Glossary: Avant-garde

The term "avant-garde" enshrines the idea that art should be judged on the quality and originality of the artists vision and ideas. Originally a French term, meaning in English, vanguard or the advance guard. This art is in the forefront of innovation and explores new forms and subject matter. The term first appeared in France in the first half of the nineteenth century and is usually credited to the influential thinker Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of socialism. In 1825 he wrote: 'We artists will serve you as an avant-garde… the power of the arts is most immediate: when we want to spread new ideas we inscribe them on marble or canvas". Avant-garde art can be said to begin in the 1850s with the Realism of Gustave Courbet, who was strongly influenced by early socialist ideas. This was followed by the successive movements of modern art, and today the term "avant-garde" might be replaced by "leading edge". Some avant-grade movements such as Cubism for example have focused mainly on innovations of form, others such as Futurism, De Stijl or Surrealism have had strong social programmes.