Visual Arts
These are the arts that meet the eye and evoke an emotion through an expression of skill and imagination. They include the most ancient forms, such as painting and drawing, and the arts that were born thanks to the development of technology, like sculpture, printmaking, photography, and installation art. Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, different eras in art history have had their own principles to define beauty, from the richly ornamented taste of the Baroque to the simple utilitarian style of the Prairie School.
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Featured content, May 04, 2024
What’s the Difference Between Modern and Contemporary Art?
Is that odd installation piece that rains on you when you get near it modern or contemporary art? Here are some tips on how...
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
Of the few surviving works by Leonardo da Vinci, which ones are the most famous?
Why Is the Salvator Mundi Called the World’s Most Controversial Painting?
The Salvator Mundi is the latest artwork to be given the title of “most controversial painting.” This may be because...
Mi Fu
Mi Fu was a scholar, poet, calligrapher, and painter who was a dominant figure in Chinese art. Of his extensive writings—poetry,...
Central Asian arts
Central Asian arts, literary, performing, and visual arts of a large portion of Asia embracing the Turkic republics (Uzbekistan,...
East Asian arts
East Asian arts, the visual arts, performing arts, and music of China, Korea (North Korea and South Korea), and Japan. (The...
art
Art, a visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination. The term art encompasses...
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Visual Arts Subcategories
Architecture
Architecture is a sphere of art and design in which functionality and aesthetics can combine to produce visually stunning structures that manage to both catch the eye and serve a functional purpose. The expansive variety of architectural styles that have been employed throughout the ages underscores the fact that not every building need look the same, a principle that is readily apparent when comparing Gothic cathedrals with igloos or pagodas with cliff dwellings. Although architecture is commonly associated first and foremost with the design and construction of buildings, landscape architects may work with gardens, parks, and other planned outdoor areas, aiding in the development and decorative planning of such spaces.
Articles
- Chinese architecture
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Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta
Spanish architects
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Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson
British architects
Arts Awards
Awards such as the Praemium Imperiale and the Pritzker Prize honor artists for a job well done.
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Bollingen Prize
American literature prize
- Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
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Turner Prize
British arts award
Decorative Art
People appreciate the usefulness of things like glassware and furniture, but they appreciate such objects even more when they’re aesthetically pleasing, too. That’s where decorative art comes in. Explore the world of basketry, metalwork, pottery, interior design, tapestry, and more.
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stagecraft
theatre
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Charles Eames and Ray Eames
American designers
- pottery
Fashion & Personal Adornment
Looking to make a statement without ever saying a word? Fashion designers know that clothing and accessories can speak volumes about the wearer, affecting both how the wearer is perceived by others and how the wearer perceives of him- or herself. The fashion industry has become a multibillion-dollar global enterprise devoted to the business of making and selling clothes; it thrives by being diverse and flexible enough to gratify any consumer's desire to embrace or reject fashionability, however that term might be defined.
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Vivienne Westwood
British fashion designer
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Hubert de Givenchy
French fashion designer
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Jean Paul Gaultier
French fashion designer
Graphic Art
Calligraphy, graffiti, engraving, caricature: graphic art's domain stretches as far as the eye can see. Take a look at some of the other types of graphic art, and learn more about the artists working within this category of fine arts.
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drafting
graphics
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drawing
art
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caricature and cartoon
graphic arts
Installation & Performance Art
audience" could consist of onlookers on the street or patrons browsing the halls of a museum, among countless other possibilities.
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James Turrell
American artist
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Ai Weiwei
Chinese activist and artist
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thai film director
Painting
Need help distinguishing your Picassos from your Monets? Learn about history’s celebrated painters and the different styles, techniques, mediums, and forms that have been used to create such unique visual images as Salvador Dalí’s melting clock and the ever-shifting eyes of Leonardo da Vinci’s enigmatic Mona Lisa.
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English school
painting
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painting
art
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Mona Lisa
painting by Leonardo da Vinci
Photography
Photography’s history began long before we were snapping pictures on camera phones. Learn about the masters of the craft and explore the development of photographic technology as it progressed through daguerreotypes and tintypes on the way to modern day’s increasingly sophisticated digital cameras.
Articles
- history of photography
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Andreas Gursky
German photographer
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Alfred Stieglitz
American photographer
Sculpture
Looking to find a use for that extra clay, stone, plaster, or metal that you have lying around? Consider sculpture, in which artists employ these materials and others to create three-dimensional art. Perhaps you’ll join the ranks of noted sculptors such as Michelangelo, Auguste Rodin, and Donatello.
Articles
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Constantin Brancusi
Romanian-French sculptor
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Donatello
Italian sculptor
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Joseph Cornell
American sculptor and filmmaker