Francisco de Goya, Capricho 10: Love and Death, 1797-1799 (plates created), aquatint, 29.9 x 20.8 cm, 5th edition (1881-1886). Work available in our Art Shop
Choosing between a figurative and an abstract work is often one of the first decisions for someone starting a collection. Some people immediately connect with a recognizable face, scene, or figure. Others are drawn to color, material, or composition. Understanding the differences between both languages allows us to better understand what interests us about a work and what place it can occupy within a collection.
Table of Contents
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What is figurative art: definition and characteristics
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History of figurative art: from caves to the 20th century
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Figurative art vs abstract art: main differences
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Movements within figurative art: realism, hyperrealism, and expressive figuration
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Leading contemporary figurative artists
What you will learn in this article
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What figurative art is, its main characteristics, and how it has evolved from the earliest prehistoric representations to 20th-century art.
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The differences between figurative and abstract art, and why the boundary between these two languages can be flexible.
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How movements such as realism, hyperrealism, and expressive figuration differ, and how artists like Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, Juan Genovés, Manolo Valdés, and Jaume Plensa have approached the figure from very different perspectives.
By the end of this article: you will be able to recognize the main characteristics of figurative art, differentiate it from abstract art, and better understand some of the paths that figuration has taken in modern and contemporary art.
Reading time: 7 minutes | Level: introductory | For: art lovers and people interested in starting or expanding a collection
What is figurative art: definition and characteristics
Figurative art represents elements linked to the visible world, such as people, animals, objects, landscapes, or everyday spaces. The Tate notes that the term is particularly used to describe modern art that maintains clear references to reality, and often, to the human figure.
This does not require the artist to paint with photographic accuracy. An elongated, fragmented figure, or one constructed with patches of color, is still figurative as long as we can identify its connection to something real. This freedom explains why figurative painting can be detailed and naturalistic, but also expressive, fantastical, or deliberately simple.
Among the main characteristics of figurative art are the presence of recognizable forms, a frequent use of portraiture, landscape, still life or narrative, varying degrees of fidelity to reality, and the possibility of simplifying, exaggerating or distorting forms.
History of figurative art: from caves to the 20th century
Lions Panel in the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave, Ardèche, southern France, discovered in 1994.
The representation of figures has accompanied humans since prehistory. The Chauvet and Lascaux caves preserve images of animals made thousands of years ago. Prehistoric sculptures and engravings of humans, animals, and imagined creatures have also been found in Europe and Asia.
For centuries, the figure was essential for telling religious stories, transmitting political power, preserving the memory of a person, or describing daily life. The Renaissance deepened the study of anatomy and perspective, while later movements expanded the expressive possibilities of portraiture and landscape.
In the 19th century, French Realism turned its attention to contemporary life. Artists like Gustave Courbet depicted workers, rural scenes, and everyday matters with a direct observational approach. The movement developed approximately from the 1840s until the end of the 19th century.
In the early 20th century, the avant-garde profoundly altered this tradition. The figure remained present, although it might appear fragmented, simplified, or charged with emotional tension. When abstraction gained prominence, the word "figurative" began to be used more frequently to identify art that maintained visible references to the real world.
Figurative art vs abstract art: main differences
The most visible difference between both languages lies in their relationship with reality. In figurative art, we find identifiable people, objects, or scenarios. In abstract art, these references can be simplified to the point of being difficult to recognize or disappear completely.
Still, the boundary can be flexible. A figure can be constructed through geometric planes, and a landscape can be reduced to patches of color. Some works are better understood as a dialogue between figuration and abstraction than as members of a single category.
The way we approach them also changes. With a figurative work, we usually start with the subject: who appears, where they are, or what is happening. Then we consider the formal decisions. With an abstraction, color, composition, and material usually take center stage from the outset.
Neither of these approaches requires a greater level of skill or sensitivity. Each poses different problems. The interest of the comparison between figurative art vs abstract art is to recognize what tools the artist uses and how they guide our gaze.
When choosing art for a collection, this distinction can serve as a useful starting point. A good way to discover your preferences is to look at a range of works and pay attention to what makes you stop and look more closely. In our Art Shop, you can find examples of figurative art and explore works by artists with very different visual languages, comparing how the same tradition changes from one artwork to another.
Movements within figurative art: realism, hyperrealism, and expressive figuration
Gustave Courbet, The Stone Breakers, oil on canvas, 165 × 257 cm.
Figurativism in art encompasses a wide variety of approaches. Realism seeks to represent life and its context directly. Historically, it gave visibility to people and themes that fell outside of what was considered prestigious by academies. As mentioned previously, the term is especially associated with Gustave Courbet and with the critic Champfleury, who used it during the 1840s.
Chuck Close painting a portrait of his friend Mark Greenwold.
Hyperrealism took visual precision to a new level. The term appeared in the early 1970s to describe paintings and sculptures of great fidelity, sometimes close to the appearance of a photograph. Its main representatives include Chuck Close, Richard Estes, and Audrey Flack.
Expressive figuration gives more importance to emotion and subjective experience. The body can be deformed, color can deviate from nature, and brushstrokes can become visible with the aim of intensifying a sensation or an idea through the figure. 20th-century expressionism made these resources one of its main tools. Some of its leading figures include Edvard Munch (a precursor), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Egon Schiele.
Juan Genovés, Yellow Circle, 2003, Silkscreen print signed, dated, and numbered by hand, 80 x 80 cm, edition of 99 copies. Work available in our Art Shop.
In the 1960s, both in Europe and the United States, there was a renewed attention to figuration after the predominance of various abstract currents. In Spain, Juan Genovés participated in this return to the figure from a distinctly social and political perspective. His crowds, moving figures, and groups viewed from elevated vantage points made the collective body one of the most recognizable motifs in his work.
Leading contemporary figurative artists
Alex Katz, Dog at Duck Trap, 1975, hand-signed lithograph, 109 x 83 cm, edition of 90 copies + 18 AP + 4 PE. Work available in our Art Shop.
Contemporary figuration takes on many different forms, from painting to monumental sculpture. Alex Katz has maintained a practice focused on the figure, portraiture, and landscape for decades. His compositions are recognizable by large areas of flat color, defined contours, and simplified details. The Guggenheim also highlights his interest in capturing immediate visual experiences, from encounters between people to changes in light in the landscape.
Manolo Valdés, Paolo, 2007, Print, 49 x 63 cm, edition of 50 copies. Work available in our Art Shop.
In the work of Manolo Valdés, art history becomes a constant source of images and themes. After his time in Equipo Crónica, he began his individual career in 1981, developing paintings and sculptures around portraiture, nudes, still lifes, and references to great masters, especially Velázquez. Material and surface also play a fundamental role in his work.
Jaume Plensa, Anónimos VI, 2005, hand-signed and numbered lithograph, 66 x 100 cm, edition of 30 copies. Work available in our Art Shop.
Jaume Plensa has brought the representation of the body, and especially the human face, to a monumental scale. Many of his sculptures are part of public spaces in cities around the world. His career demonstrates how figuration can move beyond the canvas and establish a direct relationship with architecture and urban space.
Those who wish to bring this language into their environment can explore the figurative art section in our Art Shop, a carefully curated selection that brings together works by great masters alongside contemporary proposals.
If you are thinking of starting a collection or want to better guide your next steps as a collector, you can schedule a discovery call with one of our experts. We will help you define how to proceed with greater discernment and clarity.
For those who want to delve deeper into this process, The Club by ArteGlobaL offers advice, monthly trend reports, and access to private visits, workshops, and fairs like ARCOmadrid. A space designed to expand knowledge, discover new opportunities, and continue developing one's own perspective as a collector.
