Figurative art
also: Figuration · Representational art
Figurative art is art that represents the visible world - above all the human figure, but also animals, objects and scenes - as opposed to abstraction or pure non-objective form. It is the oldest and broadest category of art, running from prehistoric rock painting to contemporary portraiture, and it spans every medium and degree of fidelity: some figurative art aims at near-photographic likeness, some distills the figure to a few signs. What unites the category is recognition: a viewer can tell what is being shown. Even in the twentieth century, when abstraction dominated theory, figurative painting and sculpture never stopped, and artists like Lucian Freud renewed its claim on psychological truth.
Defining characteristics
- Recognizably representational subjects: figures, faces, animals, objects
- Observable proportion and anatomy, however stylized or distorted
- Modeling of three-dimensional form through light, color and contour
- Narrative, portrait or observational content anchored in the visible world
- Range from near-photographic likeness to highly simplified schemata
Key figures
- Raphael (1483-1520) — High Renaissance master of idealized human figures and clear composition
- Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) — Spanish court painter whose observation of flesh and light set a standard for likeness
- Lucian Freud (1922-2011) — Late modern painter who rebuilt the figure through relentless, impastoed scrutiny
Example works
- Girl with a Pearl Earring — Johannes Vermeer (c. 1665)
- Christina's World — Andrew Wyeth (1948)
Sources
- Figurative art - Wikipedia encyclopedia