FIGURINE ART

Figurine art utilizes three dimensions and this has the appeal of producing a piece of art that one can pick up and fondle, gleaning the sensations that only come with the sense of touch. For the figurine to be worthwhile, it must evoke the original subject in miniature by virtue of the artist using his artist’s eye to convert the many details of the original to a reasonable facsimile of them in the figurine, enough to convey a strongly realistic portrayal. No artist can duplicate exactly the original and this would seem almost a perversion of the artist’s role if it were possible; the artist knows the rules of perspective and form and color and shapes his art to reflect his thorough training in the rules of making art. For example, a windswept hairdo of a character who is looking out to sea is suggested by a few curls across her brow and a searching demeanor in her expression. The fall of her hair may be suggested by a wave or two of hair out of place, but the bulk of her hair would be, in real life, streaming out behind her and this is impractical in a figurine with its fragile porcelain nature. A hint of disarray in her pose and expression are enough to convey the effects of the wind.

Figurine art utilizes our natural impulse to recreate our environment, and if we have the space to display a large collection, how satisfying it is to create small groupings of similar subjects. In one corner of our display shelf we have the group of baby animals, the fawns and nestlings that delight us so, while in the opposite corner we have in perfect order the recreations of European castles that we collected on our grand tour of the European continent. The two subjects are dissimilarly themed, one being natural and one being man-made, so it is appropriate that we separate them and give the viewer a single effect with each group. To do otherwise would contribute to a sense of disorder, and that is what we do not want to foster. A large enough collection may contain exemplars of the famous figurine artists’ schools, Hummel and Royal Doulton. We are justifiably proud of our taste when we survey lesser known works, too, works that show our interests and provoke conversation. Anyone can appreciate the appeal of a figurine.

Moving along to the truly large collection, how does one show a collection if it numbers in the scores of figures or even more? Short of devoting one’s entire home to house such a museum, the answer lies in the groupings that we display. Choose a theme and rotate last week’s theme out by placing them in storage. When your mood changes or if you redecorate to suit the current seasonal theme, retire the figurines to a dust-free shelf and bring out the new groupings. Your home will reflect the attention to detail in which you delight.