Persian Polo
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Paintings
Ink, Tempera, Laid Paper
People Also Browsed
Antique Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Taxidermy
Other
Mid-20th Century Indian Agra Paintings and Screens
Paper
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Paintings
Gold Leaf
Antique 18th Century Unknown Paintings
Paper
Mid-20th Century Indian Agra Paintings and Screens
Wood
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
Antique Mid-18th Century Chinese Chinese Export Tapestries
Gold, Silver
18th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Tempera
Mid-20th Century Asian Moorish Paintings and Screens
Shell, Mother-of-Pearl
20th Century American Neoclassical Patio and Garden Furniture
Iron
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Paintings
Ink, Tempera, Laid Paper
Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Vases
Porcelain
Antique 18th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Paintings
Paper
15th Century and Earlier Renaissance Portrait Paintings
Tempera, Panel
16th Century Mannerist Portrait Paintings
Oil, Panel
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Han Antiquities
Terracotta
Recent Sales
Early 20th Century Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Pigment
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Paintings
Ink, Tempera, Laid Paper
19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Paintings
Ink, Tempera
1930s Academic Figurative Paintings
Egg Tempera, Board
1920s Art Deco Figurative Paintings
Oil
1930s American Modern Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
Finding the Right figurative-paintings for You
Figurative art, as opposed to abstract art, retains features from the observable world in its representational depictions of subject matter. Most commonly, figurative paintings reference and explore the human body, but they can also include landscapes, architecture, plants and animals — all portrayed with realism.
While the oldest figurative art dates back tens of thousands of years to cave wall paintings, figurative works made from observation became especially prominent in the early Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance masters created naturalistic representations of their subjects.
Pablo Picasso is lauded for laying the foundation for modern figurative art in the 1920s. Although abstracted, this work held a strong connection to representing people and other subjects. Other famous figurative artists include Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Figurative art in the 20th century would span such diverse genres as Expressionism, Pop art and Surrealism.
Today, a number of figural artists — such as Sedrick Huckaby, Daisy Patton and Eileen Cooper — are making art that uses the human body as its subject.
Because figurative art represents subjects from the real world, natural colors are common in these paintings. A piece of figurative art can be an exciting starting point for setting a tone and creating a color palette in a room.
Browse an extensive collection of figurative paintings on 1stDibs.
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