Definition of pictorial – What it is, Meaning and Concept

Pictorial is a adjective that comes from pictor, a Latin term that can be translated as “painter”. The pictorial, therefore, refers to what is linked to the painting.

For example: “My pictorial knowledge is nil, but the truth is that I loved this painting”, “The classes paid off: yesterday I was able to sell my first pictorial work”, “My uncle always sought to express his feelings, whether through the musical or the pictorial”.

Painting as art

To understand the concept of pictorial, it is inevitable to know clearly what the notion of painting refers to. On the one hand, paint is that substance that is used to cover a material, leaving a very thin layer on it. Painting, on the other hand, is the name given to the work of art on which there is something painted and even the name of this artistic branch in general.

If we talk about pictorial artIn this way, we will be referring to those expressive manifestations that are developed with painting. There are various pictorial supports, like the canvas, a mural or a wood. An artist can draw and spread pigments on these supports to create a construction site.

Pictorial portrait

It is known as pictorial portrait to the painting that seeks to reproduce the face of a person. These portraits were very popular in ancient times, when the Photography, since they allowed to immortalize the appearance of an individual thanks to the talent of the painter. The members of the nobility used to commission pictorial portraits that they later exhibited as a demonstration of power and to promote the cult of their person.

At present, this gender of painting continues to be important in the upper class and in the members of the government, although it is also accessible to middle class people. In addition to people, the pictorial portrait can also be used to represent animals, although this case is less common. On the other hand, it is also possible that an artist portrays himself, a type of work that goes by the name of self portrait.

Keys to its creation

When making a pictorial portrait, the artist He has two difficult tasks: to faithfully represent the physical appearance of the subject, so that anyone close to him can easily recognize him; to capture in the work the essence and spirit of the subject, the sensations and feelings that it manifests at the moment of being portrayed. Aristotle claimed that art should focus on the inner meaning of things, since this constituted the true reality.

Based on these principles, artists tend to avoid that the material plane interferes in portraits, which is why facial expressions and disorderly postures are very rare; on the contrary, the normal thing is that the portrayed subjects are serious or with a slight smile. Thanks to this stripping of appearances, it is possible to achieve a wide range of emotions, both direct and ambiguous.

The importance of the eyes and eyebrows in the pictorial portrait

The writer and artist Gordon C. Aymar assures that the eyes are the most important point of a pictorial portrait, they are the most reliable and complete source of information about the subject, and that the eyebrows can convey a myriad of emotions, among which are fear, nostalgia, hope, grief and displeasure. In addition, the most skilled artists can achieve a great series of subtle combinations and variations of the same, simply through the eyebrows and the eyes.

The pictorial portrait can present the subject of Body whole, from the waist or shoulders, from the front, in profile or three-quarters, and with different lighting combinations, among many other possibilities. Also, there are portraits that show various points of view of the subject, and even some that do not expose his face.