figural

Thân thiện

The artist created a figural sculpture of a dancer in motion.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Consisting of or forming human or animal figures: Pertaining to, representing, or composed of figures, especially of the human or animal form.
   • Figurative; symbolic: Relating to representation by a figure or emblem; not literal.

Usage

• The primary use of "figural" is to describe artistic designs, patterns, or art that depicts or is composed of recognizable figures, particularly human or animal forms.
• It is often used in art history and criticism to distinguish representational art from abstract or purely decorative art.
• It can also be used in a broader, more symbolic sense, though this is less common than the specific artistic meaning.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The ancient vase was decorated with a complex figural scene of a hunting party.
  • Medieval manuscripts often contain beautiful figural illustrations in the margins.
  • The artist's early work was purely abstract, but she later moved to a more figural style.

Advanced Usage

• "Figural representation": The depiction of recognizable figures in art.
  • The cave paintings are among the earliest known examples of figural representation.
• In some contexts, particularly in older texts or specific academic fields like rhetoric, "figural" can be synonymous with "figurative," meaning metaphorical or symbolic.
  • The poet's figural language painted vivid pictures in the reader's mind.

Variants and Related Words

• Figure (n): A representation of a human or animal form; a shape or pattern.
• Figurative (adj): Departing from a literal use of words; metaphorical. (Note: While related, "figurative" is more commonly used for language, and "figural" for visual art).
• Figuration (n): The act of shaping into a particular figure; ornamentation with figures.

Synonyms

• Representational: (of art) Seeking to depict the physical appearance of things.
• Anthropomorphic: Attributing human form or characteristics to a non-human thing.
• Zoomorphic: Having or representing animal forms.

Antonyms

• Abstract: (of art) Not representing or imitating external reality.
• Non-representational: Not depicting recognizable objects or figures.
• Geometric: Characterized by or decorated with regular lines and shapes.

Related Phrases

• Figural composition: An artwork whose structure is based on the arrangement of figures.
  • The painting's power comes from its dynamic figural composition.
• Figural motif: A recurring design element based on a figure.
  • The figural motif of the lion symbolizes strength throughout the tapestry.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. consisting of or forming human or animal figures
   • a figural design
   • the figurative art of the humanistic tradition- Herbert Read

Từ đồng nghĩa

• figurative