The Figure-Ground Relationship in Painting Explained and Explored
Discover new layers of significance in visual art
Here is an intriguing image, painted by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.
Three Musicians (1921) is an example of so-called Synthetic Cubism. Angular blocks of paint offer a stylised, rudimentary depiction of a trio of musicians whose faces, instruments and clothing are entangled with each other and with the setting.
Stepping back, one of the things we can say about this painting is that the relationship between the foreground and background is slippery.
Take a moment to look at it. What part does the roaming layer of blue play in the portrayal, for instance? Shape or shadow, subject matter or backdrop? It’s hard to say, but fascinating to explore.
Likewise, the areas of white, black and brown, what is their role in the image?
The various objects within Picasso’s painting are unmoored from our normal expectations of space. Nearness and depth coexist. The overall effect is to instigate a reappraisal of how we perceive three-dimensional space and objects within it…
