Western Modern Art In The African Elements

Like a lamp in the mist. African art brought hope and vitality for modern art of Europe, which was lost in the fog of traditional art in the20th century, unaware of future direction. People failed to make a breakthrough because the traditional art had reached a peak of perfection. It was then African sculpture, which was simple, primitive and filled with original odor, began to draw people’s attention in Europe. Contrast to delicate western classical art, this crude form of African art initially attracted the eyes of artists like Picasso and Matisse, who discovered the unique aesthetic value of African art, refined its form and applied it in their own art pieces, and eventually exerted great influence over a number of prestigious Western artists. This storm swept across the European continent and bred schools such as cubism and Fauvism in the world of art with Picasso, Matisse, Andre Derain, Henry Moore and Brancusi as the main force of innovation, constantly drawing nutrients from the crude African art.Taking African art as a starting point, contemporary artists developed their art forms in all possible directions. Learning from the art of Africa, they boldly changed their own artistic style and created art works with odor of the modern times and profound spiritual meaning, which represented an epoch-making stage of modern art. Therefore, the study of the influence of African art over western modern art has great significance in understanding western modern art and promoting the development of Chinese contemporary art.This thesis is divided into three parts, with Part2and Part3as the focus. Part1briefly introduces the definition and scope of African art, analyses the cause of emerging of African art in Western art and its influence over the development of European art. Using empirical analysis, Part2concentrates on comparison between art works of western contemporary artists and those of African artists, looking for traces of African art used in western art pieces so as to verify the effect of African art on modern art in the west. Part3is a conclusion, which reflects on the important role that African art has played in the development of western modern art.