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.
Browse Subcategories
Featured content, March 14, 2023
Why Have There Been Plans to Build a New Colossus of Rhodes?
Find out about attempts to bring the ancient Colossus of Rhodes statue into the 21st century.
Beautiful Gibberish: Fake Arabic in Medieval and Renaissance Art
Medieval and Renaissance artists admired Arabic script but couldn’t read it. So they improvised.
Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?
The reason for the Mona Lisa’s popularity is one of the painting’s many conundrums. Find out what all the fuss is...
List of Lists: 6 Extremely Random Historical Catalogs
Forget your shopping list and to-do list, here are some really useful lists.
modern art
Modern art, painting, sculpture, architecture, and graphic arts characteristic of the 20th and 21st centuries and of the...
folk art
Folk art, predominantly functional or utilitarian visual art created by hand (or with limited mechanical facilities) for...
painting
Painting, the expression of ideas and emotions, with the creation of certain aesthetic qualities, in a two-dimensional visual...
Limbourg brothers
Limbourg brothers, three Dutch brothers who are the best-known of all late Gothic manuscript illuminators. Herman (b. c....
Visual Arts Quizzes
Visual Arts Videos
Image Gallery
Visual Arts
View Gallery
Visual Arts Subcategories
![Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/37/143337-050-C0541537/winners-Pritzker-Architecture-Prize-firm-Kazuyo-Sejima.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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
![subcategory placeholder](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
Awards such as the Praemium Imperiale and the Pritzker Prize honor artists for a job well done.
Articles
-
Bollingen Prize
American literature prize
- Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
-
Turner Prize
British arts award
![interior of a Kabuki theatre](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/62/1862-050-B1AC1BB0/Interior-theatre-woodcut-triptych-Kabuki-Utagawa-Toyokuni.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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.
Articles
-
stagecraft
theatre
-
Charles Eames and Ray Eames
American designers
- pottery
![shoe](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/04/123704-050-023DC490/Pair-leather-shoes.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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.
Articles
-
Pauline Trigère
American couturiere
-
Ralph Lauren
American fashion designer
-
Giorgio Armani
Italian fashion designer
![William Blake](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/77/97277-050-16F3259D/William-Blake-oil-canvas-Thomas-Phillips-National-1807.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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.
Articles
-
William Blake
British writer and artist
-
photoengraving
printing
- printmaking
![James Turrell](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/73/172773-050-A506144F/James-Turrell-American.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
Learn about the artists who create installation art, which can incorporate a variety of different materials and artistic forms, such as sculptures, videos, and music, all with the purpose of transforming a given space. Performance artists may also make use of videos and music—as well as such varied elements as acting, poetry, dance, and painting—to create a live presentation for an audience; here, the audience could consist of onlookers on the street or patrons browsing the halls of a museum, among countless other possibilities.
Articles
-
James Turrell
American artist
-
Ai Weiwei
Chinese activist and artist
-
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thai film director
![Vincent van Gogh: A Wheatfield, with Cypresses](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/70/970-004-3DCDD429/Wheatfield-oil-canvas-Cypresses-Vincent-van-Gogh-1889.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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.
Articles
-
Post-Impressionism
art
-
Western painting
art
-
Novgorod school
art
![Dada exhibit](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/38/24538-050-D9938F94/Hannah-Hoch-First-International-Dada-Fair-Berlin-1920.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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
-
Andreas Gursky
German photographer
-
Alfred Stieglitz
American photographer
-
Edward Steichen
American photographer
![subcategory placeholder](https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20230315031649im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/resources/encyclopedia-placeholder.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)
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
-
Constantin Brancusi
Romanian-French sculptor
-
Donatello
Italian sculptor
-
Joseph Cornell
American sculptor and filmmaker