ABSTRACTIONI

SM

The abstractionist movement

arose from the intellectual
points of view in the 20 t h
century. In the world of
science, physicists were
formulating a new view of the
universe, which resulted in the
concepts of space-time and
relativity. This intellectualism
was refl ected even in art.
While expressionism was
emotional, abstractionism was
logical and rational. It involved

R E P R E S E N TAT I O N A L
ABSTRACTIONISM

depicting still
recognizable
subjects

PURE
ABSTRACTIONISM

where no
recognizable
subject could be
discerned.

Artists reduced a
scene into
GEOMETRICAL
shapes, patterns,
lines, angles,
textures, and
swirls of color.

Grouped under
abstractionism
are the following
art styles:
cubism
futurism
mechanical

CUBIS
M

The cubist style derived

its name from the cube,
a three dimensional
geometric fi gure
composed of strictly
measured lines, planes,
and angles. Cubist
artworks were,
therefore, a play of

PABLO
PICASS
O
Spanish
painter
and

Three
Musicia
ns
1921

Girl Before A Mirror

1932

The movement known as

futurism began in Italy in the
early 1900s. As the name
implies, the futurists created
art for a fast-paced,
machine-propelled age. They
admired the motion, force,
speed, and strength of
mechanical forms. Thus,
their works depicted the
dynamic sensation of all
theseas can be seen in the

Armored
Train
1915

Memories of Travel

MECHANICAL
STYLE

MECHANICAL STYLE
In this style, basic
forms such as
planes, cones,
spheres, and
cylinders all fi t
together precisely
and neatly in their

The City
Fernand Leger

Disks
1918

NON
OBJECTIVIS
M

From the very term

non-object, works in
this style did not make
use of fi gures or even
representations of
fi gures. They did not
refer to recognizable
objects or forms in the
outside world.

Lines, shapes, and

colors were used in a
cool, impersonal
approach that aimed
for balance, unity,
and stability. Colors
were mainly black,
white, and the

Piet Mondrian
Dutch painter

N e w Yo r k
City
1942