Towards the end of the nineteenth-century changes in the temperament of the social structure, and economic character of Europe caused artists to abandon previously held art-making conventions and instead seek to interpret the world in new and revolutionary means. 'More of an attitude than a specific style', the modernist ideology produced a series of groups who each interpreted the world in their own unique and distinctive styles that will never cease to influence contemporary artists. Characterized by the French term 'avant-garde' meaning advance guard; the nature of modernism represented what is modern is new, original, and cutting edge. Modernism began with the Impressionist's depictions of the fashionable bourgeoisie and radical means of painting fleeting light. Successive movements quickly emerged bringing their own unorthodox methods and artistic geniuses to the phenomenon, most notably; the faceted and fractured portrayal of life by Cubism; the bold brushstrokes of Fauvism; the revolutionary ideology of Futurism; and the consumerism orientated pop art movement.
             Culture is becoming more urban and less rural, an increasingly industrial world, the growth of secularism, and the freedom to experiment all contributed to the creation of the Impressionist movement and concurrently Modernism. Impressionism started in 1870 saw a zenith for around 20 years while the popularity of post-impressionism began to rise. Focused mainly in Paris, artists sought to interpret the world in a manner different from the traditional means of academic painting. Manet can be seen as the father of impressionism and was somewhat of a martyr attracting much antagonism of the official Salon and the critics as seen by the response to his painting Olympia, yet he was accorded the adulation of the young artists for his innovative and undeniably captivating style. Predominant artists who followed Manet included; Monet, who characteristically focused on the depic...