Mary’s Landscape Art Info

Western art, from the Renaissance to the mid 19^th century, largely used perspective to create an illusion of visible reality. That all changed with the beginning of abstract art. According to Wikipedia, “abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references to the world.” Abstraction indicates a departure from reality – be it slight or complete.

Artwork that takes liberties by changing color or form that is easily recognizable would be said to be partially abstract – as in the art movement known as Fauvism, popular in the early 20^th century, in which color was deliberately changed. (There were a lot of red tree trunks.) Artwork that bears no resemblance to anything recognizable, as in the art movement known as Cubism, popular a little later in the 20^th century, would be total abstraction.