When a masterpiece is conceived, having exceptional existence apart from visual orientation with the use of any form, line, or color, is termed as an abstract art. Traditional European art resorted to the reproduction of the illusion of visible reality prior to the discovery of abstract art.

The growth and wider acceptance of different cultures provided opportunities to artists to display their art in other ways. Artists began to articulate their artwork in more abstract ways by the late 19th century, revealing the primary changes found in science, technology and philosophy.

Deviation from reality and depiction of imagery in art is exhibited by abstract art. This divergence goes anywhere from minor to whole abstraction. When any form or color is changed, the artwork is termed to be partially abstract.

When recreated artwork deviates from any resemblance to the original piece, then it is said to be a total abstraction. Because creating a perfect recreation of an object is next to impossible, an article claiming to be distinct is regarded as an abstract.

Earlier rocks, pottery, and even clothes were marked with symbols which were very simple, linear and in geometrical form revealing nice symbols and decoration. The purpose of such art was to confer the simple level of visual meaning, just as we like and get pleasure from the eye-catching Chinese writing or Islamic calligraphy even if we are not able to read and understand it.

Romanticism, Impressionism, and Expressionism were the three main art movements responsible for the recognition and development of abstract art in the 19th century. James McNeill Whistler was one of the first to introduce this new art, by giving greater importance to visual sensation rather than the simple portrayal of objects, in his painting Nocturne in Black and Gold: The falling Rocket, in the year 1872.

Expressionist painters exhibited their modern understanding by creating emotionally stimulated paintings. They displayed their emotions by the bold use of the canvas, by using strong colors and exaggerations.

Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, and Paul Cezanne left a hefty impression on the art of the 20th century, and were responsible for the creation of 20th century abstraction, by practicing post Impressionism.

Famous painters including Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy revolutionized the Paris art world by drawing wild paintings of landscapes and figures that were multi-colored and expressive. Paintings by Henri Matisse that resemble pure abstraction because of his expressive use of color and imaginative drawing include French Window at Collioure (1914) and View of Notre-Dame (1914).

Jason Briggs maintains the artistic paintings website OceanSpectrum.com. We provide information on paintings and a nice collection of abstract original paintings.