For many centuries, classical Western art was transmitted from generation to generation. Masters passed down their skills to disciples, who eventually became masters themselves, and so it continued. Over many generations, their techniques were honed to a high level of perfection.
This tradition lasted up to the 20th century, when it ceased all at once and artistic inheritance was replaced quickly by one “-ism” after another—impressionism, post-impressionism, and cubism, to name a few. What caused this radical transformation, and why is art changing at such a rapid pace today?
