Idealized figurative works typically emphasize health, physical fitness, pure skin, and symmetry of features, which are imposed upon the character(s) in a painting/drawing. Idealized scenes or still lives might remove all signs of decay, any blemishes, flaws, or refuse.

Of course, ideals shift from culture to culture and from artist to artist, so in portraiture, for instance, one’s image of health and fitness might range from pleasantly plump to nearly anorexic; one’s image of beauty from very young and pure to very old and wise, from muscle-bound to wiry.

Featured: Comtesse d'Haussonville by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.