Although many artists have begun with abstract art, it generally needs some practice in form, color and modeling before it becomes a worthwhile endeavor. Having said this, the following article attempts to introduce abstract art for the beginner. As long as you have had some experience with drawing and painting you should be able to grasp the essence of what abstract art is all about. Abstract art has been around for a long time. C zanne painted essentially abstract art even though his subject matter was ostensibly realistic.
Abstract art is linked in the past century to a much larger movement.
This was the modernist movement against representation. Representation was the unwritten belief that art was meant to reflect or represent what there was in the everyday world. Artists rebelled against this restriction and especially against the idea of art only as imitation. The idea of art for its own sake began to develop in the middle of the nineteenth century. In other words, art no longer had to refer to something in the everyday world.