painterly
adjective
paint·er·ly
| \ ˈpān-tər-lē
\
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Definition of painterly
2
: suggestive or characteristic of a painting or of the art of painting
painterly photography
especially
: marked by an openness of form which is not linear and in which sharp outlines are lacking
painterly brushwork
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Examples of painterly in a Sentence
He has a painterly eye.
a painterly picture of the sea
Recent Examples on the Web
The downside: The artwork on the cards is a bit too painterly to be clear to the youngest chefs, and onion soup is a hard-sell to young eaters. — Jolene Thym, The Mercury News, "Taste Off: The best cooking kits for kids," 26 Aug. 2019 Hidden away in the pit, Bayreuth’s music director, Christian Thielemann, oozed out of the orchestra remarkably painterly detail in an almost hallucinatory slow performance. — Los Angeles Times, "Commentary: How two top directors are teaching Europe the L.A. School of Opera," 23 Aug. 2019 The region’s crisp, painterly light, neat rows of plane and cypress trees, and a pastel palette pulled straight from a Postimpressionist canvas were among the motivations for the late English author Mayle’s move to a farmhouse in Ménerbes in 1987. — Lindsey Tramuta, Fortune, "Purchasing Property in Provence, France," 23 Aug. 2019 Occasionally, Knighton opts for a different painterly genre. — Mike Giuliano, baltimoresun.com, "Artist Jane Knighton simply shows the world as she sees it at Ellicott City gallery," 15 Aug. 2019 With satisfying rhythm, the piece sets up the painterly illusion of deep space with an actual space a child could crawl through. — Cate Mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "At Boston’s M Fine Arts Galerie, Mark Knoerzer paintings whirl with pattern and color," 14 Aug. 2019 For all his best work’s bold painterly freedoms, drawing — and the human figure — remained fundamental to the end. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, "Artist Hyman Bloom’s body of work is revered. And the bodies are cadavers.," 31 July 2019 What may be most painterly about Parker’s work is how a richness of the world seen within the frame testifies to the vastly greater richness of the world beyond it. — Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "At the Peabody Essex, marvelousness made visible," 18 July 2019 Most dramatically, Lara meets an artist unlike the others — a German Dadaist who has abjured silly painterly posturing for serious aesthetic discipline (and sculpture). — Globe Correspondent, BostonGlobe.com, "Guggenheim-inspired ‘Costalegre’ is a smart and sentimental journey into adolescence," 24 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'painterly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for painterly
painterly
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of painterly
: typical of painters
: suggesting a painting : made in a way that reminds you of a painting
See the full definition for painterly in the English Language Learners Dictionary