I created many series featuring faces of different people at various ages with distinct looks. Additionally, there are graphical images of animals, such as a dog and a cat. All these images are graphical vector illustrations that have been simplified step by step in Illustrator. There are also more images of faces that I have manually created. Later, I used digital tools to simplify them gradually.
During the summer break, I plan to simplify these images further, until only two dots remain where the eyes used to be. Then, I want to conduct the same experiment again to validate the findings from my previous post. This is my collection of different faces in various stages of abstraction.
Series 01: Middle Aged Man
Series 02: Young Girl
Series 03: Young Boy
Series 04: Cat
Series 05: Dog
Series 06: Dot Art
Series 06: Line Art
Series 07: Print
Series 08: Profile Drawing
It was important to me to create a series that is highly diverse, encompassing a variety of styles and personalities. At the same time, I wanted to maintain a structured approach to the abstraction process, ensuring continuity in the simplification stages. This method will help me systematically explore how different degrees of abstraction affect the perception of faces and personalities, providing valuable insights for my ongoing research.
I have created the following images of a face in twelve different degrees of abstraction. Initially, the facial shapes are very detailed and clearly set within a context, making it immediately recognisable that the depicted person is a young woman. Step by step, I reduced the colours, simplified the shapes, and removed more and more elements. In the end, only two black dots remain where the eyes used to be.
Starting with the last image featuring two dots, I showed the series to a test group of three different people. I asked them if they could recognize what was shown in the image. Two out of the three people recognized a face in the eleventh image with three dots; the third person recognized a face in the tenth image, when the shape of the mouth was already more refined.
Additionally, I asked the test group at which point they were able to recognize the gender of the face and estimate its rough age. One test person said this was possible at the ninth image, the second person at the seventh, and the third at the fifth image, when the context of longer hair surrounding the face was present.
From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance towards Modernity
Altar Frontal from La Seu d’Urgell, 12th Century
Medieval art reflects how humans defined their place in a world dominated by the Church and Christian doctrine. In the depiction of the 12 apostles on the altar frontal from La Seu d’Urgell, all faces are schematic and geometric, lacking individual features. This uniformity mirrors the medieval worldview, where individual fulfillment was insignificant compared to one’s service to the Church and God. There is no attempt at realism here; faces lack shadows and half-tones, and the apostles‘ proportions are distorted, emphasizing the religious symbolism over physical accuracy.
The apostles are shown in profile, all gazing toward Christ, the central figure who alone faces the viewer. The use of halos around each apostle’s head, defined by simple black outlines, underscores their spiritual dedication, rather than their individuality. The overall composition is repetitive and geometric, indicating that what is depicted is not the physical world but an inner, religious vision shaped by faith. It is a reflection of a non-scientific worldview, where spiritual meaning took precedence over material representation.
The Renaissance: A Turn Towards Realism
Albrecht Dürer – Self-Portrait in Fur Coat, 1500
„So I, Albrecht Dürer from Nuremberg, painted myself with true colors at the age of 29.“
— Albrecht Dürer, 1500
In the Renaissance, the dominance of Christian ideology waned, giving way to humanism and a revival of scientific thought that had been developed in antiquity but suppressed throughout the Middle Ages. This intellectual shift is evident in Renaissance art, where artists began to seek fulfillment not in divine service, but within themselves as individuals.
Albrecht Dürer’s self-portrait is a prime example of this transformation. In his 1500 Self-Portrait in Fur Coat, Dürer places himself at the center of the composition, directly facing the viewer in a manner reminiscent of how only Christ was depicted in medieval art. His hand gesture, echoing a blessing (Segensgruß), suggests that Dürer saw himself as a secondary creator, echoing divine creativity, yet still acknowledging his faith.
This portrait, however, also serves as self-promotion, revealing Dürer’s awareness of his role as an artist. Artists of the Renaissance no longer viewed themselves as mere craftsmen but as creators of genius, capable of divine-like mastery. Dürer’s portrait is rendered with meticulous realism, with details like the fine shading of his face and individual eyelashes bringing his likeness to life. The dark background ensures that his features stand out, emphasizing the importance of the individual, a stark contrast to medieval depictions of faceless collectives.
Modernity: A Shift Away from Realism – Art Nouveau and Early Abstraction
By the turn of the 20th century, the focus shifted once again, this time away from the realism of the Renaissance. The Art Nouveau period, which can be seen as a transitional phase toward modern art, mixed elements of realism with abstraction. A prime example of this transition is Alphonse Mucha’s 1896 poster for cigarettes. While the face still retains realistic details like shading and form, the thick black contour separating it from the decorative, repetitive background introduces a stylization that moves away from pure realism.
Similarly, Koloman Moser’s cover for Ver Sacrum (1899) maintains accurate proportions and realistic shading but simplifies these into harsh contrasts, with minimal use of half-tones. The curvilinear forms of the hair, intertwined with decorative flowers, exemplify the playful and ornamental spirit of the period.
The Viennese Secession and the Move Towards Geometry
1902. Koloman Moser. AT. Poster
1908. Berthold Löffler. AT. Poster
By the time of the Viennese Secession, this decorative playfulness evolved further. Artists like Koloman Moser and Berthold Löffler reduced natural, curvy forms into more geometric shapes, creating precise patterns where individual features were often subsumed into the overall design. Faces, rather than standing out from their surroundings, became part of a larger repetitive composition. This move towards abstraction signified an increasing detachment from the realistic portrayal of the individual, favoring a more symbolic and decorative interpretation of human figures.
Bauhaus and the Essence of Form – Oskar Schlemmer’s Bauhaus Influence
1922. Oskar Schlemmer. DE.
“Schlemmer played with primary shapes and the human form, reducing faces to their core elements in a conscious and minimalist approach.”
— Eric Roinestad
The Bauhaus, one of the most iconic movements of modern art, pushed the abstraction seen in Art Nouveau and the Viennese Secession to its logical extreme. Oskar Schlemmer, a key figure in the movement, explored the reduction of human forms to their most basic geometric elements. His minimalist compositions maintained expressive power despite their simplicity, demonstrating how even the most reduced forms could evoke emotion and meaning.
In this period, artists like Schlemmer moved away from depicting realistic likenesses, instead opting for simplified forms that reflected a more abstract understanding of human identity. By reducing faces to their core elements, modern artists like Schlemmer reconnected with the early abstraction seen in prehistoric cave paintings, though now with a fully conscious understanding of artistic creation.
Conclusion: The Cyclical Nature of Art
Throughout art history, two parallel processes have unfolded: the pursuit of realism and the search for internal images that express individual interpretation. From the abstract and symbolic art of the Middle Ages to the hyper-realism of the Renaissance and the abstraction of the modern era, these artistic movements reveal humankind’s ongoing exploration of identity and existence. Both approaches—realism and abstraction—are valuable and essential in understanding the complex evolution of human self-perception.
Sources: Altar frontal from La Seu d’Urgell or of the Apostles. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona. Accessed October 10, 2024. https://youtu.be/L2T2vXjr3Tw?feature=shared.
Throughout the History of Art and Design – Cave Paintings
In this stage of my research, I aim to examine how humans have depicted facial shapes throughout the history of art and design. By analyzing these depictions, we gain insight into how humanity has viewed itself through different artistic methods, techniques, and focal points. A key observation is the varying degrees of abstraction in facial features, which decrease in detail until the Renaissance and then increase again during the Modern period.
Paleolithic Cave Art: Sego Canyon
One of the oldest examples of human depiction comes from a cave in Sego Canyon, dating back to approximately 27,000 BC in the Paleolithic Era. The facial figure depicted in this artwork has an abstract, alien-like appearance, sparking much speculation regarding its meaning and origin. What stands out is the use of simple geometric shapes, resulting in a highly graphical and symmetrical style that displays both purity and abstraction. Despite the lack of clear interpretation, this ancient art reflects the early human desire to represent and understand themselves.
Wandjina Sky Beings: Aboriginal Rock Art
Another significant example of ancient facial depiction is the Wandjina Sky Beings found in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. These figures are part of a cultural tradition that dates back more than 60,000 years (Gillan, 2021). According to Australian Aboriginal legends, the Wandjinas were „supreme spirit beings“ and creators of both the land and its people. The Wandjinas are depicted with white, mouthless faces, large black eyes, and halos around their heads.
The stylized depiction of these beings has led to various interpretations, from human representations to owls or even extraterrestrial beings. Like the Sego Canyon drawings, the Wandjina art exhibits a distinct, character-rich style that focuses on the face, reflecting early humans‘ fascination with the mysteries of existence and the potential creators of life. While the exact motives behind these depictions remain unclear, it is evident that painting faces helped early humans reflect on their origins and purpose.
Egyptian Art and Hieroglyphs
Hieroglyphs, dating back more than 5,200 years, played a critical role in ancient Egyptian society, particularly in recording royal achievements and fulfilling religious functions. Human faces in hieroglyphs are typically shown in profile and are highly stylized, with few individual traits. Gods, such as Horus, are often depicted with a human body and the head of an animal, like a falcon.
One notable aspect of Egyptian hieroglyphic art is the depiction of eyes. Even though faces are shown in profile, the eyes are always depicted from a frontal view. This deliberate artistic choice reflects the symbolic importance of the eye in Egyptian culture. The left eye, known as the Eye of Horus, represents the moon and carries yin energy, while the right eye, known as the Eye of Ra, symbolizes the sun and yang energy. These dual meanings highlight the complex interplay between visual representation and spiritual significance in ancient Egypt.
Eyes in Modern Graphic Design
1864. Jean-Alexis Rouchon. FR. Poster1930. Willy Petzold. DE. Poster1949. „Rob“. FR. Poster1952. Ernst A, Heininger. CH. Poster1929. Anonymous. RU. Poster
It is said that eyes are the windows of the soul. Because they have such a high symbolic meaning and speak to us on a deeper emotional level, they fulfil the same function in modern graphic design as they did in the depictions of the human eye in ancient hieroglyphs. Here are a few examples of poster designs of the modern period where the eye is the central element and focus of the composition drawing the attention of the viewer automatically towards it. The posters are all from different stylistic directions, years and countries, but still they all distinguish themselves and communicate effectively due to the element of the human eye.
