Albert Besnard On Sale
Late 19th Century Impressionist Figurative Prints
Drypoint, Etching
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1890s Portrait Prints
Drypoint, Aquatint
1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints
Gold Leaf
1850s Modern Figurative Prints
Etching
1990s Impressionist Figurative Prints
Aquatint
1920s Prints and Multiples
Linen, Paper, Lithograph
1890s Impressionist Figurative Prints
Drypoint
1960s Modern Landscape Prints
Etching, Aquatint
19th Century Impressionist Portrait Prints
Drypoint, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Baroque Figurative Paintings
Wood, Oil, Spray Paint
1870s Impressionist Figurative Prints
Drypoint, Etching
18th Century Animal Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1910s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1930s Symbolist Figurative Prints
Etching
Vintage 1960s American Post-Modern Paintings
Paint
Mid-19th Century American Impressionist Figurative Prints
Drypoint, Etching
2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
A Close Look at Impressionist Art
Emerging in 19th-century France, Impressionist art embraced loose brushwork and plein-air painting to respond to the movement of daily life. Although the pioneers of the Impressionist movement — Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir — are now household names, their work was a radical break with an art scene led and shaped by academic traditions for around two centuries. These academies had oversight of a curriculum that emphasized formal drawing, painting and sculpting techniques and historical themes.
The French Impressionists were influenced by a group of artists known as the Barbizon School, who painted what they witnessed in nature. The rejection of pieces by these artists and the later Impressionists from the salons culminated in a watershed 1874 exhibition in Paris that was staged outside of the juried systems. After a work of Monet’s was derided by a critic as an unfinished “impression,” the term was taken as a celebration of their shared interest in capturing fleeting moments as subject matter, whether the shifting weather on rural landscapes or the frenzy of an urban crowd. Rather than the exacting realism of the academic tradition, Impressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings represented how an artist saw a world in motion.
Many Impressionist painters were inspired by the perspectives in imported Japanese prints alongside these shifts in European painting — Édouard Manet drew on ukiyo-e woodblock prints and depicted Japanese design in his Portrait of Émile Zola, for example. American artists such as Mary Cassatt and William Merritt Chase, who studied abroad, were impacted by the work of the French artists, and by the late 19th century American Impressionism had its own distinct aesthetics with painters responding to the rapid modernization of cities through quickly created works that were vivid with color and light.
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Finding the Right figurative-prints-works-on-paper for You
Bring energy and an array of welcome colors and textures into your space by decorating with figurative fine-art prints and works on paper.
Figurative art stands in contrast to abstract art, which is more expressive than representational. The oldest-known work of figurative art is a figurative painting — specifically, a rock painting of an animal made over 40,000 years ago in Borneo. This remnant of a remote past has long faded, but its depiction of a cattle-like creature in elegant ocher markings endures.
Since then, figurative art has evolved significantly as it continues to represent the world, including a breadth of works on paper, including printmaking. This includes woodcuts, which are a type of relief print with perennial popularity among collectors. The artist carves into a block and applies ink to the raised surface, which is then pressed onto paper. There are also planographic prints, which use metal plates, stones or other flat surfaces as their base. The artist will often draw on the surface with grease crayon and then apply ink to those markings. Lithographs are a common version of planographic prints.
Figurative art printmaking was especially popular during the height of the Pop art movement, and this kind of work can be seen in artist Andy Warhol’s extensive use of photographic silkscreen printing. Everyday objects, logos and scenes were given a unique twist, whether in the style of a comic strip or in the use of neon colors.
Explore an impressive collection of figurative art prints for sale on 1stDibs and read about how to arrange your wall art.