The Artist's Toolkit: Visual Elements and Principles
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Line
Shape
Color
Space
Texture

Balance
Emphasis
Movement/
Rhythm

The Artist's Toolkit: Visual Elements and Principles
EncyclopediaTexture

 

An artist who is trying to create the illusion of space sharply defines texture in the foreground and paints less defined and softened textures in the background.

Master of the Embroidered Foliage, Virgin and Child in a Landscape, c.1495-1500, Oil on panel, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Gift of the Groves Foundation, by exchange

Master of the Embroidered Foliage
Virgin and Child in a Landscape
c.1495-1500
Oil on panel
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Gift of the Groves Foundation, by exchange
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The trees and building in the background of this painting have details, such as the leaves on the trees, as sharply defined as those in the foreground. This indicates that the illusion of space was not this artist's primary goal.

Detail of Master of the Embroidered Foliage's Virgin and Child in a Landscape, c.1495-1500, Oil on panel, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Gift of the Groves Foundation, by exchange

Master of the Embroidered Foliage
Detail of Virgin and Child in a Landscape
c.1495-1500
Oil on panel
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Gift of the Groves Foundation, by exchange
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This artist painted texture to create the illusion of depth in this painting. Notice how sharply defined the texture is in the bark and leaves of the tree nearest to us on the left.

Thomas Gainsborough, The Fallen Tree, probably between 1750 and 1753, Oil on canvas, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The John R. Van Derlip Fund

Thomas Gainsborough
The Fallen Tree
probably between 1750 and 1753
Oil on canvas
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
The John R. Van Derlip Fund
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The trees in the background are softer and less defined, as they would appear to our eyes if we were actually standing in the landscape.

Detail of Thomas Gainsborough's The Fallen Tree, probably between 1750 and 1753, Oil on canvas, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The John R. Van Derlip Fund

Thomas Gainsborough
Detail of The Fallen Tree
probably between 1750 and 1753
Oil on canvas
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
The John R. Van Derlip Fund
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Walker Art Center The Minneapolis Institute of Arts ArtsConnectEd