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
Hermes
Zeus
Poseidon
Medusa
Apollo & Hercules
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.
Realistic looking drapery
“Contrapposto” Pose
MIDDLE AGES FIGURES
(400-1500)
• 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
JacquesLouis David
19th 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 PostImpressionism.
• Emphasized brush strokes and lighting
to create an “impression” of the
moment.
IMPRESSIONISM
“Mother and
Child” by
Mary Cassatt
IMPRESSIONISM
“Lady with a
Parasol”
by Claude Monet
19th CENTURY FIGURES
(1800’s)
• Genre (everyday life) scenes and
portraits were popular.
IMPRESSIONISM
“A Dance at the Moulin de la Galette”
by Pierre Auguste Renoir
POST-IMPRESSIONISM
“Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La
Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat
POSTIMPRESSIONISM
“Self Portrait
with Felt Hat”
by
Vincent Van
Gogh
20TH 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
20TH 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
20TH CENTURY FIGURES
• Figures were created in a wide variety of
art styles, like Abstract, Expressionism,
Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, and Pop
Art.
ABSTRACT
“Smiling Face”
by
Jean Dubuffet
ABSTRACT
“The Bride”
by
Marcel DuChamp
ABSTRACT
“Recumbent Figure” by Henry Moore
EXPRESSIONISM
“The Scream”
by
Edvard Munch
EXPRESSIONISM
“The Old Guitarist”
by Pablo Picasso
FAUVISM
“Portrait of
Matisse”
by Andre Derain
FAUVISM
“Woman”
by
Maurice De
Vlaminck
CUBISM
“Weeping
Woman”
by
Pablo Picasso
CUBISM
“The Three
Musicians”
by Pablo
Picasso
CUBISM
“Portrait of
Picasso”
by Juan Gris
SURREALISM
“Galatea of
the Spheres”
by
Salvador Dali
SURREALISM
“Golconda” by Rene Magritte
SURREALISM
“Song of Love” by Rene Magritte
POP ART
“Labels” by Keith Haring
POP ART
“In the Car” by Roy Lichtenstein
POP ART
“9
Marilyns”
by
Andy
Warhol