece the Fighting Temeraire Tugged to her Last Berth to Be Broken up, which fully reveals his experimental painting techniques and belief that landscapes and seascapes could convey a wide range of ideas and emotions. Read more...
1849–1850
Giving expression to his own political views, Gustave Courbet paints a large composition of peasants and commoners presented frankly and directly in A Burial at Ornans. This is one of the compositions that leads to the development of Realism in French painting. Read more...
1857
When The Gleaners is displayed at the Paris Salon, Jean-François Millet is praised by some for the beauty and simplicity of the labouring rural women, while others condemn Millet for his stark image of poverty and his implied political challenge. Read more...
1863
Edouard Manet shocks Paris audiences with Déjeuner sur l'herbe, which places nude females in a frank and challenging setting with clothed men of leisure. This and other paintings condemned by the official Salon are exhibited in the newly established Salon des Refusés. Read more...
1864
Incorporating his ideas of nature, expressionistic brushwork and the effect of frequent travels throughout Europe, Camille Corot paints Souvenir of Mortefontaine. Read more...
1867
After trade is re-established in 1854, Japanese goods begin entering Europe. The World's Fair in Paris presents the first formal exhibition of Japanese arts and crafts in the West and inspires many European painters to develop new techniques and painting effects in a movement known as Japonisme. Read more...
1870–1873
Il'ya Repin, one of the foremost Russian Realist painters, creates his large work, the Volga Boatmen. While revealing the inhuman conditions under which the men toil, he celebrates their perseverance and ushers in a new Russian movement of genre painting. Read more...
1871
Auguste Rodin casts The Thinker as part of a commission for a museum that was never built. Meant to represent the great author Dante, the statue is made as part of the larger composition the Gates of Hell. Read more...
1875
James McNeill Whistler paints his famously expressive Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, which prompts the critic John Ruskin to describe Whistler as 'flinging a pot of paint in the face of the public'. Whistler successfully sues Ruskin only to be nearly bankrupted when he is awarded one farthing damages and faces huge legal costs. Read more...
1875–1883
Edward Burne-Jones, one of the second generation of Pre-Raphaelite artists, paints such works as the Wheel of Fortune, inspired by ancient tales and myths but with a modern, highly polished appearance. Read more...
1876
The modernity, gaiety and light that suffuses Auguste Renoir's Le Moulin de la Galette are all characteristics features of Impressionism. Read more...
c. 1876
Although he disliked the term, Edgar Degas is considered one of the founders of Impressionism. He is especially associated with depicting ballerinas in oils, pastels, bronze and clay. Read more...
1884
John Singer Sargent, the most fashionable painter in the USA and England in the late 19th century, paints a scandalous portrait, known as Madame X, of a famous Parisian beauty. Read more...
1884
Georges Seurat invents the technique known as Pointillism used in such paintings as La Grande Jette. His juxtaposition of minute dots that the eye blends together at a distance makes use of modern theories about colour. Read more...
1889
Vincent van Gogh paints one of his best-known and most expressive works, Starry Night. Read more...
1889
Engineers Gustave Eiffel and Maurice Koechlin construct a 300-metre-tall iron tower, which is now known as the Eiffel Tower, for the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Read more...
1891
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec produces his first poster of a Parisian nightclub, Moulin Rouge, La Goulue. This image immediately becomes popular throughout Paris and Toulouse-Lautrec's success helps increase the value of posters. Read more...
1893
Norwegian painter Edvard Munch paints The Scream, one of his highly emotional studies of fear, relationships and death. Read more...
c. 1893
Paul Cézanne, who is not very successful in his lifetime, seeks to add solidity to his images by emphasizing their geometric forms, a trait especially visible in his still-lifes. His challenge to the approach of the Impressionists ushers in the Post-Impressionist movement. Read more...
1897
Paul Gauguin summarizes his career by exploring the three ages of human life in Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? His subject of native women and their environment is based on his years living in Polynesia. Read more...
1908
Henri Matisse, the principal protagonist of Fauvism, paints Dinner Table (Harmony in Red). Read more...
1929
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the German architect, builds the German Pavilion for the Exposición Internacional in Barcelona, creating one of the most important buildings of the Modern Movement. Read more...
1931
Spanish Catalan artist Salvador Dalí paints landmark Surrealist painting, The Persistence of Memory. Read more...
1936
Meret Oppenheim creates the quintessential Surrealist work with Object, a fur-covered teacup that conveys the evocative yet uneasy effect of Surrealism. Read more...