Read this article which contrasts representational, non-objective, and abstract styles of art. Make sure you are clear about how these styles differ from each other.
We can divide painting, sculpture, and other art forms into the categories of representational (sometimes also called figurative art, although it does not always contain figures), abstract, and nonrepresentational
(or non-objective) art. Representational art describes artworks –
particularly paintings and sculptures – that are clearly derived from
real object sources and are, therefore, by definition representing
something with strong visual references to the
real world. Most, but not all, abstract art is based on imagery from
the real world. The most "extreme" form of abstract art is not
connected to the visible world and is known as nonrepresentational.
Johann Anton Eismann, Meerhaven. 17th c.
This figurative or representational work from the 17th
century depicts easily recognizable objects – ships, people, and
buildings. But artistic independence was advanced during the 19th
century, resulting in the emergence of abstract art.
Three movements that contributed heavily to the development of
these were Romanticism, Impressionism, and Expressionism.
Abstraction indicates a departure from reality by depicting imagery in art. Abstraction exists along a continuum; abstract art can
formally refer to compositions derived (or abstracted) from a
figurative or other natural sources. (Some
people also use this term to refer to nonrepresentational
(non-objective) art that has no derivation from figures or objects.)
Picasso is a well-known artist who used abstraction in many paintings and sculptures: figures are often simplified,
distorted, exaggerated, or geometric.
Pablo Picasso, Girl Before a Mirror, 1932, MOMA
Even art that aims for verisimilitude (accuracy and truthfulness)
of the highest degree can be abstract, at least
theoretically, since perfect representation is likely to be exceedingly
elusive. For example, we can call artwork that takes liberties or alters color and form in conspicuous ways partially abstract.
Robert Delaunay, Le Premier Disque, 1913
Delaunay's work is a primary example of early nonrepresentational
art, bearing no trace of any reference to anything recognizable from
the real world. In nonrepresentational art, for instance, one is
unlikely to find references to naturalistic entities.
Figurative art and nonrepresentational art are almost mutually exclusive. But representational (or realistic) art often contains partial abstraction. These terms are confusing, but try to understand the basic definitions of representational, abstract, and nonrepresentational.
Source: Lumen Learning, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sac-artappreciation/chapter/oer-1-4/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.