Painterly is a literal translation of German Mälerisch, hence malerisch, one of the opposed categories popularized by the art historian Heinrich Wölfflin (1864 - 1945) in order to help focus, enrich and standardize the terms being used by art historians of his time to characterize works of art. The opposite character is linear, plastic or formal linear design.^[1] Art history usually refers to the history of the visual arts. ... Heinrich Wölfflin (June 21, 1864 – July 19, 1945) was a famous Swiss art critic, whose objective classifying principles (painterly vs. ... In fine art, a work of art (or artwork or work) is a creation, such as a song, book, sculpture or a painting, that has been made in order to be a thing of beauty in itself or a symbolic statement of meaning, rather than having a practical function. ... The word linear comes from the Latin word linearis, which means created by lines. ...

An oil painting is "painterly" when there are visible brush strokes, and/or a rough impasto surface. This appearance might occur in oils, acrylics, watercolors, gouache, or any medium where a brush is used. Painterly characterizes the work of Pierre Bonnard, Francis Bacon (painter), Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Rembrandt or Renoir. In watercolor it might be represented by John Singer Sargent. Linear characterizes the work of Vermeer or Ingres. The Impressionists and the Abstract Expressionists tended strongly to be "painterly;" movements such as Pop Art or photo-realism emphasize flatness; Roy Liechtenstein attempted to make a comment on Abstract Expressionist painterliness when he created images of brush strokes, rendered with comic book style inks and colors, complete with Benday dots and other attempts at imitating commercial reproduction processes on the flat picture plane. What Rembrandt is to light, Delacroix is to color. Colorists tend to substitute relations of tonality for relations of value and render the form and shadow and light and time through pure relations of colour. Mona Lisa, Oil on wood panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci La donna velata, painted in 1516, Oil on wood panel painting by Raphael Oil painting is done on surfaces with pigments that are ground and mixed into a medium of oil — especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. ... Impasto is a technique used in painting where paint is laid on an area of the surface (or the entire canvas) very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. ... The Dining Room in the Country Pierre Bonnard (October 3, 1867 – January 23, 1947) was a French painter and printmaker. ... Francis Bacon (28 October 1909 – 28 April 1992) was an Anglo-Irish figurative painter. ... Paul Gauguin (June 7, 1848 - May 9, 1903) was a leading Post-Impressionist painter. ... Vincent van Gogh ; (March 30, 1853, Zundert–July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise) was a Dutch draughtsman and painter, classified as a Post-Impressionist. ... This article is about the Dutch painter. ... Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (February 25, 1841–December 3, 1919) was a French artist who painted in the impressionist style. ... Self Portrait, oil painting, 1907 John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was the most successful portrait painter of his era, as well as a gifted landscape painter and watercolorist. ... Milkmaid (1658-1660) Johannes Vermeer or Jan Vermeer (baptized October 31, 1632, died December 15, 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of ordinary bourgeois life. ... Self-portrait at age 24, 1804 Musée Condé. Napoleon on his Imperial throne, 1806, Musée de lArmée. ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... This USPS stamp illustrates Pollocks drip technique. ... House I, created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1996, is designed to be an optical illusion. ... This article is about the art movement. ... The intuitive idea of flatness is important in several fields. ... Roy Lichtenstein (October 27, 1923 - September 29, 1997) was a prominent American pop artist, whose work borrowed heavily from popular advertising and comic book styles, which he himself described as being as artificial as possible. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for colouring a surface to render an image or text. ... The Benday Dots printing process combines two (or more) different small, colored dots to create a third color. ... This article is about the Dutch painter. ... Eugène Delacroix (portrait by Nadar) Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (April 26, 1798 - August 13, 1863) was an important painter from the French romantic period. ...

"Painterly" art makes strong coloristic use of the many visual effects produced by paint on canvas such as chromatic progression, warm and cool tones, complementary and contrasting colors, broken tones, broad brushstrokes, impressionism, impasto and also of the artist's experience in painting. Jackson Pollack's "action paintings" are more "painterly" than Frank Stella's super-graphics. Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... Impasto is a technique used in painting where paint is laid on an area of the surface (or the entire canvas) very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. ... The Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable artistic paintings in the Western world. ... Jackson Pollock in 1950 Pollocks Galaxy, a part of the Joslyn Art Museums permanent collection Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 - August 11, 1956) was an influential American artist and a major force in the abstract expressionism movement. ... Frank Philip Stella (born May 12, 1936) is an American painter and printmaker. ...

Finally, "painterly" refers to paint, though some forms of sculpture make such use of surface texture and stroke that they could almost be called painterly (see Wood as a medium). The application of the term outside painting is a little self-conscious, and may not genuinely help the reader experience the character of Auguste Rodin's surfaces or Richard Strauss's flow of chromatic harmonies. Photography can also be described as painterly. An Italian Futurist sculpture by Umberto Boccioni at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (MoMA). ... As a contemporary artistic medium, wood is used in traditional and modern styles, and is an excellent medium for new art. ... Auguste Rodin Rodins The Burghers of Calais in Calais, France. ... Richard Strauss Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ For further clarification of the meaning of malerisch read Francis Bacon: Logic of Sensation by Gilles Deleuze.