Contour Line
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Transparent peonies
Galya Popova
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch
$391 $352
Majestic beach Lov in Blue P2017 1033
Aldema Design & Art
Painting - 200 x 140 x 3 cm Painting - 78.7 x 55.1 x 1.2 inch
$5,368
Blanco Perfecto
James Bonachea
Painting - 99.8 x 69.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 39.3 x 27.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,700
Homage to Thelonious Monk
Sam Grigorian
Painting - 40 x 50 x 0.2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Danse sur le vieux monde
Robillard Puvinel
Painting - 70 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,454
Natura morta (Still life)
Gino Severini
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 13 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.1 inch
$11,741
The Orchestral Overture
Anatole Krasnyansky
Fine Art Drawings - 62.2 x 49.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 24.5 x 19.5 inch
$7,500
The big rhinoceros
Thierry Virton
Fine Art Drawings - 46 x 65 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 18.1 x 25.6 x 0 inch
$458
The Ballad of the Blue Fish
Karin Mikulášová
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,784
Bloom into infinite joy 02
Poonam Choudhary
Painting - 106.7 x 99.1 x 2.5 cm Painting - 42 x 39 x 1 inch
$400
Bloom into infinite joy 01
Poonam Choudhary
Painting - 106.7 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting - 42 x 36 x 1 inch
$350
We Are The Square Jocular Clan 2
Takashi Murakami
Print - 47 x 47 x 0.1 cm Print - 18.5 x 18.5 x 0 inch
$1,119
Nu assis dans un fauteuil, une jambe repliée
Henri Matisse
Print - 38.8 x 25.7 x 0.1 cm Print - 15.3 x 10.1 x 0 inch
$22,924
Tu es toujours dans mes pensées
Lisbeth Buonanno
Painting - 15 x 10 x 0.1 cm Painting - 5.9 x 3.9 x 0 inch
$335
La mère et l'enfant
Martine Fauve Dechavanne
Painting - 116 x 89 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 0.8 inch
$1,454
5:5, you are still ok. (1)
Vianca Reinig
Photography - 108 x 100 cm Photography - 42.5 x 39.4 inch
$3,690
Vision 9
Gina Vor
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$168
Wilted peonies
Galya Popova
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch
$391
Sculpteur travaillant à un buste de femme II
Pablo Picasso
Print - 54 x 41 cm Print - 21.3 x 16.1 inch
$8,946
Curva 18/28
J/Y Delaunay-Israël
Fine Art Drawings - 108 x 108 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 42.5 x 42.5 x 0.4 inch
$2,236
Scènes de vie
Claire Bonnet-Masimbert
Painting - 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$1,789
Je suis docteur en veines
Christophe Vilar
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 50 x 5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 19.7 x 2 inch
$2,684
Sin darnos cuenta 15
Carme Pastrana
Painting - 25 x 25 x 0.5 cm Painting - 9.8 x 9.8 x 0.2 inch
$839
Archeo Corpus I
Marie Christine Palombit
Painting - 114 x 59 x 2 cm Painting - 44.9 x 23.2 x 0.8 inch
$2,907
The last illustration
Maria Esmar
Painting - 100 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$3,131
Leader Sheep (blue)
Jérémie d'Angelo
Painting - 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$2,907
5TH Dimension
João Almeida (xUEkA)
Painting - 60 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch
$1,230 $1,107
Sans titre 7. Série Skull
Christophe Faso
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 30 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$559
Portrait 5
Davide Cicolani
Fine Art Drawings - 70 x 50 cm Fine Art Drawings - 27.6 x 19.7 inch
$1,230
Until you find me
Francesca Borgo
Painting - 50 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,320
Pourquoi tu t’habilles toujours comme moi ?
Christophe Vilar
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 50 x 5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 19.7 x 2 inch
$2,684
Love of the Sky and Wave.
Vik Schroeder
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$503 $453
Sans titre, exit serie
Baptiste Laurent
Painting - 90 x 90 x 3 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch
$2,214
From the Series of Visit from another planet
Sam Grigorian
Painting - 70 x 100 x 0.2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.1 inch
$4,000
The bottle and roses
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$4,000
Coup de foudre fatal
Christiane Bernais
Painting - 80 x 80 x 3.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.4 inch
$1,789
Makarska Riviera
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 70 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$6,000
Blossom Banksy
Jean-Michel Lourenço
Painting - 70 x 52 x 0.5 cm Painting - 27.6 x 20.5 x 0.2 inch
$615
Echelle sierra, Exit série
Baptiste Laurent
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$2,460
A new world
Thierry Virton
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 62 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 24.4 x 0 inch
$458
Peperopoulus
João Almeida (xUEkA)
Painting - 60 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch
$1,230
Contour Line
A contour line in all its simplicity is the marking used by artists to define the shape of their subject without using shading. Essentially, they outline the subject, with emphasis on the mass and volume rather than on the details. A fundamental element of any drawing or painting, contour lines are often the first technique adopted when experimenting with art.
However, it is far more than a basic technique used by children and beginners. As a contour can convey a three-dimensional perspective, length and width as well as thickness and depth are important, and not all contours exist along the outlines of a subject. By altering the type of contour, an artist can convey details aspects of its subjects relating to their shape and form. For example, a lighter line with less gradation suggests a greater distance between the subjects, whereas a darker portion of the contour may depict a subject with little or no light source, thus conveying whether the subject is lower or perhaps compressed. Furthermore, artists use contour lines to add accents or cast shadows.
Over the course of different art movements, the concept of contour lines has waxed and waned, been reinvented and then reverted back to tradition again. During the Renaissance, artists such as Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci used contour lines in a clearly defined and almost scientific manner in order to depict human forms in a highly naturalistic way. On the other hand, impressionist artists such as Edgar Degas experimented with the vicissitude of contour lines. They could be curved or angular, heavy or light, precise or ambiguous, and sometimes all of this at the same time.
Discover both modern and traditional pieces from various art periods with emphasis on the contour line technique in artworks on Artsper.