Sunday, September 28, 2014

About Figurative And Genre Art

By Elsa Noel


Once upon a time, the Academy had special systematization of genres, especially in painting. History painting was the most appreciated theme, followed by portraits, landscape and still life. One of these genres was genre art. The easiest way of describing this genre is that it usually presents people doing something they usually do every day. Figurative and genre art can both picture people and animals in different life situations.

Figurative art is best described as artworks that obviously represent something that exists in the real world. This art usually has volume, shape, perspective and structure, and this is achieved using colors and lines, different materials and techniques, depending on the particular artist. All techniques and medias are accepted, but the subject is something that comes from the real world.

When it comes to painting, the form can be really simplified, and it would still be figuratism. Unless it is abstract. Generally, it can be said that all artworks created before fist abstract forms are considered as figuratism. After that, if it is based on the real world and recognizable, this form is figurative. If you cannot recognize the subject of this particular work, it is probably something abstract.

It doesn't matter what media is used. All are accepted, including oil, watercolor and pastel. People are the main subject, whether they have their clothes or not. Of course, some artists are more interested in describing particular emotions or moods, while others might be more focused on reality. Generally, all portraits that are recognizable are certainly figurative artworks.

The best example for this art-form is expressionism, but all other types can also be considered as figuratism, as long as they aren't abstract. For example, cubism. Although it belongs to abstract form, numerous artworks are actually figurative. Picasso is the best example for this. Although his artworks can sometimes be really distorted, you can still recognize the main subject. There are no special limitations.

So, there are two poles of figurative art. On one side there is the photo realism, where everything has to be exactly as it really is. Other extreme is almost unrecognizable figuration, which is nearly abstract. Cubism is a very good example of this second extreme. Take for example Picasso's work. When it comes to his analysis of woman's face, it doesn't look exactly as a face, but you can tell that it is.

Contemporary figurative art is really rich and imaginative. There are several interesting authors that deserve to be mentioned here, for example, Johan Van Mullem, Jas Knight, Marlene Dumas and others. Of course, you shouldn't forget to check Jenny Saville and John Currin. They all have very different approaches to their art, but you will be surprised how interesting and by all means valuable these artworks are.

Different abstract art forms popular in twentieth century made figurative arts a little bit neglected. They tried to improve the art. In the eighties, this forgotten art form became popular again, thanks to numerous enthusiasts such as John Currin. Contemporary figurative art reflect modern world and definitely has something to offer. Maybe art cannot be improved, but it can offer something new and exciting.




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