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Art & Art History vocabulary · Painting & Drawing

Brushstroke

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/ˈbrʌʃstroʊk/nounCore term

In art & art history, brushstroke means: A single mark made by a paintbrush, or the visible way an artist puts on paint; it can be smooth and hidden or thick and expressive.

In Turkish: fırça darbesi, fırça vuruşu, fırça izi

How it is used

Used when describing technique: visible, loose, bold, short or swirling brushstrokes. Brushwork is the uncountable word for an artist's overall handling of paint. Experts study brushstrokes when deciding who painted a work.

Example sentences

  1. In The Starry Night, Van Gogh's swirling brushstrokes make the sky look alive.

  2. Up close you can see every brushstroke, but from a distance the surface looks smooth.

Common collocations

  • visible brushstrokes
  • loose brushstrokes
  • bold brushstrokes
  • a single brushstroke
  • ImpressionismA French art movement of the 1870s and 1880s whose painters, such as Monet, Renoir and Morisot, tried to capture light, colour and passing moments, often painting outdoors.
  • oil paintPaint made by mixing pigments with a drying oil, usually linseed oil; it dries slowly, so artists can blend colours and build up layers.
  • textureThe way the surface of an artwork feels, or looks as if it would feel, for example rough, smooth, thick or soft.
  • styleThe particular way an artwork looks that links it to an artist, a group, a place or a period, shown in its forms, colours, technique and subjects.

More terms: Painting & Drawing

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