Earle T Merchant
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Portrait Paintings
Oil, Panel
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Textile, Wood
Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens
Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper
1970s Folk Art Portrait Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Acrylic, Pencil
20th Century Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
Wood, Terracotta
Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens
Silk, Glass, Wood, Paint
Early 20th Century American Paintings
Canvas, Wood
1910s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Board
Early 20th Century American Paintings
Paper
Mid-20th Century American Modern Paintings
Paint, Canvas
1920s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century American Modern Paintings
Canvas, Paint
Early 20th Century American Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 20th Century American Other Paintings
Canvas, Wood
20th Century Outsider Art Portrait Paintings
Gouache
Recent Sales
1960s Folk Art Portrait Paintings
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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