Russian painter, founder of abstract art. Abstract composition (principles of displaying human sensations)

(lat. abstractio removal, distraction) non-objective, non-figurative art form visual arts, which does not aim to imitate or display visually perceived reality. Abstract painting, graphics, sculpture exclude associations with recognizable objects.

Origins abstract painting and the time of creation of the first abstract painting are not established. We can only say with certainty that between 1910 and 1915, many European artists tried their hand at non-objective, non-figurative compositions (painting, drawing, sculpture). Among them: R. Delaunay, M. F. Larionov, F. Picabia, F. Kupka, P. Klee, F. Mark, A. G. Yavlensky, U. Bocioni, F. Marinetti and others. The most original and famous V.V.Kandinsky, P.Mondrian, K.S.Malevich. Kandinsky is usually called the “inventor” of abstraction, referring to his watercolors of 1910-1912 and his theoretical work, which objectively testify to the self-sufficiency of art, indicate its ability to create a certain new reality. Both in practice and in theory, Kandinsky was the most decisive and consistent of those who at that time approached the line separating figurativeness from abstraction. The unclear question of who was the first to cross this line is not of fundamental importance, since in the first years of the 20th century. The newest trends in European art came very close to this border, and everything indicated that it would be overturned.

Abstraction, contrary to popular belief, is not a stylistic category. This specific form Fine art falls into several directions. Geometric abstraction, lyrical abstraction, gestural abstraction, analytical abstraction and more particular movements, such as Suprematism, Aranformel, Nuageism, etc.

Abstract art styles are composed of the same style-forming elements as figurative art styles. This is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that monochrome painting - a canvas painted in one tone - is in the same neutral relation to style as an absolutely naturalistic figurative image. Abstract painting is special type of visual activity, whose functions are compared to those of music in the audio space.

The accelerating change of aesthetic attitudes in art originates in the revolutionary transformations in culture, science and technology of the 20th century. In art, new trends became noticeable already in the first half of the 19th century. At this time, in European painting one can see simultaneously the improvement of naturalistic technique (J. Ingres, J.-L. David, T. Chasserio) and a growing tendency towards conventionality (C. Corot, E. Delacroix, F. Goya); the latter is especially emphasized in English painting by R. O. Bonington and especially W. Turner, whose paintings Sun rising in the fog(1806), Musical evening (18291839) and some other works represent the most daring generalizations bordering on abstraction. Let's pay attention to the form, but also to the plot of one of his latest works Rain, steam, speed, which depicts a steam locomotive rushing through fog and a veil of rain. This painting, painted in 1848, is the highest measure of convention in the art of the first half of the 19th century V.

WITH mid-19th V. painting, graphics, sculpture address what is inaccessible to direct depiction. The search for new visual means, methods of typification, increased expression, universal symbols, and compressed plastic formulas is becoming more and more intense. On the one hand, this is aimed at displaying the inner world of a person his emotional psychological states, on the other at updating the vision objective world. In the 1900s, the discovery, first in Spain and then in France, of primitive and, a little later, traditional (“primitive”) art decisively changed the idea of the meaning of conventional forms in the visual arts.

The state in which art is at this time can be called a permanent aesthetic revolution; the main events take place in France. Universal international exhibition 1900 in Paris, on Avenue Nicholas II, was the first official exhibition, which included works by still “scandalous” artists at that time: E. Manet, C. Monet, O. Renoir and other impressionists, as well as P. Gauguin and P. Cezanne. In 1904, the latest French painting, shown in Germany, made a stunning impression on German artists and served as an impetus for the creation of the Youth Union, which included future famous expressionists: E. L. Kirchner, K. Schmidt-Rottluff and others.

From 1905 to 1910, a consistent “deconstruction” of the classical pictorial system and a radical change in aesthetic attitudes took place in Western European art. After impressionism for the first time in the history of art introduced structural (non-stylistic) changes into painting, the French Fauvists and German Expressionists changed their attitude to color and drawing, which finally emerged from subordination to nature. Cubism then frees painting from the narrativity of a narrative plot.

If painting, like other arts, is not so much a demonstration of skill, the creation of a work, but a way of self-expression, then abstract art must be recognized as the most advanced stage of visual activity. This “ascent” is demonstrated by the creative evolution of the pioneer of abstract art, Kandinsky, which goes through a number of stages, including academic drawing and realistic painting. landscape painting, before moving out into the free space of color and line. Abstract composition is the last, molecular level at which painting still remains painting. Further disintegration.

“Proof of my existence,” says one of contemporary artists“, is not my name, my body they will disappear in the ocean of time, but a fiction, a creation of appearance” (Francllin C. Jean Le Gac. Quoted from: Millet K. . Minsk, 1995, p. 235).

Creativity the most intimate, authentic way self-affirmation, which a person urgently needs. This need embraces ever larger masses of people (as evidenced, in particular, by the increasingly frequent and cruel methods of collective and individual assertion of one’s authenticity).

Abstract art is the most accessible and noble way to capture personal existence, and in a form similar to a facsimile print. At the same time, it is a direct realization of freedom.

In the USA, the rise of abstract art began already in the mid-1940s. The first notable figures at this time, besides P. Mondrian’s student J. Pollock, were B. Diller, M. Tobey, B. W. Tomlin, A. Gorky. Among those whose work later influenced European painting, B. Newman, M. Rothko, F. Klin, R. Rauschenberg, W. Kuning, A. Reinhardt.

One of the first post-war French abstractionists to take the lessons of American painting, P. Soulages. It's not best works reminiscent of the expressive abstractions of F. Klin. G. Hartung's works are closer to the original source of European abstraction - Kandinsky. Among European artists who independently came to abstractionism in post-war years, J. Fautrier, J. Mathieu, J.-P. Riopelle, G. Capogrossi, M. Esteve, A. Lanskoy, S. Polyakov, R. Bissier and J. Bazin. J. Bazin and R. Bissier were especially influential in France in the post-war years. The painting of N. de Stael has outlived everyone and continues to grow in price and popularity, fluctuating, like the painting of Bissières and partly Bazin, on fine line between complete abstraction and a hint of figurativeness.

In 1950, the first workshop appeared in Paris, in which artists J. Devagne and E. Pilet taught young people to get rid of realistic vision, create a picture exclusively by pictorial means and use no more than three tones in a composition, since “color determines form” (one must strive for to find the exact color). In the early 50s, A. Matisse created abstract compositions. Abstract painting by Devan Apotheosis of Marat(1951) was met with great enthusiasm. Critics wrote that this is not only an intellectual portrait of a fiery tribune, but, in addition, “a celebration of pure color, the dynamic play of curves and straight lines,” “this thing is proof that abstraction expresses not only spiritual values, but also figurative art can address historical and political events.”

In the early 50s, the “lyrical abstraction” of J. Mathieu became popular in France. He has a statement that reflects new approach to art: “The laws of semantics operate on the principle of inversion: since a thing is given, a sign is found for it; if a sign is given, it asserts itself, if it finds what is embodied.” That is, first a sign is created, then its meaning is found. IN classical art meaning seeks embodiment (primarily signified).

In the early 50s, new names appeared at the Betty Parson Gallery in New York, where the works of Hans Hofmann and J. Pollock were first exhibited in the late 40s: Barnett Newman and Robert Rauschenberg.

The style of American abstraction of the 50s is different rectilinear geometry: B. Diller, A. Reinhardt, W. Kuning, F. Klin, M. Rothko, B. Newman, R. Rauschenberg (exception A. Gorki, partly M. Tobey and A. Gottlieb). This style is associated with the New York school, which is suddenly gaining international fame.

Art has always been, to one degree or another, a means of self-expression. The individual, who indirectly imprinted himself in the normative structures of the Great Styles, in modern times creates such structures for himself.

With the entry into abstraction, the creative person gained freedom. Uncorrected by someone else, line, color, texture become the author's facsimile print. Theoretically, nothing prevents the imprinting of personality in plastic, graphic, pictorial projections, in which How And Thu o merge together (“My drawing is the direct and purest embodiment of my emotions,” says Matisse. L'Aventure du XX siècle. Paris, 1998. P. 511).

On the other hand, the measure of alienation that abstraction allows exceeds everything that existed before. The pictorial designer of Suprematism assumes an unprecedented satisfaction of aesthetic needs in its capabilities.

As a style-forming factor, abstraction endlessly expands the possibilities of embodying two opposing essences: the unique and the universal. Texts and works of art from all times indicate that the author, to one degree or another, always spoke about himself, but still never as consciously, thoroughly and openly as in the 20th century.

In the sum of factors (the invention of photography, scientific and quasi-scientific theories of color and light, etc.) that determined the main vector of changes in art in modern times - the movement from naturalism to abstraction, the first place is occupied by the individualization of creativity - its transformation into a direct projection of personality.

Direct projection of temperament gestural painting is born in America. The victory of new art in America may seem unexpected if we recall the indignation of Americans who first saw a large exhibition of the European avant-garde in 1913. During the war and post-war times, Americans could see that investments in art were reliable and profitable. Anyone who realized the profitability of contemporary art in time had a chance to become fabulously rich (Peggy Guggenheim, Betty Parson, etc.). Almost all the classics of the European avant-garde found themselves in the position of emigrants during the war in the United States. The most famous of the American abstract artists is Pollock, a student of Mondrian, and his success is the success of the Betty Parson Gallery.

In the early 1960s, abstract art returned from America to Europe in an updated form. “This becomes a discovery,” writes K. Millet, “for those who have not yet fully developed their artistic credo... First, abstract art (most often American) is studied from reproductions.” “Devad notes with humor that, having access to American painting only through photographs of the Artforum magazine, he chose the format for his work postage stamp, while Vialla, on the contrary, thinking that Jackson Pollock uses a large format, increasingly increases the format of his works! Only a few, such as Devade or Buren and Parmentier, were able to see American painting with their own eyes" (Mille K. Contemporary art of France. Minsk, 1995, p. 156).

The first exhibitions of American painting in Paris were organized in the early 60s; the most representative, “The Art of Reality” (1968), held at the Grand Palais, was devoted entirely to abstract American art. American influence on european art falls during the Cold War. During these decades, the horizontally organized democratic structure was strictly opposed to the vertically organized communist one. Abstract anti-normative art largely due to its rejection in the USSR becomes a symbol of free creativity, which opposes the figurative normative “ socialist realism" During the Cold War, a centralized structure not necessarily left or right for the intellectual is associated with the idea of suppressing the individual. At the state level, the embodiment of an ideally organized structure is giant military monsters opposing each other, threatening the death of all living things. Perhaps here are the subconscious origins of new trends in abstract art - a tendency towards decomposition and decentralization. These sentiments are embodied in American all-over painting, which eliminates the composition of the picture frame, turning the painting into a colorful field or simply into a painted surface (Color Field, Hard Edge, Minimal Art).

Polycentric state artistic space presupposes the autonomous existence of a strong creative personality, which itself is able to assert its individual style, method, direction (let us recall that in the 50s the greatest masters of the first echelon of the avant-garde were still working A. Matisse, A. Derain, J. Braque, P. Picasso, etc.).

In the second half of the 50s, the first abstract sculpture equipped with an “electronic brain” appeared, Cysp I Nicola Schöffer. Alexander Kalder, after the “mobiles” that were successful, creates his own “stables”. One of the separate directions of abstractionism emerges - op art.

At the same time, almost simultaneously in England and the USA, the first collages appeared, using labels of mass-produced products, photographs, reproductions and similar objects of the new pop art style. Against this background, the success of the modest expressionist Bernard Buffet seems unexpected. His style (definition of forms, balanced composition) correlates with such phenomena as Fall of Icarus Picasso in the UNESCO Palace, abstract paintings by F. Hundertwasser, the monumental style of K. Klapek, monochrome designs by M.E. Viera da Silva.

One of the first attempts at structural analysis of postclassical artistic creativity belongs to Umberto Eco. J. Pollock's gestural painting, according to Eco, leaves the viewer complete freedom of interpretation. Comparing such painting with “mobiles”, semantic games of poetry and musical compositions of the late 50s, Eco tries to identify the common structure of the “free explosion”, in which, as he believes, there is a “fusion of elements similar to that used by traditional poetry at its best, when sound and meaning, the conventional meaning of sound and emotional content, merge into one. This alloy is what western culture considers it a feature of art: an aesthetic fact,” writes Eco (Eco U. L'Oeuvre ouverte. Paris, 1965. Quote. By: L"Aventure de l"art au XX-e siecle. Paris, 1988. R. 597).

The art of the 60s is an explosion of innovation and the final recognition by museums of various unconventional phenomena that appeared in the 50s.

The famous New York school of painting, which became the highest authority in its field in the 50s, began with an appeal to abstraction by its founders: J. Pollock, M. Rothko, W. Kooning. Until the second half of the 40s, American painting remained unremarkable. Its provincialism and conservatism did not contain anything specific, except for a certain restraint, coldness and asceticism. Later, this legacy of Puritanism found its way into the style of abstract expressionism.

In addition to those mentioned, American painting of the 50s is represented by the names of B. Diller, A. Reinhardt, M. Tobey, B. W. Tomlin, K. Steele, F. Klin, A. Gottlieb, B. Newman, G. Hoffman, J. Albers, R. Crawford. With a clear difference in directions and individual manners, American painting of the 50s demonstrates clarity, certainty, unambiguousness, and confidence. Sometimes with some redundancy taking on an aggressive character. Artists of this generation know what they want, are confident in themselves, and firmly assert their right to self-expression.

In the painting of the 60s, what remains from this period is the least aggressive, static form - minimalism. The founder of American geometric abstraction, Barnett Newman, and in an even more obvious form, A. Lieberman, A. Held, K. Noland, as well as somewhat earlier B. Diller, successfully develop the ideas of neoplasticism and suprematism.

The new movement of American painting, called “chromatic” or “post-painterly” abstraction, comes from the horizon of Fauvism and Post-Impressionism. The harsh style, the emphatically sharp outlines of the works of E. Kelly, J. Jungerman, F. Stella gradually give way to paintings of a contemplative melancholic nature.

The style of Helen Frankenthaler and Maurice Louis is distinguished by soft contours, subtle color nuances, and vague outlines. Geometric abstraction also moves into the register of rounded forms (A. Liberman, A. Held).

American painting of the 70s returns to figurativeness. It is believed that the 70s is the moment of truth for American painting, which is liberated from the European tradition that fed it and becomes purely American. What is happening looks like this, if only we consider that abstraction is alien to the American “national spirit.” It is significant that opposition to abstract art, which is essentially cosmopolitan and belongs to world civilization, as a rule, came and comes from collectivist ideologies that suppress the individual.

From the point of view of the ongoing transformation of style (from rigid geometricism to biomorphism), the changes taking place should be interpreted, on the contrary, as a departure from the fundamental Puritan virtues - asceticism, determination, firmness, certainty.

It is believed that American painting of the 70s is more “soulful” than “spiritual”. “The painting of the seventies,” writes Barbara Rose, “is in fact not only more varied, more heterogeneous and pluralistic than the painting of the sixties, but it is also much more intimate, more poetic and more personal. Painting is again filled with unique and subjective content” (Rose B. La peinture americaine le XX ciecle. Paris Zurich, 1992. P. 126).

In the painting of the 80s they see almost a complete “return to aesthetics” realistic art" However, despite the return of traditional forms, from portraiture to historical and genre painting, nothing that appeared in previous decades disappears. It is not abstraction that has been overcome, but its canonization, the prohibitions on figurative art, on “low” genres, on social functions art.

At the same time, the style of abstract and abstract-figurative painting acquires a previously absent softness streamlined volumes, blurred contours, richness of halftones, subtle color shades (cf. works by E. Murray, G. Stefan, L. Rivers, M. Morley, L. Chese, A. Byalobroda). The hard style does not disappear completely; it fades into the background and continues to exist in the work of geometricians and expressionist artists of the older generation (H. Buchwald, D. Ashbaugh, J. Gareth, etc.).

Painting as a means of self-expression is not inferior to music in embodying the “inexpressible”, and, if necessary, can be more specific than the word. Possessing in its entirety the means of drawing and the plastic capabilities of sculpture, recreating the illusion of real and fantastic space, significantly surpassing sculpture in the ability to manipulate volumes, painting has its own unique means - color.

The possibilities of color, revealed by the French impressionists, were expanded even wider with the emergence of painting into abstraction. The opinion that painting today is an anachronism exists because our century is the century of music, and also because, when thinking about painting, they imagine a primed canvas stretched on a stretcher, covered with a layer of paint and varnish, a kind of museum exhibit. . But painting is a process, a world of open possibilities, frozen moments, the appearance of longed-for images, adventure, confrontation, reflection, liberation from redundancy, replenishment of insufficiency, an act of self-affirmation and a direct projection of intuition, a demonstration of mastery and the possibility of discovery. Those who were lucky enough to freely realize this opportunity upon entering the world of abstract painting know this especially well.

WASILY KANDINSKY. PORTRAIT OF NINA'S WIFE WILLEM DE KUNING. ABSTRACTION

Seuphor M. Dictionaire de la peinture abstrite. Paris, 1957
Ponente N. Peinture moderne. Tendences contemporary. 19401960. Skira, 1960
Vallier D. L"art abstract. Paris, 1967
Art 1998. Chicago at Navy Pier. Chicago, 1998

Find "ABSTRACTIONISM" on

Abstract art (lat. abstractio– removal, distraction) or non-figurative art- a direction of art that abandoned the depiction of forms close to reality in painting and sculpture. One of the goals of abstract art is to achieve “harmonization” by depicting certain color combinations and geometric shapes, evoking in the viewer a feeling of completeness and completeness of the composition. Prominent figures: Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Natalya Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov, Piet Mondrian.

Story

Abstractionism(art under the sign of “zero forms”, non-objective art) is an artistic direction that was formed in the art of the first half of the 20th century, completely abandoning the reproduction of forms of the real visible world. The founders of abstract art are considered to be V. Kandinsky , P. Mondrian And K. Malevich.

V. Kandinsky created his own type of abstract painting, freeing the impressionist and “wild” stains from any signs of objectivity. Piet Mondrian arrived at his non-objectivity through the geometric stylization of nature initiated by Cézanne and the Cubists. Modernist movements of the 20th century, focused on abstractionism, completely depart from traditional principles, denying realism, but at the same time remaining within the framework of art. The history of art experienced a revolution with the advent of abstract art. But this revolution did not arise by chance, but quite naturally, and was predicted by Plato! In his late work Philebus, he wrote about the beauty of lines, surfaces and spatial forms in themselves, independent of any imitation of visible objects, from any mimesis. This kind of geometric beauty, unlike the beauty of natural “irregular” forms, according to Plato, is not relative, but unconditional, absolute.

20th century and modern times

After World War I, 1914-18, trends in abstract art often manifested themselves in individual works by representatives of Dada and surrealism; At the same time, there was a desire to find application for non-figurative forms in architecture, decorative art, and design (experiments of the Style group and Bauhaus). Several groups of abstract art (" Concrete art", 1930; "Circle and Square", 1930; “Abstraction and Creativity”, 1931), uniting artists of various nationalities and movements, arose in the early 30s, mainly in France. However, abstract art did not become widespread at that time, and by the mid-30s. the groups broke up. During the Second World War 1939–45, a school of so-called abstract expressionism arose in the United States (painters J. Pollock, M. Tobey etc.), which developed after the war in many countries (under the name tachisme or “formless art”) and proclaimed as its method “pure mental automatism” and the subjective subconscious impulsiveness of creativity, the cult of unexpected color and texture combinations.

In the second half of the 50s, installation art and pop art arose in the United States, which somewhat later glorified Andy Warhol with his endless circulation of portraits of Marilyn Monroe and cans of dog food - collage abstractionism. In the fine arts of the 60s, the least aggressive, static form of abstraction, minimalism, became popular. At the same time Barnett Newman, founder of American geometric abstract art along with A. Liberman, A. Held And K. Noland were successfully engaged further development ideas of Dutch neoplasticism and Russian Suprematism.

Another movement of American painting is called “chromatic” or “post-painterly” abstractionism. Its representatives were to some extent inspired by Fauvism and Post-Impressionism. Rigid style, emphatically sharp outlines of the work E. Kelly, J. Jungerman, F. Stella gradually gave way to paintings of a contemplative melancholic nature. In the 70s and 80s, American painting returned to figurativeness. Moreover, such an extreme manifestation as photorealism has become widespread. Most art historians agree that the 70s are the moment of truth for American art, since during this period it finally freed itself from European influence and became purely American. However, despite the return of traditional forms and genres, from portraits to historical painting, abstractionism has not disappeared either.

Paintings and works of “non-representational” art were created as before, since the return to realism in the USA was overcome not by abstractionism as such, but by its canonization, the ban on figurative art, which was identified primarily with our socialist realism, and therefore could not help but be considered odious in a “free democratic” society, a ban on “low” genres, on the social functions of art. At the same time, the style of abstract painting acquired a certain softness that it lacked before - streamlined volumes, blurred contours, a richness of halftones, subtle color schemes ( E. Murray, G. Stefan, L. Rivers, M. Morley, L. Chese, A. Bialobrod).

All these trends laid the foundation for the development of modern abstractionism. There can be nothing frozen or final in creativity, since that would be death for it. But no matter what path abstractionism takes, no matter what transformations it undergoes, its essence always remains unchanged. It is that abstractionism in fine art is the most accessible and noble way to capture personal existence, and in a form that is most adequate - like a facsimile print. At the same time, abstractionism is a direct realization of freedom.

Directions

In abstractionism, two clear directions can be distinguished: geometric abstraction, based primarily on clearly defined configurations (Malevich, Mondrian), and lyrical abstraction, in which the composition is organized from freely flowing forms (Kandinsky). There are also several other large independent movements in abstract art.

Cubism

An avant-garde movement in fine art that originated at the beginning of the 20th century and is characterized by the use of emphatically conventional geometric forms, the desire to “split” real objects into stereometric primitives.

Regionalism (Rayism)

A movement in abstract art of the 1910s, based on the shift of light spectra and light transmission. The idea of the emergence of forms from the “intersection of reflected rays of various objects” is characteristic, since what a person actually perceives is not the object itself, but “the sum of the rays coming from the light source and reflected from the object.”

Neoplasticism

Designation of the movement of abstract art that existed in 1917–1928. in Holland and united artists grouped around the magazine “De Stijl” (“Style”). Characteristic are clear rectangular shapes in architecture and abstract painting in the arrangement of large rectangular planes, painted in the primary colors of the spectrum.

Orphism

Direction to French painting 1910s. Orphist artists sought to express the dynamics of movement and the musicality of rhythms with the help of “regularities” of the interpenetration of the primary colors of the spectrum and the mutual intersection of curved surfaces.

Suprematism

A movement in avant-garde art founded in the 1910s. Malevich. It was expressed in combinations of multi-colored planes of the simplest geometric shapes. The combination of multi-colored geometric shapes forms balanced asymmetrical suprematist compositions permeated with internal movement.

Tachisme

A movement in Western European abstract art of the 1950s–60s, which became most widespread in the United States. It is painting with spots that do not recreate images of reality, but express the unconscious activity of the artist. Strokes, lines and spots in tachisme are applied to the canvas with quick movements of the hand without a pre-thought-out plan.

Abstract expressionism

The movement of artists painting quickly and on large canvases, using non-geometric strokes, large brushes, sometimes dripping paint onto the canvas to fully reveal emotions. The expressive painting method here is often as important as the painting itself.

Abstractionism in the interior

IN Lately abstractionism began to move from the paintings of artists into the cozy interior of the house, updating it advantageously. A minimalist style using clear forms, sometimes quite unusual, makes the room unusual and interesting. But it’s very easy to overdo it with color. Consider the combination of orange color in this interior style.

White best dilutes the rich orange and, as it were, cools it down. The color of orange makes the room feel hotter, so a little; not prevent. The emphasis should be on the furniture or its design, for example, an orange bedspread. In this case, white walls will drown out the brightness of the color, but will leave the room colorful. In this case, paintings of the same scale will serve as an excellent addition - the main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise there will be problems with sleep.

The combination of orange and blue colors is detrimental to any room, unless it concerns a child's room. If you choose not bright shades, they will harmonize well with each other, add mood, and will not have a detrimental effect even on hyperactive children.

Orange goes well with green, creating the effect of a tangerine tree and a chocolate tint. Brown is a color that ranges from warm to cool, so it ideally normalizes the overall temperature of the room. In addition, this color combination is suitable for the kitchen and living room, where you need to create an atmosphere without overloading the interior. Having decorated the walls in white and chocolate colors, you can safely put an orange chair or hang a bright picture with rich tangerine color. While you are in such a room, you will have great mood and the desire to do as many things as possible.

Paintings by famous abstract artists

Kandinsky was one of the pioneers of abstract art. He began his search in impressionism, and only then came to the style of abstractionism. In his work, he exploited the relationship between color and form to create an aesthetic experience that embraced both the vision and the emotions of the viewer. He believed that complete abstraction provides scope for deep, transcendent expression, and copying reality only interferes with this process.

Painting was deeply spiritual for Kandinsky. He sought to convey the depth of human emotion through a universal visual language of abstract shapes and colors that would transcend physical and cultural boundaries. He saw abstractionism as an ideal visual mode that can express the artist's "inner necessity" and convey human ideas and emotions. He considered himself a prophet whose mission was to share these ideals with the world for the benefit of society.

Hidden in bright colors and clear black lines depict several Cossacks with spears, as well as boats, figures and a castle on top of a hill. Like many paintings from this period, it imagines an apocalyptic battle that will lead to eternal peace.

To facilitate the development of a non-objective style of painting, as described in his work On the Spiritual in Art (1912), Kandinsky reduces objects to pictographic symbols. By removing most references to to the outside world, Kandinsky expressed his vision in a more universal way, translating the spiritual essence of the subject through all these forms into a visual language. Many of these symbolic figures were repeated and refined in his later works, becoming even more abstract.

Kazimir Malevich

Malevich's ideas about form and meaning in art somehow lead to a concentration on the theory of abstract art style. Malevich worked with different styles of painting, but was most focused on the study of pure geometric shapes (squares, triangles, circles) and their relationship to each other in pictorial space. Thanks to his contacts in the West, Malevich was able to convey his ideas about painting to artist friends in Europe and the United States, and thus profoundly influence the evolution of modern art.

"Black Square" (1915)

The iconic painting “Black Square” was first shown by Malevich at an exhibition in Petrograd in 1915. This work embodies theoretical principles Suprematism, developed by Malevich in his essay “From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism: New Realism in Painting.”

On the canvas in front of the viewer there is an abstract form in the form of a black square drawn on a white background - it is the only element of the composition. Although the painting appears simple, there are elements such as fingerprints and brush strokes visible through the black layers of paint.

For Malevich, the square signifies feelings, and the white signifies emptiness, nothingness. He saw the black square as a god-like presence, an icon, as if it could become a new sacred image for non-figurative art. Even at the exhibition, this painting was placed in the place where an icon is usually placed in a Russian house.

Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian, one of the founders of the Dutch De Stijl movement, is recognized for the purity of his abstractions and methodical practice. He simplified the elements of his paintings quite radically in order to represent what he saw not directly, but figuratively, and to create a clear and universal aesthetic language in his canvases. At its most famous paintings Since the 1920s, Mondrian has reduced forms to lines and rectangles, and the palette to the simplest. The use of asymmetrical balance became fundamental in the development of modern art, and his iconic abstract works remain influential in design and are familiar to popular culture today.

"The Gray Tree" is an example of Mondrian's early transition to style abstractionism. Three-dimensional wood is reduced to the simplest lines and planes, using just grays and blacks.

This painting is one of a series of works by Mondrian that were created with a more realistic approach, where, for example, trees are represented in a naturalistic manner. While more late works became increasingly abstract, for example, the lines of a tree diminishing until the shape of the tree becomes barely noticeable and secondary to the overall composition of vertical and horizontal lines. Here you can still see Mondrian's interest in abandoning the structured organization of lines. This step was significant for Mondrian's development of pure abstraction.

Robert Delaunay

Delaunay was one of the most early artists abstractionism style. His work influenced the development of this direction, based on the compositional tension that was caused by the opposition of colors. He quickly fell under the neo-impressionist coloristic influence and very closely followed the color scheme of works in the abstract style. He considered color and light to be the main tools with which one can influence the reality of the world.

By 1910, Delaunay made his own contribution to Cubism in the form of two series of paintings depicting cathedrals and the Eiffel Tower, which combined cubic forms, dynamic movement and bright colors. This new way of using color harmony helped separate this style from orthodox Cubism, receiving the name Orphism, and immediately influenced European artists. Delaunay’s wife, artist Sonia Turk-Delone, continued to paint in the same style.

Delaunay's main work is dedicated to Eiffel Tower- the famous symbol of France. This is one of the most impressive of a series of eleven paintings dedicated to the Eiffel Tower between 1909 and 1911. It is painted bright red, which immediately distinguishes it from the grayness of the surrounding city. The impressive size of the canvas further enhances the grandeur of this building. Like a ghost, the tower rises above the surrounding houses, metaphorically shaking the very foundations of the old order. Delaunay's painting conveys this feeling of boundless optimism, innocence and freshness of a time that has not yet witnessed two world wars.

Frantisek Kupka

Frantisek Kupka is a Czechoslovakian artist who paints in the style abstractionism, graduated from the Prague Academy of Arts. As a student, he primarily painted on patriotic themes and wrote historical compositions. His early works were more academic, however, his style evolved over the years and eventually moved into abstract art. Written in a very realistic manner, even his early works contained mystical surreal themes and symbols, which continued when writing abstractions. Kupka believed that the artist and his work take part in a continuous creative activity, the nature of which is not limited, like an absolute.

“Amorpha. Fugue in two colors" (1907-1908)

Beginning in 1907-1908, Kupka began to paint a series of portraits of a girl holding a ball in her hand, as if she were about to play or dance with it. He then developed more and more schematic images of it, and eventually received a series of completely abstract drawings. They were made in a limited palette of red, blue, black and white. In 1912, at the Salon d'Automne, one of these abstract works was exhibited publicly for the first time in Paris.

Modern abstract artists

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, artists, including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Kazemir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, have been experimenting with the shapes of objects and their perception, and also questioning existing canons in art. We have prepared a selection of the most famous contemporary abstract artists who decided to push their boundaries of knowledge and create their own reality.

German artist David Schnell(David Schnell) loves to wander through places where nature once reigned, but now they are piled up with human buildings - from playgrounds to plants and factories. Memories of these walks give birth to his bright abstract landscapes. Giving free rein to his imagination and memory, rather than to photographs and videos, David Schnell creates paintings that resemble computer virtual reality or illustrations for science fiction books.

When creating her large-scale abstract paintings, the American artist Christine Baker(Kristin Baker) draws inspiration from the history of art and the racing of Nascar and Formula 1. She first gives her work dimension by applying several layers of acrylic paint and covering the silhouettes with tape. Christine then carefully peels it off, revealing the underlying layers of paint and making the surface of her paintings look like a multi-layered multi-colored collage. At the very last stage of the work, she scrapes off all the irregularities, making her paintings feel like an x-ray.

In her works the artist Greek origin from Brooklyn, New York Eleanna Anagnos(Eleanna Anagnos) explores aspects Everyday life that often escape people's attention. During her “dialogue with the canvas,” ordinary concepts acquire new meanings and facets: negative space becomes positive and small forms increase in size. Trying to breathe “life into her paintings” in this way, Eleanna tries to awaken the human mind, which has stopped asking questions and being open to something new.

Giving birth to bright splashes and smudges of paint on the canvas, the American artist Sarah Spitler(Sarah Spitler) strives to reflect chaos, disaster, imbalance and disorder in her work. She is attracted to these concepts because they are beyond human control. Therefore, their destructive power makes Sarah Spitler's abstract works powerful, energetic and exciting. Besides. the resulting image on canvas made of ink, acrylic paints, graphite pencils and enamel emphasizes the ephemerality and relativity of what is happening around.

Inspired by architecture, the artist from Vancouver, Canada, Jeff Dapner(Jeff Depner) creates multi-layered abstract paintings consisting of geometric shapes. In the artistic “chaos” he creates, Jeff seeks harmony in color, form and composition. Each of the elements in his paintings is connected to each other and leads to the next: “My works explore compositional structure[paintings] through the relationships of colors in the chosen palette...". According to the artist, his paintings are “abstract signs” that should take viewers to a new, unconscious level.

Abstraction in art!

Abstractionism!

Abstractionism- this is a direction in painting, which is highlighted in a special style.

Abstract painting, abstract art or abstract genre, implies a refusal to depict real things and forms.

Abstractionism is aimed at evoking certain emotions and associations in a person. For these purposes, paintings in an abstract style try to express the harmony of color, shapes, lines, spots, and so on. All shapes and color combinations that are located within the perimeter of the image have an idea, their own expression and meaning. No matter how it may seem to the viewer, looking at a picture where there is nothing except lines and blots, everything in abstraction is subject to certain rules of expression, the so-called “abstract composition”.

Abstraction in art!

Abstractionism, as a movement in painting, arose at the beginning of the 20th century simultaneously in several European countries.

It is believed that abstract painting was invented and developed by the great Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky.

The recognized founders and inspirers of abstractionism are the artists Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, Frantisek Kupka and Robert Delaunay, who in their theoretical works shaped approaches to the definition of “Abstractionism”. Differing in goals and objectives, their research was united in one thing: Abstractionism, as the highest stage of development of visual creativity, creates forms inherent only to art. The artist, “freed” from copying reality, thinks in special pictorial images of the incomprehensible spiritual principle of the universe, eternal “spiritual essences”, “cosmic forces”.

Abstract painting, which literally blew up the art world, became a symbol of the beginning of a new era in painting. This era means a complete transition from frameworks and restrictions to complete freedom of expression. The artist is no longer bound by anything, he can paint not only people, everyday and genre scenes, but even thoughts, emotions, sensations and use any form of expression for this.

Today, abstraction in art is so wide and varied that it itself is divided into many types, styles and genres. Each artist or group of artists tries to create something of their own, something special that would in the best possible way could reach a person’s feelings and sensations. Achieving this without using recognizable figures and objects is very difficult. For this reason, the canvases of abstract artists, which truly evoke special sensations and make one marvel at the beauty and expressiveness of an abstract composition, deserve great respect, and the artist himself is considered a real genius of painting.

Abstract painting!

Since the advent of Abstract Art, two main lines have emerged in it.

The first is geometric or logical abstraction, creating space by combining geometric shapes, colored planes, straight and broken lines. It is embodied in the Suprematism of K. Malevich, the neoplasticism of P. Mondrian, the orphism of R. Delaunay, in the work of masters of post-painterly abstraction and op art.

The second is lyrical-emotional abstraction, in which compositions are organized from freely flowing forms and rhythms, represented by the work of V. Kandinsky, the works of masters of abstract expressionism, tachisme, and informal art.

Abstract painting!

Abstract art, as painting of a special personal expression, at first for a long time was in the underground. Abstract art, like many other genres in the history of painting, was ridiculed and even condemned and censored as art without any meaning. However, over time, the position of abstraction has changed and now it exists on a par with all other forms of art.

As an artistic phenomenon, Abstractionism had a huge influence on the formation and development of modern architectural style, design, industrial, applied and decorative arts.

Recognized masters of Abstract Art: Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Frantisek Kupka. Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Theo Van Doesburg, Robber Delaunay, Mikhail Larionov, Lyubov Popova, Jackson Pollock, Josef Albers.

Modern abstractionism in painting!

In modern fine art, abstractionism has become an important language of deep emotional communication between artist and viewer.

IN modern abstract art new ones appear interesting directions using, for example, special images of various color forms. Thus, in the works of Andrei Krasulin, Valery Orlov, Leonid Pelikh, the space of white - the highest tension of color - is generally filled with endless variable possibilities, allowing the use of both metaphysical ideas about the spiritual and the optical laws of light reflection.

In modern abstractionism, space begins to play new roles and forms different semantic loads. For example, there are spaces of signs and symbols that arise from the depths of archaic consciousness.

In modern abstractionism, the plot direction is also developing. In this case, while maintaining non-objectivity, the abstract image is constructed in such a way that it evokes specific associations - different levels abstraction.

Modern abstractionism is infinite in its boundaries: from the objective situation to the philosophical level of figurative abstract categories. On the other hand, in modern abstract painting, the image may look like a picture of some kind of fantastic world - for example, abstract surrealism.

Abstract art in painting

It was with painting that abstractionism began its development. On canvas and paper, it was revealed to the world through the play of color and lines, recreating something that had no analogues in the real objective world.

(...and a clearer abstraction by Carol Hein)

Prominent representatives of abstract art are:

Kandinsky;
Malevich;
Mondrian.

Later they had many followers, each of whom made their own artistic contribution, using new techniques for applying paint and new principles for creating an abstract composition.

(Wassily Vasilyevich Kandinsky "Composition IV")

The founders of the movement, creating their masterpieces on canvas, relied on new scientific and philosophical theories. For example, Kandinsky, justifying his own artistic creations, appealed to the theosophical works of Blavatsky. Mondrian was a representative of neoplasticism and actively used in his works clean lines and colors. His paintings were repeatedly copied by many representatives of the field of painting and art. Malevich was an ardent supporter of the theory of Suprematism. The master gave primacy in the art of painting to color.

(Kazimir Malevich "Composition of geometric figures")

In general, abstractionism in painting turned out to be a two-fold direction for ordinary people. Some considered such works to be a dead end, while others sincerely admired the ideas that artists put into their creations.

Despite the chaotic nature of lines, shapes and colors, paintings and works of art in the style of abstractionism create a single composition that is holistically perceived by the audience.

Art movements abstract art

Works in the style of abstract art are difficult to clearly classify, since this direction has many followers, each of whom contributed their own vision to development. In general, it can be divided according to the type of predominance of lines or techniques. Today there are:

color abstractionism. Within these works, artists play with colors and shades, placing emphasis in their works on their perception by the mind of the beholder;
geometric abstractionism. This trend has its own strict characteristic differences. These are clear lines and shapes, the illusion of depth and linear perspectives. Representatives of this direction are suprematists, neoplasticists;
expressive abstractionism and tachisme. The emphasis in these branches is not on colors, shapes and lines, but on the technique of paint application, through which dynamics are set, emotions are conveyed and the unconscious of the artist is reflected, working without any preliminary plan;
minimalist abstractionism. This trend is closer to the avant-garde. Its essence boils down to the absence of references to any associations. Lines, shapes and colors are used concisely and to a minimum.

The emergence of abstractionism as a movement in art was the result of changes that were in the air at the beginning of the last century, associated with numerous new discoveries that began to move humanity forward. Everything new and still incomprehensible required the same explanation and solution, including through art.