Transcript HISTORY OF THE FIGURE IN ART

HISTORY OF
THE FIGURE
IN ART
Throughout history people have shown
the figure in art many different ways.
These changes happen due to human
needs, styles and artistic expression
Early figure images served only
communication and religious purposes.
Later, portraits captured images of the
living. After the invention of the
camera, figure art became highly
creative and expressive.
Throughout history, figures are
represented as drawings, paintings,
and sculpture.
Sculpture achieved a realistic
appearance before drawings and
paintings of figures did.
However, drawing and painting was
used before sculpture to illustrate the
figure.
PREHISTORIC FIGURES
• Line drawings of figures in cave
paintings look similar to “stick
figures.”
• They were used to tell stories and
communicate before people had
developed a written language.
PRE-COLUMBIAN FIGURES
• Sculptures at this time
represented gods for worship and
ceremonies.
• Because man did not know what
gods looked like, these figures
were mostly stylized sculptures.
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
FIGURES
• Figure drawings were flat looking,
with heads and feet in profile,
while the body faced forward.
• Most important figures were
shown larger than others.
Profile head
Forward facing torso
Profile legs & feet
ANCIENT GREEK
FIGURES
• Figures were often used in
storytelling, especially mythology.
• Drawings on pots are still very flat
looking.
• Sculptures were becoming more
realistic, but they we still very stiff.
Storytelling on Ceramic Vases & Urns
Figures
from
Mythology
Stiff neck
Straight Rigid Arms
Straight legs & feet
ANCIENT ROMAN
FIGURES
• Figures were still used for
storytelling.
• Sculptures of the body now look
more 3D. They show the classical
“contraposto” pose. This means
their body is showing more
movement. They also have more
realistic looking cloth/fabric.
Very realistic figure sculpture
Eyes were blank or hollow
“Windows to the Soul”
Realistic looking cloth/fabric
“Contrapposto” Pose
MIDDLE AGES FIGURES
• Figure drawings were beginning
to develop a little more.
• They are mostly made to show
religious and medieval scenes
because their were many working
people who did not know how to
read.
There is still a
lack of
Perspective.
Everything in
the picture is
the same size.
Since they did not know
how to paint babies, you
will often see old looking
children.
RENAISSANCE FIGURES
• With the discovery of perspective,
figures had more realistic form.
• Figures continued to show religious
scenes, but also became popular as
portraits of wealthy patrons (people
who paid for pictures to be made).
• In time, portraiture was cheap enough
to even the middle class.
With more practice, the children
became younger looking
TH
18
CENTURY FIGURES
• Portraiture continued to be
popular, sometimes including
land, house, pet, or other prized
possession.
• Figure painting also provided
entertainment or delivered a
message.
“Robert Andrews and His Wife” by
Thomas Gainsborough
Children
now looked
like their
appropriate
young age
TH
19
CENTURY FIGURES
• The invention of the camera had a
profound effect on figures in art,
especially portraiture.
• Artists began painting “genre”
(figures in everyday life situations).
• Figure painting and sculpture
changed from realistic to more
impressionistic styles.
20TH CENTURY FIGURES
• Monuments were made to
immortalize prominent figures in
history.
• With artists now able to afford their
own materials, there are a wide
variety of art styles developed.
They show figures as abstract,
expressionistic, or realistic.
“Statue of Liberty” by Frederic Bartholdi
“Lincoln Memorial” by Daniel Chester
French
“Iwo Jima” Memorial by Felix de
Weldon