What is early modernism in both literature and art?

Question:

What is early modernism in both literature and art?

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Well, it's a little tough to say. Different people mean different things when they use the word "modernism." But generally, early (or "emergent") modernism in literature would be things like the final stages of Naturalism (Dreiser, Zola, etc.) and early work by writers who would later enter the Modernist cannon like Woolf and Joyce. Baudelaire is pretty much the very earliest writer that you could call Modernist if you wanted to; his work shows many of the important themes of modernism. He writes about cities and life within them, and takes up many of later modernism's pet themes.

Anything identifiably post-Romantic could conceivably be called early modernist.

In the world of visual art, the Impressionists could be labeled early modernists. The case is not so solid as it is for post-Impressionist painters, however; C㩺anne is identifiably modernist in ways that Monet is not.

I'm not as familiar with music. I can tell when we've gotten to full-on modernism in Schoenberg and Stravisnsky, and I can tell when we're still in the Romantic movement with Rachmaninoff. But in between, I'm not sure where you would draw the line. Perhaps with the impressionists; Mussorgsky could be called an early modernist, I suppose.

Hope this helps. If you need more, I'd suggest looking up all of the names and movements I've mentioned in Wikipedia, plus the article on modernism.