picture plane

noun

1. the plane of a painting, drawing, or the like, that is in the extreme foreground of a picture, is coextensive with but not the same as the material surface of the work, is the point of visual contact between the viewer and the picture, and is conceived as a major structural element in the production of abstract or illusionistic forms.

Word History and Origins

Origin of picture plane¹

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

“We were going to have the picture plane parallel to the walls of structures we were shooting, always. The buildings couldn’t have converging lines. Steven wanted that formal graphic design.”

From Los Angeles Times

They sit on the surface rather than carving into and out of the picture plane in the ways that make de Kooning’s work so spatially exciting.

From Washington Post

First fundamental term: Rückenfigur, noun, German, a “figure from the back,” looking away from the viewer, establishing a frontier between the picture plane and the background.

From New York Times

In his hand is a paper, defiantly thrust toward the picture plane.

From New York Times

He has simply photographed a flat space that’s very close and parallel to the picture plane.

From Washington Post