A line can be where a drawing starts, or lines can tie everything together in a work of art. Here youâll see many
examples of the way artists have used different types of line and how expressive line can be. Youâll also see works of art that
reveal the lines in the world all around us, and pattern and texture created by line.
In this painting there are straight and curved lines which are both thick and thin.
James Rosenquist
Area Code, 1970
oil on canvas, mylar
Walker Art Center
Gift of the T. B. Walker Foundation
The decoration of this New Guinea eating pot is mainly made of curved lines.
artist unknown
Eating Pot, about 1980-1988
earthenware, pigment
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
The Chrisina N. and Swan J. Turnblad Memorial Fund
All of the lines in this print are curved lines.
Jane Kent
Untitled (Yellow and Black), 1990
color mezzotint and aquatint
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Gift of the Print and Drawing Council
All of the black lines in this painting are straight lines of equal thickness.
Piet Mondrian
Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue, 1922 oil on canvas
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Gift of Mr. Bruce Dayton