In art and painting, a style can refer to either the aesthetic values that are followed in the process of choosing what to paint (and how) or to the actual physical techniques that the artist uses in order to produce the painting. An aesthetic movement--such as Realism, Romanticism, Impressionism, or so on--can promote an entire world view, a way of interpreting reality and of deciding which parts of it are worth observing and/or emphasizing, as well as a sense of just how much the individual's emotions get to be expressed. Some of those movements are closely associated with certain techniques (Pointillism, for example) while others are more flexible in their choices, yet each one has a characteristic "look" that becomes more and more distinctive as it develops until it reaches a saturation point, thus paving the way for the next one.

Paintings can be grouped by certain characteristics. These characteristics usually come about when painters themselves either become disillusioned with what has gone before, see the world in a different manner, or otherwise change their view of what they are trying to express.

By changing the ways in which they paint, apply colour, texture, perspective or the way they see shapes and ideas the artist lays down a different set of "rules". Over a short period of time, if other painters see the rules as being valid for themselves they will also pick up the characteristics. The works then take on a similar form or "style". The artists themselves may give the style a name - "Expressionist" for example, or the style may be given a name such as "Abstract art". The name now determines the style of painting.