Charles De Montfort

Charles Levier was born on January 26, 1920, in Corsica. He was the son of a French father and an American mother. He held a fascination with color and form that led him, at age 17, to the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris for private studies. World War II came along and Levier served in the French Army in North Africa, later becoming Liaison Officer with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services. Paintings by Levier can be found in countless private and public collections. Among those collectors are Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Adlai Stevenson, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Prince and Princess Poniatowski, Mrs. Dan Topping, Mr. and Mrs. Dean Martin and many others. Levier died in 2003.

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.