Art Brut vs. Outsider Art: What’s the Difference?
The terms Art Brut and Outsider Art are often used interchangeably. Yet there is an important historical and conceptual difference. Anyone collecting or seeking to understand art at the intersection of art and society would do well to know both terms.
Art Brut: the original term
Art Brut is a French term, literally translated as raw art. It was introduced in the 1940s by French artist Jean Dubuffet. He used it to describe art created entirely outside cultural influences — made by people without artistic training, not guided by the market or critics.
Dubuffet spent years collecting works from psychiatric patients, prisoners and spiritualist mediums, and founded the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne. His definition is strict: the artist must have no conscious artistic ambition and must not be integrated into the art world.
Outsider Art: the broader English term
In the 1970s, art critic Roger Cardinal introduced Outsider Art as an English equivalent. In practice it is a broader category: it encompasses Art Brut but also Naive art and Visionary art. Due to the wider reach of English, Outsider Art became the dominant term on the international art market.
What do they have in common?
- Both value authenticity over technique
- Both are independent of the established art world and its conventions
- Both emerged as a reaction to the hierarchical Western art tradition
Norbert de Jong: Art Brut from Amsterdam
Norbert de Jong’s work fits within the Outsider Art tradition. His paintings are direct, intuitive and expressive. At exhibitions such as the Art Brut Biënnale in Hengelo, he shows his work alongside artists who share the same compulsive urge to create.
Browse his work in the webshop or read more about buying Outsider Art.