representational

Examples of representational in the following topics:

• Figurative and Abstract Art

  • Art exists along a continuum from realistic representational work to fully non-representational work.
  • Painting and sculpture can be divided into the categories of figurative (or representational) and abstract (or non-representational).
  • Figurative art describes artwork – particularly paintings and sculptures – which are clearly derived from real object sources, and therefore are, by definition, representational.
  • Non-representational art refers to total abstraction, bearing no trace of any reference to anything recognizable.
  • Figurative art and total abstraction are nearly mutually exclusive, but figurative or representational art often contains at least one element of abstraction.

• Art History Methodology

  • The way these individual elements are employed results in representational or non-representational art.
  • If so, it is representational .
  • If so the art is non-representational—also called abstract .
  • If the work is not representational and is an expression of the artist's feelings, longings and aspirations, or is a search for ideals of beauty and form, the work is non-representational or a work of expressionism .
  • This bust of the Greek philosopher Aristotle is considered representational, given its clear resemblance to a human face.

• Mathura Style

  • In ancient art, anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha started to emerge from the 1st century AD in Northern India.
  • The art of Mathura tends to be based on a strong Indian tradition, exemplified by the anthropomorphic representation of divinities such as the Yaksas, although in a style rather archaic compared to the later representations of the Buddha.
  • The representations of the Buddha in Mathura are generally dated slightly later than those of Gandhara, although not without debate, and are also much less numerous .
  • Up to that point, Indian Buddhist art had essentially been aniconic, avoiding representation of the Buddha, except for his symbols, such as the wheel or the Bodhi tree, although some archaic Mathuran sculptural representation of Yaksas have been dated to the 1st century BCE.
  • It is still a matter of debate whether the anthropomorphic representations of Buddha were essentially a result of a local evolution of Buddhist art at Mathura, or a consequence of Greek cultural influence in Gandhara through the Greco-Buddhist syncretism.

• Greco-Buddhist Art

  • In ancient art, anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha started to emerge from the 1st century CE in Northern India.
  • This unusual representation of Herakles is the same as the one on the back of Demetrius's coins, and it is exclusively associated to him (and his son Euthydemus II), seen only on the back of his coins.
  • The art of Mathura tends to be based on a strong Indian tradition, exemplified by the anthropomorphic representation of divinities such as the Yaksas, although in a style rather archaic compared to the later representations of the Buddha.
  • The representations of the Buddha in Mathura are generally dated slightly later than those of Gandhāra (although not without debate) and are also much less numerous.
  • It is still a matter of debate whether the anthropomorphic representations of Buddha were essentially a result of a local evolution of Buddhist art at Mathura, or a consequence of Greek cultural influence in Gandhāra through the Greco-Buddhist syncretism.

• Distortions of Space and Foreshortening

  • Distortion is used to create various representations of space in two-dimensional works of art.
  • A distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of an object, image, sound, or other form of information or representation.
  • However, it is more commonly referred to in terms of perspective, where it is employed to create realistic representations of space in two-dimensional works of art.
  • However, there are several constructs available that allow for seemingly accurate representation.
  • Although foreshortening is an important element in art where visual perspective is being depicted, foreshortening occurs in other types of two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional scenes, such as oblique parallel projection drawings.

• Foreshortening

  • Perspective (from Latin "perspicere", to see through) in the graphic arts is an approximate representation on a flat surface of an image as it is seen by the eye.
  • Although foreshortening is an important element in art where visual perspective is being depicted, it also occurs in other types of two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional scenes.

• Islamic Calligraphy

  • In a religion where figural representations are considered to be an act of idolatry, it is no surprise that  the word and its artistic representation have become an important aspect in Islamic art.

• Iconic Buddhist Sculpture and Painting

  • Anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha began to emerge in the 1st century CE in Northern India.
  • During this new Iconic phase, representations of the Buddha in human form developed for the first time, following centuries of Pre-Iconic art in which the Buddha was represented by abstract symbols.
  • The art, along with the religion, spread from eastern Central Asia to China, which favored solemn and abstract representations of the Buddha under the Northern Dynasties of the 5th and 6th centuries and more lifelike, classically Indian depictions under the Tang Dynasty until 845.
  • Representation of the Buddha in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, 1st century CE.

• Pre-Iconic Buddhist Art and Architecture

  • Buddhist Pre-Iconic art originated in India in the 6th century BCE and avoided anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha.
  • The friezes and tablets avoided anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, even in scenes where other human figures were present.
  • It has been argued that earlier anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha may have been made of wood and may have perished since then; however, no related archaeological evidence has been found.

• Late Egyptian Art

  • The Late Period of Ancient Egypt (664–332 BCE) marked a maintenance of artistic tradition with subtle changes in the representation of the human form.
  • This basalt portrait bust (pictured below) of an unknown Egyptian dignitary from the period shows little change from convention in the representation of the human form.
  • A fragment of Nectanebo II's portrait, with its partial smile and sagging chin, in the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon, is slightly more naturalistic than previous representations of pharaohs.