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, the latter a combination of multiple creative expressions. 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, April 11, 2021
What’s Inside the Great Pyramid?
Are there mummies inside the Great Pyramid? Hieroglyphs? Hidden treasure? Ghosts? Find out!
Demystified / Visual Arts

Who Was the Woman Behind the Statue of Liberty?
Read about the woman who inspired the Statue of Liberty.
Companion / Visual Arts

Walt Disney’s First Cartoon Critter Was Not Mickey Mouse
Before Mickey Mouse, there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
#WTFact / Visual Arts

10 Classical Music Composers to Know
Who are the most essential classical music composers to know?
List / Visual Arts

Printmaking
Printmaking, an art form consisting of the production of images, usually on paper but occasionally on fabric, parchment,...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

Op art
Op art, branch of mid-20th-century geometric abstract art that deals with optical illusion. Achieved through the systematic...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

African art
African art, the visual arts of native Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, including such media as sculpture, painting,...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

Scottish Enlightenment
Scottish Enlightenment, the conjunction of minds, ideas, and publications in Scotland during the whole of the second half...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

Visual Arts Quizzes
Visual Arts Videos
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Visual Arts
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Visual Arts Subcategories

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. Noted architects such as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, I.M. Pei, Zaha Hadid, and Jeanne Gang are acclaimed not only for the striking aesthetics of their designs but also for the way in which their work reflected cultural themes and values. 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
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Michelangelo
Italian artist
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Theatre
building
- Chinese architecture

Awards such as the Praemium Imperiale and the Pritzker Prize honor artists for a job well done.
Articles
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Bollingen Prize
American literature prize
- Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
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Turner Prize
British arts award

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
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Stagecraft
theatre
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Charles Eames and Ray Eames
American designers
- Pottery

Looking to make a statement without even 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 even to reject fashionability, however that term might be defined.
Articles
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Marc Jacobs
American fashion designer
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Christian Dior
French designer

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
- Printmaking
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El Greco
Spanish artist
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Rembrandt
Dutch artist

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 simply consist of onlookers on the street or patrons browsing the halls of a museum, among countless other possibilities.
Articles
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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

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
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Symbolism
literary and artistic movement
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English school
painting
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Painting
art

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
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Hannah H?ch
German artist
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Edward S. Curtis
American photographer
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Eugène Atget
French photographer

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