Texture!
Texture is a term for the surface qualities of
materials, especially as perceived by the
sense of touch.
Actual Texture!
Perceiving actual texture
would require touching
works of art—something
that’s often not possible
when viewing them in
reproductions or in
museums. The qualities of
surfaces create actual
texture. Works of art with
rough texture, like van
Gogh s paintings with
impasto—heavy application
of thick paint—have many
surface variations. !
van Gogh s Irises (1889)
Visual Texture!
Visual texture can create
the illusion of surface
variations in flat, twodimensional works of art.
In Cabbage Leaf (1931),
Edward Weston uses the
medium of a smooth
photographic print to
show surface variations in
the leaf, though the
photographic print lacks
this actual texture. !
Subversive Texture!
Artists create subversive
texture by altering surface
qualities to challenge viewers
to see objects in new ways.
For instance, in Object
(1936), Meret Oppenheim
undermines traditional
expectations of the surface
qualities of a cup, spoon, and
saucer. !
The unusual texture contrasts the
civilized activity of drinking tea
with more primitive associations.