Why was there so little fantasy or abstract art before the 20th Century?

Hi, I was just wondering if someone could tell me why it took so long for Western artists to move away from trying to realistically depict the world, and to move onto more fantastic or abstract art such as we saw in the 20th Century. I realise there was a small degree of fantasy-like art before this, such as mythological depictions, and surreal works by painters like Heironymous Bosch, but I don’t understand why there wasn’t much more of this throughout the ages.

It was a time before cameras, so painters had to faithfully reproduce what they saw.

Abstract Art such as the kind that started in the 20th Century was just a need for ‘painting’ itself to survive.

2 Responses to “Why was there so little fantasy or abstract art before the 20th Century?”

  1. Nick vanderwaarden says:

    It was a time before cameras, so painters had to faithfully reproduce what they saw.

    Abstract Art such as the kind that started in the 20th Century was just a need for ‘painting’ itself to survive.
    References :

  2. Willy West says:

    vanderwand is right
    also
    abstract art didn’t make much of an appearance then because people were quite conservative thinkers. I think it took so long to develop because people took a while to evolve and broaden their thinking and imaginations
    References :

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