Representational & Nonobjective Art                      Representational & Nonobjective Art A Look Into Subject Matter

Representational Art Representational Art – Any work of art that seeks to resemble the world of natural appearance. Some examples of representational art are – landscape, portrait, and still life.

Still Life Still Life – The subject matter category where the main purpose of the art work is to show inanimate objects. The arrangement of such things as food, plants, pots, pans, and other inanimate objects.

Still Life with Three Puppies, 1888 by Paul Gauguin, the Museum of Modern Art, NYC. This was painted by Gauguin the same year he lived with van Gogh.

Still Life with Peppermint Bottle – Paul Cezanne 1890-94 (140 Kb); Oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Portrait Portrait – A subject matter category in which the main purpose of the art work is to communicate a likeness of an individual or group of individuals. The image of a person, especially of the face. It can be made of any sculptural material or any two-dimensional medium.

Elaine de Kooning Portrait of John F Elaine de Kooning Portrait of John F. Kennedy, 1965 Watercolor on paper 18" x 15"

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Lady Sewing 1879 (60 Kb); Art Institute of Chicago

The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull (Capitol mural, Washington D.C.)

Landscape Landscape – A subject matter category in which the main theme of the work is natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and lakes. A painting, photograph, or other works of art that shows natural scenery such as the ones noted above.

Poplars along the River Epte, Autumn 1891 (260 Kb); Oil on canvas, 100 x 65 cm (39 3/8 x 25 5/8 in); Private collection

The Gulf of Marseille Seen from l'Estaque c The Gulf of Marseille Seen from l'Estaque c. 1885 Artist: Paul Cézanne (French 1839-1906) Medium: Oil on Canvas; Dimensions: Unframed: 73 x 100.3 cm (28 3/4 x 39 1/2);

Nonobjective Until the nineteenth century, artists made use of recognizable images in their works. This approach changed when artists began to alter the appearance of the objects they painted. For example, Cezanne painted jugs with openings that were too large.

Nonobjective, Cont’d. Gauguin created crimson trees and rocks. Matisse stripped unnecessary details from the figures and objects in his pictures. By the beginning of the 20th century, more and more artists were veering away from literal interpretations of subject matter to focus attention on the formal qualities in their art.

More Nonobjective Eventually, some of these artists came to feel that the presence of recognizable figures and objects in their works weakened their designs. Their solution? Remove the figures and any other objects that might interfere with the artist’s desire for a unified and visually appealling design.

Abstract Abstract – Art that looks as if it contains no recognizable form. The main intent of this type of painting is an effort to show feelings and emotions.

Autumn Rhythm by Jackson Pollack

Wassily Kandinsky About two years after Munch painted The Scream, a 29 year-old Russian lawyer strolled into an exhibit of French Impressionist paintings in Moscow. His name was Wassily Kandinsky. He was overwhelmed by the paintings, particularly one by Claude Monet.

Kandinsky After two hours, he left the exhibit with reluctance. He finally left his career and went to Munich, Germany, to study painting. In 1900, five years after his visit to the exhibit, he received his first diploma from the Royal Academy in Munich.

Kandinsky He tried several types of styles, but they did not seem genuinely original to him. He turned away from these outside influences and listened to his own instincts. A year later, he finished a watercolor painting that changed the course of art history…

Kandinsky It was brightly colored and may have been based on some earlier landscape studies. Most important, no subject matter could be seen in the work…

A Definition… Nonobjective – A style that employs color, line, texture, and unrecognizable shapes and forms. These works contain no apparent references to reality.

Kandinsky’s Belief Kandinsky believed that a painting should be the “exact duplicate of some inner emotion” and like musical sounds, could be arranged to communicate emotions and feelings. He, like many others, relied on nature for all of their ideas and images as they had in the past.

1912 Oil on canvas 43 7/8 x 63 7/8 inches (111.4 x 162.1 cm) Improvisation 28 1912 Oil on canvas 43 7/8 x 63 7/8 inches (111.4 x 162.1 cm)

Cubism Cubism - A 20th century art movement developed by Picasso and Braque in which the subject matter is broken up, analyzed, and reassembled. A style of painting in which artists tried to show all sides of 3-dimensional objects on a flat canvas.

Pablo Picasso’s Guernica