Abstract art uses shape, form, color, and line as visual language to make a composition that may or may not have any visual references in the real world. From the Renaissance to the middle of the 19th century, Western art was based on the logic of perspective and trying to make an illusion of what could be seen. The art of cultures other than Europe had become more accessible and showed artists new ways to talk about what they saw. By the end of the 19th century, many artists felt they needed to make a new kind of art that reflected the significant changes in technology, science, and philosophy. The theoretical arguments of different artists were based on a wide range of sources that showed Western culture's social and intellectual concerns at the time.

Abstract art, non-figurative art, non-objective art, and nonrepresentational art are all related loosely. They are similar, but maybe they don't mean the same thing.

Abstraction means that an image in art moves away from what is real. This change from the truth can be small, partial, or all the way wrong. There are different levels of abstraction. Even art that tries to be as realistic as possible can be called abstract, at least in theory, because perfect representation is likely to be very hard to achieve. Partially abstract art is an art that doesn't stick to rules, like when it noticeably changes color or shape. When something is abstract, it has no ties to anything else. For example, it's rare to see references to things in the real world in geometric abstraction. Figurative art and art that is abstract are almost opposites. But there is often some abstraction in figurative and representational (or realistic) art.

A lot of the time, geometric and lyrical abstractions are entirely abstract. Many art movements that show partial abstraction are fauvism and cubism. In fauvism, colors are changed in a way that is different from reality, and in cubism, the shapes of real-life objects are changed transparently.

A lot of the art of earlier cultures, like signs and marks on pottery, textiles, inscriptions, and paintings on rocks, used simple, geometric, and linear shapes that may have had a symbolic or decorative purpose. At this level of visual meaning, abstract art can say something. Even if you can't read Chinese or Islamic calligraphy, you can still enjoy its beauty.