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The genre of figure paintings is in one sense as ancient as painting itself, since the stick-man hunters in Lascaux and other caves may be considered as figure paintings in the widest sense; however, the nude, for instance, goes back only to the Renaissance and specifically to the paintings of Giorgione. Paintings of human figures were, of course, almost the only subject during the Middle Ages; but, since they were invariably religious, these do not count as figure paintings.
With the Renaissance came secular portraiture, and from that point portraits and the nude began to displace sacred figure paintings. Mark Mitchell Paintings & Drawings includes in the collection a variety of figure paintings: nudes, figures in interiors and portraiture, each an intriguing example of the genre.
We also have works in different media amongst our group of figure paintings: drawings of the nude, and - unusually - watercolour paintings of the nude by the contemporary artist, Stephen Rose. We have figure paintings in oil by adherents of the Glasgow School, and some extremely decorative work by Robert Greenham. Our collection includes instances of figure paintings from various countries, such as an interior scene by the German Willibald Krain, and a ballroom by Albert Ludovici, friend of Whistler and painter of social scenes (on the beach, the streets of Victorian London, the contemporary interior). You can see our collection online at our website, Mark Mitchell Paintings, where they are ordered by subject, by period and by nationality.
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