


George Baselitz, Three Stripes-The Painter in a Coat, 2005 Famed modern artists dabbled between abstraction and figuration, like Picasso and Giacometti, but the popularity of figurative art began to dwindle in the face of new revolutionary modes of art creation. Post-Impressionism followed exploring the natural forms through minimalized techniques like Pointillism. The need for hyper-realism faded as the Impressionists movement helped us see the world through a new lens of color and emotion. However, figuration began to change in the age of Modern Art, encouraging artists to question tradition. As a term, it has become commonplace to define this method of artistic creation in relation to the rise of abstraction.įiguration has been an ever present, if not primary, style of artistic production in the history of art. While this may not always be 100% true to life, figurative pieces base themselves in the reality of different forms, figures, and settings. So, what does figurative mean in art? We can understand figurative art as any artwork that attempts to recreate or model itself after something in the world. Jasper Johns, Alphabet, 1959 Figurative Art What Does Figurative and Abstract Mean in Art?īefore we dive into the visual qualities of both abstraction and figuration within contemporary art, let us take a moment to comprehend each of these terms and how they fit into the scope of art history. This article is here to help you understand the distinctive factors that make up abstract art versus figurative art and how these two styles appear in contemporary art. The duality spurs new trends, methods, and even divisive opinions on artistic methodologies. Today, the stylistic difference of abstract versus figurative remains a dividing categorization amongst artists of all mediums from painting and sculpture to even new technological mediums. This distinguishing element transcends contemporary art and stretches back through art history. One of the foundational elements of style to recognize is whether the work is abstract or figurative.


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