The general term of modern art is applied to most of the artwork to appear from the late 19th century to approximately the Seventies, though this is merely in reference alone, and more recent work is termed under contemporary or postmodern art. Such terms often are only deeper subdivisions among the more critical aspects of the artistic establishment, and refer to the approach to art where it was no longer necessary to represent a subject realistically, but the invention of photography made this function of art obsolete.

Artists began experimenting with new ways of seeing things with fresh ideas of nature and materials relating to the function of art, and often incorporating abstraction as means through which to express concepts, the idea of modern art is often linked to the movement of Modernism. By the end of the Nineteenth Century, Impressionism and Expressionism were the movements of dominance, and had influences derived from a varied stewpot of things such as Japanese printmaking and other Eastern artworks. The rich history with which modern art has been propelled through the timelines has certainly made it a feature of the artistic experience.