HISTORY OF THE FIGURE IN ART

Throughout history, human figures have appeared in drawings, paintings, sculpture, and other art forms.

The figure in art has changed as human needs and artistic expression evolved. In the beginning figures in art were used only for communication and religious purposes. Later, portraits of important people, and then the middle class, became popular. After the invention of the camera, figures in art became very creative and expressive.

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

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN FIGURES (5000 BC-300 AD) 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

PRE-COLUMBIAN FIGURES (1800 BC-1500 AD) Figures were mostly stylized sculptures. Represented gods and other deities for worship and ceremonies.

Figure Drawings on a Codex

ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN FIGURES (500 BC-500 AD) Figures were often used in storytelling, especially mythology.

Storytelling on Ceramic Vases & Urns

Figures from Mythology Medusa Apollo & Hercules Zeus Poseidon Hermes

ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN FIGURES (500 BC-500 AD) Drawings were still flat looking, but sculptures were very realistic.

Very realistic figure sculpture

Eyes were blank or hollow “Windows to the Soul”

ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN FIGURES (500 BC-500 AD) Figure sculptures showed the classical “contrapposto” pose and realistic looking drapery.

“Contrapposto” Pose Realistic looking drapery

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

Mosaics & Tapestries

Illuminated Manuscripts

RENAISSANCE FIGURES (1400’s-1500’s) With the discovery of perspective, figures had more realistic form.

“School of Athens” by Raphael

“The Pieta” by Michelangelo

RENAISSANCE FIGURES (1400’s-1500’s) Figures continued in religious depictions, but also became popular as portraits of the clergy and wealthy patrons.

Jean de Montfort and Marie de Medici

RENAISSANCE FIGURES (1400’s-1500’s) In time, portraiture grew to include the middle class, often times using symbolism.

“Georg Gisze, A German Merchant in London” by Holbein the Younger

RENAISSANCE FIGURES (1400’s-1500’s) Children became younger looking.

NEOCLASSIC and ROMANTIC FIGURES ( 1700’s) Portraiture continued to be popular, sometimes including land, house, pet, or other prized possession.

“Robert Andrews and His Wife” by Thomas Gainsborough

“Miss Bowles and Her Dog” by Sir Joshua Reynolds Children now looked like their appropriate young age

NEOCLASSIC and ROMANTIC FIGURES ( 1700’s) Figure painting and sculpture provided entertainment or delivered an inspirational message.

“Watson and The Shark” by John Singleton Copley

“Napoleon Crossing the Alps” by Jacques- Louis David

19 th CENTURY FIGURES (1800’s) The invention of the camera had a profound effect on art, allowing it to change from realistic to more creative styles, like Impressionism and Post- Impressionism. Emphasized brush strokes and lighting to create an “impression” of the moment.

“Mother and Child” by Mary Cassatt IMPRESSIONISM

“Lady with a Parasol” by Claude Monet IMPRESSIONISM

19 th CENTURY FIGURES (1800’s) Genre (everyday life) scenes and portraits were popular.

“A Dance at the Moulin de la Galette” by Pierre Auguste Renoir IMPRESSIONISM

“Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat POST-IMPRESSIONISM

“Self Portrait with Felt Hat” by Vincent Van Gogh POST- IMPRESSIONISM

20 TH CENTURY FIGURES Monuments were made to immortalize prominent figures in history.

“Lincoln Memorial” by Daniel Chester French

“Mount Rushmore” by Gutzon Borglum

“Iwo Jima” Memorial by Felix de Weldon

20 TH CENTURY FIGURES Expensive portraits were usually only painted because of prestige.

“Pope John Paul II” by Nelson Shanks

“Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Boris Chaliapin

20 TH CENTURY FIGURES Figures were created in a wide variety of art styles, like Abstract, Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, and Pop Art.

“Smiling Face” by Jean Dubuffet ABSTRACT

“The Bride” by Marcel DuChamp ABSTRACT

“Recumbent Figure” by Henry Moore ABSTRACT

“The Scream” by Edvard Munch EXPRESSIONISM

“The Old Guitarist” by Pablo Picasso EXPRESSIONISM

“Portrait of Matisse” by Andre Derain FAUVISM

“Woman” by Maurice De Vlaminck FAUVISM

“Weeping Woman” by Pablo Picasso CUBISM

“The Three Musicians” by Pablo Picasso CUBISM

“Portrait of Picasso” by Juan Gris CUBISM

“Galatea of the Spheres” by Salvador Dali SURREALISM

“Golconda” by Rene Magritte SURREALISM

“Song of Love” by Rene Magritte SURREALISM

“Labels” by Keith Haring POP ART

“In the Car” by Roy Lichtenstein POP ART

“9 Marilyns” by Andy Warhol POP ART