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Figurative And Genre Art And Their Impact To Modern Society

By Janine Hughes


Art has its own language. It brings out a message but does not speak. It evokes emotions at its stillness. That sublime moment you experience when you are glued at staring a wonderful painting for instance is something that is difficult to explain. Even if science has a way of explaining the phenomena, the appeal that different individuals has for a single work remains something to ponder upon.

Different forms of art are produced at present. However, none of them can ever compete the value and the importance that those old masterpieces have. It is as if time has made them more valuable than before. When we visit museums, we will see a lot of these figurative and genre art adorning the walls of the place. Not only do they look beautiful. They look alive and meaningful enough to hold ones attention for a moment.

A quick glance at them and one can simply dismiss that the two genre are more or less the same. The subjects of the art concern humans and their practices. What differentiates them though is the presentation. Genre art clearly shows a scene. An example would be the life at the market. It is like taking a photograph of it and then painting and exact copy. Figurative is more representational. It could include abstract designs. Some of them can be difficult to decipher and are open to different interpretations.

Despite their age, there remains a profound beauty among these artworks. Some may attribute it to the manner by which it is done. Others say it is due to the time spent in making it. And then there are some who believes that it is because of the message that the paintings portray. Actually, they could be the combination of all of these factors.

If you think about it, you may find it easy to do the genre one. After all, you just need to find a real event that is happening on your place. It could be anything. From the normal life in the streets, up to the life of students living in mountainous areas. The choices are varied. But making them look appealing and catching is a different story.

Creating a great work of art requires more than just inspiration. It needs a combination of time, skill and passion from the artist himself. An absence of any of these factors can affect the overall quality of the output. We may never have seen the actual ways by how these masterpieces were created. But the way they get the attention of the people is enough of a proof on the thought and feeling poured down on them during the creation.

Personal bias can also affect the creation. If emotions are indeed used in creating the artwork, then it is easy to say that what the painter felt while doing his masterpiece shaped and curved some of the details of the image. Sometimes it can even be a combination of feelings and beliefs.

One complicated but beautiful thing about paintings is their openness to interpretations. While there are established interpretations done by other experts, you are free to look at a work that way you see it. How it appeals to one may not be the same with the others. No interpretation is wrong. It is something personal after all.

There is something irreplaceable about the beauty that old paintings has. It is more than just the image. It could be the message or the emotions evoked by the combinations of color. The great thing is, people of all ages are drawn to it.




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