

Primitive paintings may be those created by artists outside academic circles. Primitivism may have a different meaning in the visual arts from that in music.

Impressionism is principally a French phenomenon, although Spanish, Italian, and American composers contributed important examples. Composers, most notably Claude Debussy, sought to translate these ideals into musical expression. Poets sought to write poems rich in ambiguous imagery.
#Neoclassical compositions are characterized by plus
Painters explored the idea that the ways that external objects "really" look depends upon conditions of light and weather, plus the state of mind of the observer. Impressionism and Symbolism sought to avoid explicit "meaning" in painting and poetry.Each of these three attitudes can be seen as extensions of some aspect of Romanticism, and they thus form an appropriate bridge to the 20th century. All three ideas are borrowed from literature and the visual arts, especially painting. They are Impressionism and the related literary attitude of Symbolism, Primitivism, and Expressionism. The early part of the 20th century features three important artistic attitudes. Tonal music continued to be written (and continues today) however, the practice has become a matter of choice rather than an unstated assumption. One of the most important technical developments that took place in late 19th century music was the gradual breakdown or dissolution of the system of tonality that had been an implicit aspect of Western European music since the beginning of the Baroque period. Although we might reasonably draw the boundary line between 19th century music and that of the 20th century at the beginning of World War I (1914), important developments took place well before that date.
