Definition

1. Noun:
   • An artist who makes a deliberate break with previous styles: A person, especially in the arts, who consciously rejects traditional forms and techniques in favor of new and experimental methods. This term is often associated with the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
   • A supporter of modern ideas or methods: A person who advocates for modern thought, practices, or principles, often in contrast to traditional or conservative views.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Pablo Picasso is considered a key modernist who revolutionized painting.
  • The architect was a modernist, designing buildings with clean lines and industrial materials.
  • As a modernist, she challenged the conventional narrative structures in her novels.

Advanced Usage

• "High modernist": Refers to a period or style within Modernism, often the mid-20th century, characterized by a strong belief in progress, rationality, and universal truths in art and literature.
  • The poet was a leading figure of the high modernist movement.

Variants and Related Words

• Modernism (n): The movement or principles of modern art, literature, or thought.
  • Literary modernism sought to break from the past.
• Modernistic (adj): Relating to or characteristic of modernism.
  • The building had a modernistic design.

Synonyms

• Innovator: A person who introduces new methods, ideas, or products.
• Avant-gardist: A person who creates or promotes innovative ideas, especially in the arts.

Related Phrases

• Modernist movement: The collective activities and output of modernists.
  • She studied the Modernist movement in European art.

Noun

1. an artist who makes a deliberate break with previous styles