frontality

[ fruhn-tal-i-tee, fron- ]

noun

, Fine Arts.

1. the representation of the front view of figures or objects in a work of art.
2. the organization of planes parallel to the picture plane in the pictorial arts, or the composition of volumes entirely from the front view in sculpture.

frontality

/ frənˈtælɪtɪ /

noun

1. fine arts a frontal view, as in a painting or other work of art

Word History and Origins

Origin of frontality¹

First recorded in 1900–05; frontal + -ity

Example Sentences

The painting’s rich detail and foursquare frontality all but command attention.

From Washington Post

As the intercontinental action shifts from Barcelona and Dublin to various American venues, Soderbergh pays as much attention to the murmured verbal manipulations and deceptions as to the mortal physical threats that result, and he films the scenes of violence with a similarly clear-eyed and confrontational frontality, as if to emphasize with a quasi-documentary element of wonder Carano’s extraordinary physical eloquence.

From The New Yorker

Thanks to the compositional scheme, as well as to light, textured brushwork that doesn’t seem to interfere with zoological accuracy, his surfaces often have the complexity and frontality of tapestries.

From New York Times

I miss the unequivocal frontality of the earlier paintings, with their blustering walls of words.

From New York Times

Bazille obviously found the negotiation of depth and frontality taxing, rendering three-dimensional forms in minimally shaded passages of bold color.

From The New Yorker