Figurative art could be said to be as old as art itself, portraying the human form from the time of the ancient Greeks through to romanticism and modernism and continuing to influence contemporary work today. But in particular the twentieth century can be seen as a period of time when much experimentation took place within the art world and the use of figure and form within art underwent a dramatic change from the traditional, to an acceptance of the more representational.
Figuratism allows for an element of stylisation, and can often be interpreted in terms of the cultural ideals and expectations of the times, thus allowing the artist to use the subject matter to reflect his or her ideas of beauty. The figurative style tends to stress the importance of shape, structure and perspective and places an emphasis on colour/tone and light/shade to form a representation of the real.
The style’s popularity and range mean an exhaustive list of well known practitioners are beyond the scope of this introduction, but some very well known names to give an indication of the breadth of the style would include; Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Tamara de Lempicka, Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Paul Gauguin Edvard Munch and Edgar Degas to name but a very few.
Some of our artists working in a figurative style would include; Richard Johnson, Gabe Leonard, Jennine Parker, Fabian Perez, Keith Proctor, Anna Razumovskaya, George Somerville, Sherree Valentine Daines, Jack Vettriano and Todd White.
