Abstract art

What is abstract art?

Abstract art is a movement within modern art. It is characterized by the fact that the work has no or little resemblance to the real world, unlike figurative art. Through shapes, colors, lines, and structures, an abstract artist attempts to convey a certain feeling, emotion, idea, or concept.

The word abstract is related to the word abstraction. Abstraction comes from the Latin abs-trahere and means to omit, to remove, or to take distance. The literal meaning is: ‘to take distance from reality’. In the case that art only partially distances itself from reality, if a representation can still be recognized a bit, it is referred to as semi-abstract.

Why abstract art?

Firstly, because many artists feel the need to express themselves creatively without limitations. An abstract artist wants to give their creativity all the freedom to express itself, without being restricted to what is recognizable and visually retrievable. In addition, it is often very interesting for the viewer because it allows room for personal interpretation, appeals to the imagination, and evokes feelings. It can usually be viewed for a long time and remains fascinating because there is room for multiple interpretations. It is also a timeless form of art that can be hung in many places.

How did abstract art originate?

Opinions differ on the origins of abstract art, depending on how one defines abstract art. A very important discovery was made in the prehistoric caves around the Mediterranean Sea: the caves of Lascaux. Both abstract and figurative pictograms were found on the walls here. It is estimated that these were created around 40,000 years ago, making them the oldest ever found. For example, there were squares and rectangles in the main cave near the scene of the reclining man with a bird mask and bull. It is not a hunting scene but a dream scene of a man in REM sleep. No one hunts like that! But other figures also appear in all the caves around the Mediterranean. The circle, semicircle, crescent, triangle, line, wavy line (serpentiform), dots, spiral, cross, five-pointed star (Star of David), our hashtag, and many more. These were the first pictograms, informative pictorial symbols, which formed the origin of all written language.

Early 20th century

Some of the pictograms described above could also be seen as abstract art, although they were probably not created with that intention. This came much later, at the beginning of the 20th century. Many artists of that time wanted to free themselves from the obligation to faithfully represent the visible world. This was further stimulated by changes in society, science, and technology that were taking place at the time. The first abstract works were created by Paul Cezanne, Hilma af Klint, Odilon Redon, Francis Picabia, and Wassily Kandinsky, among others. Many movements emerged in a short period of time, partly due to the avant-garde, a group of artists who radically rejected all the artistic procedures of their predecessors. The movements that emerged were: French Cubism and Orphism, Italian Futurism, which emerged from Cubism, Russian Suprematism, Constructivism, and Rayonism, and Dutch Neoplasticism.

After World War II

The period after World War II was also an important period in the development of abstract art. Abstract expressionism emerged in the United States with artists such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning. And the Cobra group, an avant-garde movement of artists from Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Description of the various movements within abstract art.

The movements mentioned are briefly described below.

1 Cubism

Cubism is a groundbreaking movement that originated in Paris and enjoyed its heyday as an avant-garde art movement between 1906 and around 1920. Artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were dissatisfied with conventional approaches to art and began experimenting with new forms and perspectives. It introduced abstraction and also broke with the idea of always depicting objects realistically. Characteristic features of this painting style are:

• Geometric shapes: recognizable representations were created, but constructed from geometric shapes.
• Multiple viewpoints: the artist often combined multiple viewpoints in a single painting, showing objects from different angles. This led to a fresh interpretation of reality and space.
• Visual fragmentation: the subjects in a Cubist painting are often fragmented into multiple pieces.
• Collage technique: Cubism was the first to use the collage technique, in which different materials and objects were used to create a new work of art. This added layers and depth to the works.

2 Futurism

Futurism is an Italian avant-garde art movement that emerged in 1909 from the aforementioned Cubism. The word futurism comes from the Italian futuro, which means future. It actually began with a series of ‘Futurist manifestos’ in a French newspaper, Le Figaro. These manifestos envisioned a future driven by battle, attack, and movement. Less pleasant topics, such as the glorification of war, were central to these manifestos. In 1910, the manifesto ‘Manifesto dei pittori futuristi’ (manifesto of futurist painting) was published, signed by a number of artists, including Umberto Boccioni, one of the most important exponents of futurism. It stated that perceptions do not consist of a static image, but that the environment is constantly in motion. Movement and dynamism had to be represented in art. It was a period of prosperity and wealth, so progress had to be taken as a subject. Characteristics of Futurism are: speed, energy, powerful lines, aggression, new technology, and progress. After the outbreak of the First World War and the death of Boccioni, the Futurist movement fell apart. However, from the 1930s onwards, Futurist principles were once again applied by artists.

3 Orphism

Orphism is an art movement that originated in France from Cubism between 1910 and 1913. Whereas Cubism still contained figurative elements, these were now mostly omitted entirely: the first completely abstract paintings were a fact. The couple Sonia and Robert Delaunay were the first to work in this style. The use of vivid, contrasting colors and the depiction of the effect of light were characteristic. As was the use of dynamics and rhythm, which gave the work a kind of musical quality. That is why the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire first used the term Orphism in 1912, inspired by the mythological figure Orpheus. Orpheus was known for his poetic and musical qualities.

4 Suprematism

Suprematism is an art movement that originated in Russia in 1915. The painter Kazimir Malevich formulated the new principles in a manifesto. The reason for his manifesto was the display of his work ‘Black Square’ at a futuristic exhibition. The emphasis had to be placed on simple geometric shapes such as squares, lines, and circles, in pure colors and black and white. The aim was to strive for abstraction by minimizing art to its most elementary components, without attempting to represent reality. It was not necessary for art to be an explanation of political, social, or utilitarian objectives and pretensions. Art had to be autonomous. Suprematism can be seen as a response/contrast to the constructivism described below. The Constructivists see life as being controlled by technology, while the Suprematists believe that “feeling” brings technology to life.

5 Constructivism

Futurism, Suprematism, and Rayonism all influenced the emergence of this art movement in Russia in 1915. For the constructivists, painting was primarily an objective study, a rigorous simplification of the means of painting, until finally nothing remained but Malevich’s famous black square. From this point, painting was rebuilt from the ground up.

According to a kind of mathematical-technical principles, the Constructivists mainly used geometric shapes in their compositions, intentionally forgoing any subjective expression. In contrast to Suprematism, they believed that life was controlled by technology and greatly admired the technical constructions of architects and machines. This was often reflected in their artworks.

6 Rayonism

Rayonism was not really a movement: only the Russian avant-garde painter Michael Larionov and his wife Nathalie Gontcharova painted in the Rayonist style. Nevertheless, it was an important phase in the development of abstract painting. The name comes from the French word ‘Rayon’, which means ray or beam. It refers to the couple’s desire to depict light as a series of rays or lines, often in bright colors. Geometric shapes were also used regularly. This resulted in dynamic compositions that conveyed a sense of movement and energy. This was more important than the representation of any objects, which were often depicted as floating in the air. Whereas figurative elements often appeared in the early works, these later disappeared. The impetus for Rayonism was the work ‘Verre’, which Larionov claimed to have exhibited in Moscow in 1909.

7 Neoplasticism

Neoplasticism, or ‘Nieuwe Beelding’, is an important art movement that originated in the Netherlands in 1917. It can be seen as a derivative of Cubism. However, Neoplasticism no longer contains any figurative elements. The artists Piet Mondriaan and Theo Doesburg had certain theories that they proclaimed in the magazine ‘De Stijl’. Art had to be purified of elements that did not belong in it. And the spiritual and the natural had to be brought back into balance. In other words, fantasy and reality, or idea and matter. Van Doesburg and Mondriaan predicted that in the future, all art would originate solely from the spiritual/fantasy/idea. As a result, representation (the object, nature) would become less and less important. The final stage would be abstract art. The artists of De Stijl therefore wanted to move directly and radically toward this final stage, and they wanted absolutely nothing in their work that was in any way reminiscent of nature.

It was stated that every work in every style is the product of its creator and only to a certain extent of reality. A certain adjustment is used to make the work more appealing: it deviates from reality to a greater or lesser extent. Even the most realistic painters did this. This deviation can be taken to the extreme, like in neoplaticism, leaving a completely abstract work: a new expression of reality. Characteristics are:

• Horizontal and vertical lines (later also diagonal)
• Rectangular shapes
• Primary colors, black-white and grays
• Asymmetry
• Basic shapes. Both two- and three-dimensional

Neoplasticism not only influenced painting, but also sculpture, architecture, film, poetry, music, and philosophy.

8 Abstract Expressionism

Abstract Expressionism was the first major art movement after World War II. It was also the first major art movement to originate in the United States (New York). The movement began in 1946 and dominated the art world until 1960. It can be seen as a reaction to World War II and a society that was stifling and restrictive. It broke with traditional painting and gave artists new opportunities to express their emotions and attitudes. Roughly speaking, two directions can be distinguished. The first direction is purely abstract and focuses primarily on the effect of color, known as color field painting. Artists such as Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman were examples of this. They worked with relatively large areas of color or color fields to evoke a meditative mood in the viewer. The aim was to give the phenomenon of color the greatest possible expressive power.

The second direction is action painting. The action, the gesture of creation, is the most important in this style. This action is often driven by emotion. There is also a connection with surrealism, namely in relation to the way of working. Artists did not work towards a predetermined end result, but allowed themselves to be guided by the process. The best-known examples of artists in this direction are Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

9 Cobra

The Cobra group was founded in Paris in 1948 by Danish, Belgian, and Dutch artists. The name refers to the three capitals where the founders came from. The co stands for Copenhagen, br for Brussels, and a for Amsterdam. The most important founders were the Dutch artist Karel Appel and the Danish artist Asger Jørn. It was still quite shortly after the Second World War, and during the war there were strict restrictions when it came to art. It had to be clear and realistic. After the war, artists were able to work freely again, and new movements emerged, including Cobra.

Characteristic of this painting style are:

• Resistance to academically taught rules, which were deliberately broken, and the fact that an art education was not important.
• Imagination is leading/no boundaries
• People were inspired by things such as children’s drawings, prehistoric art, the work of the mentally ill, primitive art, and folk art.
• Art had to be for and by everyone. Sometimes children or family members were even allowed to participate in a painting.

The movement had a major influence on the (Dutch) art world, but initially it was not well received. Critics referred to it as scribbling, chatter, and messing around. In 1951, three years after its founding, the group disbanded following the death of a Danish initiator and some disagreements. Nevertheless, a few initiators continued to work according the ideals of Cobra, and more and more artists within Europe were inspired. But also in the United States. There, in the 1950s, a group emerged that had much in common with Cobra. They began to refer to Cobra art as ‘informal art’, a term that was later also adopted in the Netherlands. Cobra’s influence was not limited to painting. Representatives were also present in sculpture, literature, and poetry, who experimented extensively without being subject to all kinds of rules.