The original meaning of some of these folk graphics may be lost. Some of these patterns end up as a leitmotif on the border of a hand-crafted rug or vase. These shapes are arranged in patterns that have a symbolic or literal meaning. Geometric and abstract works are as old as the human race and focus on the use of geometric or abstract designs. All of the described narrative styles also apply to the hundreds of genres of Folk Art.īelow is a list of traditional narrative styles that apply to both classical and folk art. They use almost every medium that is still in use by artists today, including drawing, painting, and sculpture. Traditional narrative art generally depicts topics of a more somber and documentary nature.

It is important to note that each style of narrative art is often formed by its own culture or language. Narrative art simply refers to any type of art that tells a story with a picture or pictures. In the following sections, we look at some of the traditional styles embraced by both Narrative art and Folk Art. Modernism evolved as a visual art style in the 1870s, resulting in Abstract, Impressionist, and Expressionist work. Traditional narrative styles dominated all art until non-narrative art came into being with the advent of Modernism. However, Folk art is still classified as narrative work, because it still tells a myth or story, but is more specific to a single culture. Narrative art evolves from its roots in classicism, following basic rules about representation, whereas Folk art is almost a distortion of these rules, adhering to cultural content and non-evolving mediums. There are two main categories of traditional art styles: narrative art and folk art.

It is usually representational and documentarian and may involve craft skills such as clay work, mosaic work, or egg tempera painting. Even if naive or symbolic in content, traditional art always boasts a realistic or narrative style.

Download traditional artists