Python:Matplotlib .figure()

The .figure() function in Matplotlib creates a new top-level container, called a figure, which acts as the canvas for all plots and axes in Matplotlib. If a figure with the given identifier already exists, it makes that figure active instead.

Syntax

matplotlib.pyplot.figure(
    num=None,
    figsize=None,
    dpi=None,
    facecolor=None,
    edgecolor=None,
    frameon=True,
    FigureClass=<class 'matplotlib.figure.Figure'>,
    clear=False,
    **kwargs
)

Parameters:

• num (int or str, optional): Identifier for the figure. If the number or name already exists, that figure becomes active; otherwise, a new one is created.
• figsize (tuple, optional): Width and height of the figure in inches, e.g. (8, 6).
• dpi (float, optional): Dots per inch; controls the resolution of the figure.
• facecolor (color, optional): Background color of the figure.
• edgecolor (color, optional): Border color of the figure.
• frameon (bool, default: True): Whether to draw the figure frame.
• FigureClass (Figure subclass, optional): The class used to create the figure instance. Defaults to matplotlib.figure.Figure.
• clear (bool, default: False): If True, clears the existing figure before reusing it.
• **kwargs: Additional parameters passed to the Figure constructor.

Return value:

Returns a Figure object, which is the main container that holds all plot elements like axes, titles, labels, and legends.

Example

This example creates a new figure canvas with a specific size and background color, then adds a simple sine wave plot to it:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

x = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, 100)
y = np.sin(x)

plt.figure(figsize=(8, 4), facecolor='lightblue')
ax = plt.subplot(1, 1, 1)
ax.plot(x, y)
ax.set_title('Simple Sine Wave')
ax.set_xlabel('X-axis')
ax.set_ylabel('Y-axis')

plt.show()

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The output of this code is: