The figurative surface pattern, from art to textile

Figurative surface patterns occupy an essential place in textile design. Often rich in color and detail, these striking visuals are modeled on the elements that make up the world around us. A figurative surface pattern can tell a story, convey an emotion, have a symbolic character, speaking to everyone and at any age. Let's discover this immense family of textile patterns that has always maintained a close link with the world of art.

What is figurative art?

We speak of figurative pattern in reference to figurative art, an artistic style in which images represent subjects or objects belonging to the "natural world": humans, animals, fictional characters, landscapes, objects, scenes of life...

Figurative art is characterized above all by a search for imitation of nature from a model, but it is not limited to the strict representation of reality. The approach can be more or less realistic, or totally idealized, depending on the artist's inspiration. A figurative work can therefore integrate real but also imaginary figures, always inspired by the "visible" world.

Figurative art covers a wide spectrum of expressions ranging from pure realism to stylized symbolic forms and is expressed through different aesthetic movements.

Differences between figurative art and abstract art

Figurative art can be opposed to abstract art, a non-figurative artistic movement by definition. Led by painters such as Vassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Robert Delaunay or Paul Klee, abstract art appeared simultaneously in several parts of Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. These artists deliberately broke with established artistic conventions to better detach themselves from reality. They based their work on the expression of sensations rather than on the imitation of nature.

Where abstract art frees itself from the reality of the visible world by representing free forms, colors and textures for their own sake, figurative art focuses on the faithful, imaginary or stylized representation of clearly identifiable realistic scenes and objects.

Figurative art is therefore an art of mimicry that seeks to transcribe the real world. Abstract art, on the contrary, seeks to free itself from it in order to explore or materialize an “inner world”: that of emotions, feelings, concepts, etc.

Nevertheless, these two pictorial genres come together on one point: a figurative work like an abstract work can be interpreted in terms of their artistic message, the symbols or the values ​​they embody.

What is a figurative surface pattern?

A figurative surface pattern is simply a design that represents something real, a concrete and easily recognizable subject.

This category includes all figures of living beings (humans, animals, characters, etc.) but also landscapes and objects, with the exception of flowers, which constitute a vast number of "separate" patterns. And in the field of textile design, this category of textile patterns has occupied a special place for a very long time, adorning clothing, decorative textiles, furnishing and accessories... They are the most appropriate for bringing a narrative and expressive visual touch to fabrics, whether they are representations inspired by nature, landscapes, the animal kingdom, human or fictional characters. Scattered on fabrics, wisely organized or animating entire scenes, stylized version or stunning trompe-l'oeil, these surface patterns are integrated into fashion and decoration in a range of styles ranging from hyper realism to the most unbridled surrealism.

The use of figurative surface patterns in textile design

From textile printing to Jacquard weaving, dyeing or embroidery, the development of production techniques has allowed textile designers to broaden their creative horizons, giving rise to works of unparalleled richness. Figurative textile patterns, in particular, have benefited from this evolution, with increasingly detailed and varied creations, influenced by different aesthetic trends and major artistic styles. Technical innovations now offer designers sophisticated means to faithfully represent the shapes of the world around us or to invent new visions that oscillate between realism, abstraction and surrealism.

The figurative style is particularly popular when it comes to designing surface patterns for children. Colorful representations of animals, objects or characters from nature, everyday life or the imagination tell stories that captivate young children while stimulating their creativity. Animated scenes or stylized surface patterns, often drawn in ink, oil or pastel, can evoke a playful and poetic atmosphere. The figures that populate these creations, whether inspired by real elements or invented, thus become educational tools or vectors of emotion, capable of transporting children into fantastic or familiar universes.

But the figurative design is not limited to the child's world. In a broader context, it allows to transmit strong messages, often linked to cultural or universal symbols. For example, surface patterns taken from historical sculptures, famous paintings or mythological scenes, reflect an abstraction imbued with meaning. Designers also use shapes and colors to evoke themes such as love, nature or memory, while drawing on artistic traditions such as naturalism or symbolism. These inspirations nourish textile designs that embody as much a cultural heritage as a contemporary breath, reinforcing the close link between the real and the imaginary.

With the advances in techniques, designers can now play on a multitude of renderings, from hyperrealistic figurative to more dreamlike compositions. Some designs imitate classic pictorial works, while others, influenced by artists like Jean Hofmann, revisit the traditional rules of representation to better subvert them.

The different types of figurative textile patterns

When we consider fabric as a medium for artistic expression, art is never far from the surface pattern. For centuries, pictorial movements and fashion have interacted by mixing their influences. Over time and aesthetic concerns, many major artistic movements have had an impact on textile design, inspiring designers to create elegant, colorful surface patterns full of personality.

Naturalism

The most famous representatives of this 19th-century artistic movement were the painters of the Barbizon School, from Corot to Millet and Courbet. A vibrant homage to nature, fields and forests, naturalist painting gives pride of place to animals, plants and minerals, capturing the authenticity and spontaneity of our world in the smallest detail.

In textile design, Naturalism opened the door to a multitude of bird, mammal and insect surface patterns as realistic as a Velazquez canvas, to vegetal surface patterns as precise as a botanical plate and to landscapes that were also extremely faithful to reality. This trend permeated Victorian England, whose sumptuous decorative fabrics adorned with floral surface patterns and animal textile designs are remembered.

Romanticism

After emerging in Germany in the 18th century, Romanticism spread throughout Europe. Textile design did not escape this artistic wave that emphasized emotion, imagination and individuality. Nature invites contemplation, sometimes tormented and marked by a certain melancholy, but always sublimated, even idealized.

For design, it is an opportunity to represent idyllic landscapes and pastoral scenes. With its soft colors and curved lines organized in bucolic tableaux on fabrics, Toile de Jouy proves that this great romantic impulse has lost none of its charm.

Symbolism

Symbolist artists used figurative images to embody abstract or spiritual, even esoteric, ideas. Between imagination and reality, flirting with the occult, the symbolist universe is rich in recurring surface patterns from mythology and sacred texts. Death, love, human nature are thus materialized by symbols and stylized surface patterns identifiable at first glance. Allegorical scenes, hybrid surface patterns, evocation of a mythical or fantastic bestiary: figurative textile patterns in the symbolist style allow creators to develop a dreamlike universe mixing imagination and reality.

Impressionism

A precursor to abstract art strongly inspired by the invention of photography, Impressionism revolutionized the world of painting by exploring new pictorial territories. By capturing light, colors and fleeting visual sensations, this artistic movement took a new look at our perception of the world. Far from being academic, generally vague and imprecise, Impressionist figurative surface patterns do not focus on details. They are inspired by nature or daily life and seek to transcribe a general atmosphere.

On textiles, the influence of the impressionist style is reflected in compositions that favor the play of light and color contrasts, in order to create movement and dynamism.

Expressionism

Expressionism seeks to express intense emotions through distorted shapes and colors. The figurative designs associated with this style are often dramatic, sometimes even violent, with an exaggeration of features to express pain, fear or joy. In textile design, expressionist surface patterns can include human or animal figures with distorted proportions or abstract landscapes, aiming to communicate a raw emotion rather than an objective reality.

Surrealism

From dream to reality, there is only one step, which each surrealist work takes cheerfully. A true "Prévert inventory", the repertoire of surrealist surface patterns joyfully defies logic, with a great deal of surprising and offbeat visuals. The world of surrealism is deliberately intriguing, combining real and fantastic elements without any complexes. We come across "soft" objects, melting, floating in the air, incongruous decorations, hybrid animals... Absurd or enigmatic, these designs disturb, question but do not necessarily call for an answer and everyone can attribute a meaning to them.

Cubism

Neither truly figurative nor totally abstract, cubism deconstructs reality into geometric shapes. Initiated by artists such as Braque and Picasso, this movement renewed the relationship between art and reality, according to the principle that "there is no figurative and non-figurative art. All things appear to us in the form of figures".

In textile design, cubist figurative textile patterns often present human figures or natural forms broken down into angular lines and geometric facets. They seem to be perceived simultaneously from different points of view. This approach gives a dynamic and abstract aspect to the patterns while maintaining a figurative base, thus creating a link between representation and abstraction.