The term modern art becomes more and more confusing. The definition of "modern" is "of the present or recent times”. Artists of the Renaissance have already applied as well modern to their work, because it was also coming new. Otherwise in our current time, Modern Art “involves the attitudes and characteristics of our modern world”. Art becomes more increasingly open minded and it surely could not be more. Visiting the Tate modern museum we can see many artworks on the 3rd floor and they are all so varied. It is interesting to understand what really means the appellation modern art, trying to establish a distinction with other types and periods. Because this term is really vague, the purpose of this essay is, anything can be Modern Art. To discuss it, in a first part the technical term of modern art will be explained and currants of art which belong to, distinguished from others. In a second part we will see the typical use of this term nowadays, accompanying this work with Tate's modern artwork.
Modern art according to art historians is not an artistic movement but a period including « artistic works produced from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era". A label created in 1939 by the important American art critic Clement Greenburg. Many artistic movements had taken places during it: they are counting at seven (Expressionism, Impressionism, Formalism, cubism, surrealism, Pop art and Abstract Expressionism). As an example from the Tate Modern, there is the portrait of Greta Moll painted by Henri Matisse which belongs to fauvism style. Fauvism « works emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism ».Fauvism come from the French, les fauves (the wild beasts) because of his bestial side catching at first sight. So, in this sense it is all the work made during this period which marks the difference with older types as classical school