Artists Using a Planar Approach to the Human Figure

Luca Cambiaso (1527-1584)

Cambiaso was a prolific draftsman. In his early drawings Cambiaso showed a preference for bold foreshortening and exaggerated gestures. In the mid-1560s he began to draw in a simplified, geometric style that may have been inspired by similar works by Albrecht Dürer and other German artists.

Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966)

Giacometti was a key player in the Surrealist art movement, but his work resists easy categorization. Some describe it as formalist, others argue it is expressionist or otherwise having to do with what art historian Deleuze calls "blocs of sensation". Even after his excommunication from the Surrealist group, while the intention of his was was usually imitation, the end products were an expression of his emotional response to the subject. He attempted to create renditions of his models the way he saw them, and the way he thought they ought to be seen.

Zak Smith (1976-still living)

An enduring interest in comic books informs Smiths dynamic and obsessively detailed depictions of the people, objects, and stories that inhabit his world. Smith draws on traditions of decorative art to produce visually complex, labor-intensive pictures characterized by intricate patterns and vivid coloration.  These include repeated shapes (such as squares and lines) that are compressed to form 3D hints that form the picture. Zak also contrasts colors in his work, often using black and white with clear differentiation within the scene.