The Figure in Art The Genre Throughout Art History

The representation of the figure in art changes as human needs and artistic expression evolved. 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. However, drawing and painting used modern art styles to illustrate the figure before sculpture.

PREHISTORIC FIGURES Line drawings of figures, similar to “stick figures.” Told stories and communicated before written language.

Human figure from Ain Ghazal, Jordan c. 6, ,250 BCE plaster, painted and inlaid with cowrie shell and bitumen Early depictions of the human figure were simple abstractions of form.

Venus of Willendorf c. 28, ,000 BCE Limestone, 4 3/8 in. high This shape suggests abundant fertility and a plentiful supply of food--the two most important needs of any society. These types of figures were common in prehistoric times. The early artists who made such figures were nomadic--moving around to find better food, shelter, and weather conditions. These small sculptures were made from available materials and were small enough to carry.

PRE-COLUMBIAN FIGURES Figures were mostly stylized sculptures. Represented gods and other deities for worship and ceremonies.

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.

Egyptians were probably the first group to develop a canon of proportions for their image of the ideal human form. The ratios between a figure’s height and all of its component parts were clearly prescribed. This cannon set the height of the human body from hairline to heel at 18 times the width of the fist.

Profile head Forward facing torso Profile legs & feet

ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN FIGURES Figures were often used in storytelling, especially mythology. Drawings were still flat looking, but sculptures were very realistic.

Storytelling on Ceramic Vases & Urns

Figures from Mythology

Greek artists eventually created a classical standard, defined by a cannon of proportion which may have used the height of the head as a measure for judging the human form. A male was thought to be about eight heads tall. Lysippos, The Scraper Roman copy after the original bronze of c. 330 BCE Marble, height 6 ft. 9 in.

Celebrated for their mastery of sculpture, Greek artists introduced contrapposto--a way of representing the human body so that it’s weight appears to be borne on one leg, in a natural stance, rather than stiff pose.

MIDDLE AGES FIGURES Figures were beginning to develop a little more in form. Used in picturing religious and medieval scenes.

Lack of Perspective

Old looking children

RENAISSANCE FIGURES With the discovery of perspective, figures had more realistic form. Figures continued in religious depictions, but also became popular as portraits of the clergy and wealthy patrons. In time, portraiture grew to include the middle class.

Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Marie de Medici

Children became younger looking

A group of artists in Italy developed a style around 1520 CE called Mannerism. Is was a way of distorting the figure to enhance the emotional impact of a painting.

Caravaggio Entombment Chapel of Pietro Vittrice, Santa Maria in Vallicella Rome, Italy c. 1603, oil on canvas 9 ft. 10 1/8 in. x 6 ft. 15/16 in. The Baroque and Rococo periods brought with them another dose of drama, not unlike the Hellenistic period of Greek art. Things were exaggerated, lighting was dramatic, and figures were frequently contorted into active poses.

19 TH 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.

“The Doves” by Richard MacDonald

As we entered the 20th century, modernism gave way to all kinds of experimentation in figural art as in all art. Clockwise from top left: Umberto Boccioni, Pablo Picasso, Henri Moore, Egon Schiele, Lucian Freud, Alice Neel

20 TH CENTURY FIGURES Monuments were made to immortalize prominent figures in history. A wide variety of art styles create figures that are abstract, expressionistic, or realistic. Expensive portraits are usually only painted because of prestige.

“Lincoln Memorial” by Daniel Chester French

“Iwo Jima” Memorial by Felix de Weldon

Current Trends in Figurative Work Zach Johnson

Kehinde Wiley

Silhouettes Kara Walker