Abstract art refers to the visual rendition of an artist’s thoughts or feelings that may not be easily comprehended by the viewer. In case of abstract painting, the object of the painter is portrayed through a style that may not relate to anything directly, but only be suggestive of it.
The earliest signs of abstract art were found in pottery, textiles, paintings on rocks, and inscriptions. They usually had a symbolic significance, and were said to originate in the Islamic culture wherein the direct depiction of the human form was, in a way, forbidden.
Some of the early art movements that had an influence on the origin of abstract art in the nineteenth century are Romanticism, Impressionism and Expressionism. During this period artists were recipients of private patronage. Emphasis on the visual sensation, rather than the object itself, was a characteristic of this form of art. Some of the artists aimed at making a logical construct of reality based on a view from a particular point.
In the later part of the nineteenth century, schools such as modernism and mysticism also had a strong influence on abstract art. This led to the popularization of geometric abstract styles in the twentieth century.
