Art and the British Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Art and the British Empire - Essay Example Art has been defined in an amorphous way because it has always been in a state of becoming. This has been emphasized by the emergence of new form of art in the new media era with digital technology replacing the traditional art forms. In Britain, art is a combination of visual art that forms part of western history, and it is usually strong in portraiture and landscape. The prosperity of the British in the early 18th century led to the British art recapturing the place it had taken in the middle ages because of a surge in the production of decorative art and fine arts. In fact, the decorative art became an export commodity in the early 18th century. The romantic period was famous for artists such as William Blake, J. M Tuner, John Constable and Samuel Palmer displaying their remarkable talents in their artworks (Barringer, Quilley & Fordham 2007). There came the Victorian period when art was diversified and a larger quantity was produced compared to former times. At this time, there was a preference of Victorian art with interest on Pre-Raphaelites and the innovative movements that arose towards the end of 18th century. The end of the 18th century brought about intensified training of artists with the initiatives of the government and in the early 19th century, and there were museums opened to display works of art to the public. The display of religious art in the 19th century became popular and this led to the emergence of academic art. The contribution of British to the art at this time was minimal, but it gained impetus after the Second World War when artists emerged with contemporary art. They produced figurative artworks and since then, Britain is a key hub of an increasingly globalized art. This has increased the global audience for the British art, but some visual art remains low profiled and Britain has been attempting to raise the profile.