Marlena Nizio

Marlena Nizio studied painting under prof. Jerzy Nowosielski at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. She received her diploma in 1986. She was a holder of a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture in Arts (1987). Professor Nowosielski about Nizio, “Marlena Nizio studied painting in my atelier. Yet I did not expect such a strong hit, such a massive activity of the already shaped artistic vision, better to say, inborn, ready and absolutely independent. It even frightens me. When the beginning comes with something so complete and formed, what will be next? Where is the place for progress and maturation? But these are pedant questions. In front of artistic facts, such questions cannot be asked. One should be grateful for what is already been given to us because such moments of joy and satisfaction are rare in contemporary painting. The duty of a person writing for a catalog is to state the unquestioned fact. Someone already formed, enters our artistic life. Someone with a true and individual artistic vision, who does not have to search out for it because it is already given to that person. It is real beyond any doubts. It is a fact and artistic reality totally genuine. Everything we can do now sits and rejoice over it. In times so difficult for art, full of doubts about the future of painting, these pictures prove such forecasts wrong.”

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.