To the middle Ages, the religion plays an essential role. The masterpieces of the art of the middle Ages are the cathedrals: the most beautiful example is Notre Dame of Paris. It is as at that time as the birth of the French literature occurs: one gives up little by little Latin to write in French. One creates the first universities (Sorbonne). The 16th century, or century of the Rebirth, is marked by the Italian influence.
The kings of France invite Italian painters at the Court (most known is Leonardo de Vinci). The religion loses its influence, and a greater place is made with the human being (humanistic philosophy), under the influence of the art and the philosophy of ancient Greece, which were rediscovered in Italy. The kings rest in the Loire château (Amboise, Chambord...), which are decorated by Italian artists, and even the gardens are... "A l’ Italienne ": for example, in Paris, the royal garden ofTuiliries
THE 17th century is characterized by classicism. Under the influence of the Descartes philosopher, and principles of old Greek art, the classic art prefers the reason, the order, balance. The most beautiful example of the classical architecture is the Castle of Versailles, with its gardens "A La Française". The 17th century is also the century of the French theatre. The King invited the actors in Versailles to amuse the Court.
18th IT is TO THE century that the class of the middle-class starts to be interested in art. This century is especially known like the century of the lights: the writers become philosophical to make think the French of the major political and social problems. Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, express the new values of the intellectual middle-class. These philosophers mark the birth of the modern ideas: has democracy and the human’s right. They thus influence all the European culture and, in France, the social movement and policy which leads to the Revolution
The Romanticism dominates THE 19EME CENTURY. This new power gives the priority to the individual, to the dream, the report/ratio of the human beings and nature, but also with the nostalgia of been on and the difficulty in living. This is why the 19th century is the century of poetry. The poets like Victor Hugo or Baudelaire open the time of modern poetry, and are considered among the largest French poets.
IN PAINTING, the most significant movement of the century is Impressionism, still very appreciated nowadays. One can see the tables of Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir or Cézanne with the Museum of Orsay, Paris.
In architecture, a great innovation marks the end of the century: the Tower Eiffel (1889) is built, which will become the symbol of Paris. It should not be forgotten that the Romanticism deeply influenced all the artistic styles and even all the world culture, and that its topics (importance of the individual, the dream and the sensitivity, badly of living) continue to influence still today all the countries of the world, of the cinema to the press, mentalities to the policy
To the 20TH CENTURY, the art is influenced by the psychoanalysis and the discovery of unconscious (Freud), but also by the Marxism, and develops in all the directions. It is the time of abstracted painting, as in the peintings of Picasso. Architecture uses the new materials (glass, metal, plastic), like the Beaubourg Museum or the Pyramid of the Louvre
THE LITERATURE is very varied, it is impossible to speak about it here, but one can point out the names of Camus, Sartre, and Marguerite Duras
THE thEAtre is influenced by the psychoanalysis and the experiment of the world wars: it is the "theatre of the absurd" (Becket, Ionesco), whose success continues nowadays. After the 17th century, our century is the most significant time for the French theatre. New Art appearing at the 20th century: photography and especially the cinema
THE cinEma is more intellectual than the American cinema, month ago of films of action, hands it is a cinema of quality, with large directors like Rene Clair, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, etc. And also the actresses (Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Sophie Marceau, etc.) And the actors (Alain Delon, Gerard Depardieu, Christophe Lambert, etc).
France is one of the first producers of cinema in the world, and the Festival of Cannes gives an example of the international influence of the French cinema. Even the Americans copy French films, for example "Three Men and a Baby", or "Nikita"