A Little Abstract Art – A Little History Too
Abstract art is art without a recognizable subject – works that don’t relate to anything external or aren’t trying to “look like” something. It’s the colors and the form that become the subject of the abstract work.
“We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.” – Salvador Dali
Abstract art is non-representational and subjective.
There are two basic types of abstract art – geometric and fluid.
Figurative abstractions (recognizable objects with no detail, leaving only the essence) and works of art that represent things such as emotion, sound, or spiritual experience are also considered abstract art.
“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.” – Pablo Picasso
In the early 20th century, Western art starting to break away from the idea that a painting had to actually represent something. During this time, art movements such as Cubism, Fauvism, and Impressionism broke the “rules” of art that painters had followed since The Renaissance.
The idea developed that color, form, line, and texture could themselves be the subject of the painting.
“Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know how to draw well, that you have a heightened sensitivity for composition and for colors, and that you be a true poet. This last is essential.” — Wassily Kandinsky.