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.
Browse Subcategories
Featured content, January 19, 2021
The Most Stolen Work of Art
Jan van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece has been stolen by Napoleon and Hitler, among others.
#WTFact / Visual Arts

Street Photography: How a Single Camera Brought About a Genre
The invention of the Leica camera allowed photographers to move through the streets and capture moments that come and go...
Companion / Visual Arts

Baroque art and architecture
Baroque art and architecture, the visual arts and building design and construction produced during the era in the history...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

History of photography
History of photography, method of recording the image of an object through the action of light, or related radiation, on...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

South Asian arts
South Asian arts, the literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Despite a history...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

Academy of art
Academy of art, in the visual arts, institution established primarily for the instruction of artists but often endowed with...
Encyclopedia / Visual Arts

Visual Arts Quizzes
Visual Arts Videos
Image Gallery
Visual Arts
View Gallery
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
- African architecture
-
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa
Japanese architects
-
Notre-Dame de Paris
cathedral, Paris, France

Awards such as the Praemium Imperiale and the Pritzker Prize honor artists for a job well done.
Articles
-
Commonwealth Book Prize
international literary award
-
Pulitzer Prize
American award
-
Pritzker Prize
international architectural 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
-
Pollaiuolo brothers
Italian artists
-
Charles Eames and Ray Eames
American designers
- Korean art

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
-
Hubert de Givenchy
French fashion designer
-
Ralph Lauren
American fashion designer
-
Rei Kawakubo
Japanese fashion 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
-
Leonardo da Vinci
Italian artist, engineer, and scientist
-
Caricature and cartoon
graphic arts
-
Tintoretto
Italian painter

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
-
Tino Sehgal
British-born artist
-
Banksy
British graffiti artist
-
Eduardo Kac
Brazilian American artist

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
-
Mural
painting
-
Liberty Leading the People
painting by Delacroix
- Tempera painting

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
- Technology of photography
-
Eugène Atget
French photographer
-
Thomas Struth
German 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
-
Michelangelo
Italian artist
-
Ai Weiwei
Chinese activist and artist
-
Futurism
the arts