Line in Painting
In painting, the term "line" can refer to the "contour lines" surrounding and defining figures and shapes, to the visible lines of the artist's brushstrokes, or to the linear orientation of shapes and figures within a composition.
Lines in question can be smoothly curved or rigidly angular, thereby suggesting alternatively a fluid harmony, or a series of discordant, interrupted movements.
If lines are straight, they can be predominantly vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. A preponderance of vertical lines in a composition tends to inflect it with connotations of strength, courage, and authority. Horizontal lines tend to emphasize the right and left borders of the painting.
Diagonal lines create a sense of movement in a painting, while simultaneously enhancing the illusion of depth, which is to say, the effect of perspective in the work. Whatever the type or direction of a given line might be, the function of linear orientation upon the viewer is always to catch his or her eye and guide it through a scanning movement. Thus the lines of a painting will direct our glance towards or away from specific points in the composition.
Lines in question can be smoothly curved or rigidly angular, thereby suggesting alternatively a fluid harmony, or a series of discordant, interrupted movements.
If lines are straight, they can be predominantly vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. A preponderance of vertical lines in a composition tends to inflect it with connotations of strength, courage, and authority. Horizontal lines tend to emphasize the right and left borders of the painting.
Diagonal lines create a sense of movement in a painting, while simultaneously enhancing the illusion of depth, which is to say, the effect of perspective in the work. Whatever the type or direction of a given line might be, the function of linear orientation upon the viewer is always to catch his or her eye and guide it through a scanning movement. Thus the lines of a painting will direct our glance towards or away from specific points in the composition.