Narrative

Narrative art is art that tells a story, that is, conveys a sequence of events, actions or states unfolding in time. Unlike a purely decorative or non-objective work, a narrative image prompts the viewer to 'read' what is depicted as an episode of a story — with characters, conflict and development. A story can be told within a single picture, seizing the decisive moment, or through a series of images or a sequence of scenes that unfold gradually. Sources of subject matter have traditionally been mythology, religion, history and literature. Narrative is one of the oldest functions of visual art: from the reliefs of ancient civilizations and Trajan's Column to medieval stained glass and frescoes that conveyed biblical stories to an illiterate congregation. In Renaissance and Baroque painting artists reached heights in rendering the dramatic climax of events. A special variety is narrative in series — such as the 'modern moral subjects' of William Hogarth. In the twentieth century the narrative impulse was transformed into the comic, the photo-series, video and performance art. The capacity to tell stories remains a powerful means for art to address memory, history and human experience.