MIND MAP
Textures: What are they?
In visual arts, texture refers to the surface quality that can be seen or felt in a piece of art. It plays a role in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional works, distinguished by its visual and tactile characteristics. When combined with other design elements, texture can communicate different ideas and stir various emotional responses.
In other words, textures are defined as the way the piece is perceived to feel or actually feels.
History and Evolution of Textures:
Texture art has deep roots in various ancient civilizations. In cave paintings and sculptures, early humans used texture to bring their artistic visions to life. Tactile art was also prevalent in ancient Egypt and Greece, with artists using materials to create textured surfaces on their works. In the 20th century, the texture art movement gained momentum, with artists experimenting with various materials and techniques to create texture in their artworks.
1. Prehistoric and Ancient Art (up to 500 CE)
● Early humans used natural materials such as ochre, charcoal, and animal fat to create textured cave paintings. The rough surfaces of caves often added a tactile dimension to the artworks, contributing to their raw, expressive quality.
A section of the “Hall of the Bulls”, Lascaux Cave
● Ancient civilizations like the Egyptians and Greeks worked with stone, metal, and clay. The textures were generally smooth and polished, particularly in classical Greek sculpture, which aimed to idealize the human form.
2. Medieval Art (500-1400 CE)
● Texture in illuminated manuscripts was created through intricate details, layering gold leaf, and pigments on vellum or parchment, giving the work a tactile and visually rich quality.
Lindisfarne Gospels, St. Matthew (detail), Second Initial Page, f.29
● Textures became more intricate with the development of Gothic architecture, where detailed stone carvings, stained glass, and elaborate tapestries added both visual and physical textures to religious art.
3. Renaissance Art (1400-1600 CE)
● During the Renaissance, artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo began using oil paints, which allowed for smoother blending of colors and the creation of realistic textures. Techniques like sfumato and chiaroscuro created the illusion of depth and texture in portraits and landscapes.
● Sculptors like Donatello and Michelangelo created highly detailed textures in marble, emphasizing the softness of skin or the roughness of clothing in their figures.
David by Michelangelo, 17 ft×16.5 ft
4. Baroque and Rococo (1600-1800 CE)
● Baroque art focused on contrast, movement, and dramatic lighting, which emphasized textural contrasts. Artists like Caravaggio and Bernini played with textures in both painting and sculpture to convey emotion and action.
● Rococo artists like François Boucher used softer, more playful textures in their art, incorporating rich, decorative details and pastel colors that gave a sense of lightness and elegance.
Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 3.50m×2.79m×2.06m
5. 19th Century: Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism
● Artists like Gustave Courbet depicted the textures of everyday life—rough clothing, earthy landscapes—by applying thick layers of paint to mimic reality.
● Artists like Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh broke away from traditional textures, using visible, expressive brushstrokes to create movement and light, giving their paintings a dynamic surface.
● Van Gogh, in particular, emphasized texture through his thick application of paint (impasto), making his works seem almost three-dimensional.
Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, 29 x 36 1/4"
6. 20th Century Modernism and Abstract Art
● Picasso and Braque introduced collage and assemblage techniques in Cubism, incorporating materials like newspaper and fabric to create textured surfaces that blurred the line between painting and sculpture.
● Artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning used texture to express emotion. Pollock’s drip paintings involved layering paint in a chaotic manner, creating a tactile, energetic surface.
● Artists like Max Ernst experimented with frottage (rubbing) and grattage (scraping) to create unusual textures that contributed to the dream-like, fantastical quality of Surrealist art.
Still Life with Chair Caning by Pablo Picasso, 27 x 35 cm
7. Contemporary Art (Late 20th Century to Present)
● Contemporary artists have expanded the use of texture through the incorporation of various materials—textiles, plastics, metals, and organic substances—creating multi-dimensional works that invite tactile interaction. Artists like Anselm Kiefer use dense, textured materials to create evocative surfaces.
Seraphim by Anselm Kiefer, 126 1/4 x 130 1/4 “
● With the advent of digital art, texture has evolved into the virtual realm, where artists simulate tactile qualities through digital means. Textures in digital art are now created through manipulation of pixels, blending techniques, and software-generated effects.
Types of Textures:
Textures can be primarily divided Into Tacticle (Actual) texture and Implied (visual) texture.
Aspect | Tacticle Texture | Implied Texture |
Definition | Actual texture that can be felt by touching,present on solid surfaces. | The illusion of texture created through artistic techniques or patterns. |
Materials and Surfaces | Found in materials like fur, wood grain, leather, satin, glass, etc. | Created through visual representation, such as in drawings or paintings. |
Tacticle Quality | Has a physical quality – rough, smooth, soft, or hard when touched. | Cannot be physically felt, only perceived through sight. |
Creation Method | Depends on the actual material or surface's physical properties. | Created by repeating shapes, lines, and patterns to mimic real textures. |
Effect on Perception | Strongly influenced by light; light and shadow reveal the surface texture. | Relies on visual cues; light enhances the illusion but doesn’t alter the surface’s actual feel. |
Artistic Use | Impacts the artwork by adding depth through tangible surfaces. | Adds realism or abstraction through visual patterns, suggesting texture. |
Examples | Rough sandpaper, smooth metal, or textured canvas. | Terrazzo, mirror images, or detailed shading in a drawing or painting. |
Textures can be further classified into various types:
a) Simulated Texture:-
This is a type of visual texture that imitates the look of real textures. The artist uses precise techniques to make a surface appear as though it has a real, tactile quality, like the appearance of fur, wood grain, or stone, but it is flat and smooth to the touch.
eg. The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck (1434) , 82.2 cm × 60 cm
b) Abstract Texture:-
Abstract textures do not directly represent real-world textures. They may be inspired by actual textures but are simplified or stylized to create an impression or mood, rather than a realistic depiction. These textures are often used in modern and abstract art.
Composition VIII by Wassily Kandinsky (1923), 140 cm × 201 cm
c) Invented Texture:-
This is a type of texture created by an artist's imagination. It doesn't imitate real textures and is instead made up of patterns or marks that suggest a surface quality. Invented textures are often used to add interest or decorative elements to a piece without being bound by realism.
Woman, I by Willem de Kooning (1952), 192.7 x 147.3 cm
d) Patterned Texture :-
This type of texture is created through repeated elements or motifs, often forming a rhythmic or organized surface. Patterns, like geometric designs or repetitive organic shapes, can convey texture through visual repetition.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai (1831), 25.7 cm × 37.9 cm
e) Spontaneous Texture:-
This is created by chance and is often associated with experimental techniques, such as splattering, pouring, or other uncontrolled methods. The resulting textures are unplanned but add a unique and often dynamic quality to the artwork.
Number 1A, 1948 by Jackson Pollock (1948), 172.7 cm × 264.2 cm
f) Optical Texture:-
This texture involves patterns or visual effects that trick the eye into perceiving movement or depth, often seen in Op Art (Optical Art). Optical texture can make surfaces appear as though they have different textures, depending on the viewer's perspective or distance from the artwork.
Movement in Squares by Bridget Riley (1961), 122 cm × 122 cm
g) Mechanical Texture:-
Mechanical texture is achieved through the use of machines or tools that leave a consistent, uniform texture, such as the even brushstrokes or patterns produced by a printing press or a digital medium. This texture often lacks the organic, random qualities of hand-created textures.
Marilyn Diptych by Andy Warhol (1962), 205.44 cm × 289.56 cm
h) Geometric Texture:-
This is a type of texture created using precise, mathematical shapes and patterns. It is often structured and follows a consistent, ordered appearance. Geometric texture can be found in many architectural or modern designs where repeating shapes, lines, and angles create a textural effect.
Broadway Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondrian (1943), 127 cm × 127 cm
i) Random Texture:-
Random texture is created when an artist uses irregular patterns or marks that do not follow any specific order or design. This is often seen in abstract or expressionist works, where textures may come from spontaneous brushstrokes, splashes, or mixed media applications.
Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock (1950), 266.7 cm × 525.8 cm
j) Weathered Texture:-
Weathered texture refers to surfaces that have been worn down or altered by natural forces like wind, rain, or aging. This texture can be replicated in art to show the passage of time or to evoke a sense of history or decay. Artists may use distressed or layered techniques to mimic the appearance of old, rusted, or eroded surfaces.
The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso (1903-1904), 122.9 cm × 82.6 cm
k) Natural Texture:-
Natural texture is the texture of objects that occur in nature, like the roughness of bark, the smoothness of a leaf, or the delicate, fibrous texture of a flower petal. Artists often study and replicate these textures in landscape or nature-inspired artwork.
The Hay Wain by John Constable (1821), 130.2 cm × 185.4 cm
Textures: Their use?
Texture adds a sense of physicality to an artwork by creating an illusion of three-dimensional surfaces and shapes that can be seen and felt. This physicality helps make the artwork more realistic, immersive, and engaging.
An example of this in art is the use of film grain for texture in photography and cinematography. Grain adds texture and physicality to an image the same way pointillism was used in paintings.
The texture of grain in a photograph can have a huge impact on the overall look and feel of the image. Through a grainy texture, an otherwise flat image is given more depth and therefore physicality that becomes more real.
Texture in art is an important component of any artwork, helping to define its form and add visual interest. It gives the artwork a feeling of depth and complexity, making it more engaging for the viewer.
Texture helps bring a painting or sculpture to life, create atmosphere and dialogue between the creator and their audience.
Common techniques used in Textured Art (Physical Textured Art) and their purpose:
Physical textured art involves various methods and techniques to create depth on the plane. Some common techniques used are:
1. Impasto
Purpose: Adds depth, dimension, and visual interest; often used to convey emotion or movement.
2. Collage
Purpose: Adds visual complexity and texture; can create a narrative or thematic element in the artwork.
3. Stippling
Purpose: Creates subtle gradients and patterns, allowing for detailed textures without traditional brushwork.
4. Sgraffito
Purpose: Creates intricate textures and patterns; adds an element of surprise and complexity.
5. Gesso
Purpose: Provides a base for paint; textured gesso can add a unique feel to the artwork.
6. Textured Mediums
Purpose: Adds physical texture to the paint, allowing for a variety of effects from rough to smooth surfaces.
7. Layering
Purpose: Creates depth, complexity, and richness; can be used to create atmospheric effects.
8. Found Objects
Purpose: Adds unique textures and elements of surprise; can serve as a commentary on consumerism or nature.
9. Stencils and Masks
Purpose: Allows for precise application of textures; useful in creating background layers.
10. Fabric and Fiber
Purpose: Introduces softness and tactile quality; can create a contrast to painted elements.
Examples of Texture Art-
Artist References-
1.Miquel Barceló:
One of Spain's most acclaimed contemporary artists, Miquel Barceló is known for his relief-like mixed-media paintings, expressive bronze sculptures and ceramics. An artistic nomad, his fascination with the natural world has inspired richly textured canvases that evoke the earthy materiality of Art Informel, as well as compositions that study the effects of light and the ever-changing colours of the sea. Always experimenting with non-traditional materials such as volcanic ash, food, seaweed, sediments and homemade pigments, his works carry the traces of the fierce energy that animates his creative process.
In the mid 1980s, Barceló began eliminating narrative elements from his works, creating an increasingly unreal space punctuated by holes, cracks and transparencies. This process of simplification culminated in 1988, a year in which he travelled across the Sahara and created his white paintings. Relying on cultural and geographical diversity for inspiration, his time in Mali, where he established a studio, was a formative experience. For Barceló, painting is a visceral way of relating himself to the world and, as such, his art connects with the primitive beauty of cave paintings. He expands the technical boundaries of representation, while remaining rooted in the grand tradition of painting, following in the footsteps of Picasso or Goya when representing bullfight scenes or Baroque painters when completing a commission for the Palma de Mallorca Cathedral.
His Technique:
Miquel Barceló’s technique is distinguished by his innovative use of unconventional materials and a deeply tactile approach. He often incorporates organic substances like volcanic ash, food, seaweed, sand, sediments, and handmade pigments into his works, creating thick, textured surfaces that appear almost sculptural. These materials, applied in multiple layers, add a relief-like quality to his canvases, capturing the physicality of his process and a sense of natural erosion and decay.
Barceló experiments extensively with the effects of light and shadow on texture, often manipulating paint to form cracks, holes, and transparencies. This approach highlights his fascination with transformation, as each piece is crafted to reveal the interaction between the organic elements and their surroundings. His technique blurs the boundaries between painting and sculpture, pushing the limits of traditional art forms while connecting to the primal, raw beauty reminiscent of ancient cave paintings.
Themes of his work/What they signify:
Miquel Barceló’s art revolves around themes of nature, transience, and cultural diversity, often exploring the primal forces of creation and decay. His works delve into the rhythms and cycles of the natural world, capturing its raw beauty as well as its impermanence. Through recurring motifs like the sea, animals, and arid landscapes, Barceló reflects his fascination with nature’s constant evolution and its interplay with light, color, and texture.
A recurring theme in his work is the boundary between reality and abstraction. His textured, earthy surfaces evoke elements of the natural world while abstracting them, leaving the viewer to interpret the forms. This blurring of reality is intensified by his use of holes, cracks, and layered pigments, which suggest a kind of erosion or fading—symbolizing the passage of time and the ephemeral quality of life.
Barceló’s art also signifies a deep engagement with cultural and geographical landscapes. His experiences in places like the Sahara and Mali have greatly influenced his style, bringing a sense of universality and timelessness to his works. His pieces can be seen as meditations on human connection to the earth, carrying an almost spiritual resonance as they echo the ancient, primal beauty of cave paintings. Ultimately, Barceló’s works signify a bridge between the present and the primitive past, using contemporary methods to evoke timeless themes of existence, transformation, and the interconnectedness of all life.
Some of his works :
2.Tannia Taranto:
Tannia Taranto, a self-taught contemporary artist based in Melbourne, Australia, channels her passion for art into creating imaginative and evocative pieces drawn from personal experiences. With a background as a Graphic Artist and Producer in the television industry, and currently working in IT administration, Tannia’s artistic journey took a transformative turn when a friend encouraged her to contribute her artwork to a charity fundraising event. The enthusiastic response to her work at that event marked a pivotal moment, affirming the importance of her creative voice.
Her art is deeply influenced by fashion and nude photography, through which she captures the raw power of the female form, blending it with a sophisticated and aesthetic perspective. Alongside her figurative work, Tannia's diverse creativity and exploration of various mediums have also led her toward abstraction. In her latest abstract series, EVOLUTION, she draws inspiration from nature, architecture, and interior design, reflecting organic and elemental forms from land and sea to craft refined and impactful statement pieces.
Her technique:
Tannia Taranto’s technique showcases a blend of precision and fluidity, reflecting her versatility across both figurative and abstract forms. In her figurative work, she emphasizes the natural strength and elegance of the human body, using nuanced brushstrokes and a refined color palette to convey depth and emotion. Her abstract work, particularly in the EVOLUTION series, incorporates textures and layers that evoke the natural elements of land and sea, giving each piece an organic yet structured feel. Experimenting with various materials, she achieves a sophisticated balance between boldness and subtlety, making each artwork visually compelling and richly detailed.
Themes of her works/What her works signify:
Tannia Taranto’s work delves into themes of strength, femininity, and the beauty of natural forms. In her figurative pieces, she celebrates the female body, balancing its inherent power with a sense of elegance and refinement. Through these portrayals, she aims to challenge traditional views of femininity, showcasing it as both raw and sophisticated, powerful yet graceful.
Her abstract series, EVOLUTION, signifies a connection to nature’s elements—land, sea, and organic forms. These works reflect themes of transformation and renewal, inspired by natural textures and architectural influences. By merging these elements, her art represents a harmonious relationship between humanity and the environment, capturing the continuity and change that shape our world. Overall, her work signifies resilience, transformation, and the profound beauty found in both human and natural forms.
Some of her works:
Exploration and Development
Final Outcomes-
Sea Just Before Cyclone:
Size: A3 (11.7×16.5 in)
Medium: Mixed Media
Inspired by: Tannia Taranto
This work, Sea Just Before Cyclone, is inspired by Tannia Taranto . This showcases the sea when a cyclone has just begun. The initial chaos is signified by clashing of waves and certain cracks in them. Since it is inspired by Tannia, off white on a white background is used for minimalism.
The Cyclone:
Size: A3 (11.7×16.5 in)
Medium: Mixed Media
Inspired by: Miquel Barceló
This work, titled ‘The Cyclone’, is inspired by Miquel Barceló. It depicts the cyclone. Miquel’s technique of using naturally found elements such as sand. The texture us majorly added on the swirls of the cyclone with few streaks on the water.
Both of the above works signify the passage of time i.e., here the initial stages of a cyclone and cyclone in full swing. Theme of transformation and decay is a common theme in both of their works and the above two signify/indicate the same. Both Miquel and Tannia’s works are characterized by natural elements such as sea, land, sand etc.
Bibliography –
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