Rulers of Modern Art

12" Wooden Ruler made in U.S.A. of American-grown basswood. Modern art is widely understood to encompass art created between approximately 1860 and 1970. Before that time, art was often commissioned, whereas in the second half of the 19th century, artists began to create art based on personal experiences and choices of topics. The rapid changes in technology that occurred in this period had a profound effect on artists thus liberated. Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was original in using repetitive brushstrokes and planes of color to build up complex areas in his paintings. Both Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) are supposed to have said that Cézanne "is the father of us all". Many of the artists on our ruler are painters, but we also feature several sculptors, including Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966). Photography is represented by Man Ray (1890-1976), born Emmanuel Radnitzky in 1890 in Philadelphia, and several of these artists, including