painterly

[ peyn-ter-lee ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a painter.
2. Fine Arts. characterized by qualities of color, stroke, or texture perceived as distinctive to the art of painting, especially the rendering of forms and images in terms of color or tonal relations rather than of contour or line.

painterly

/ ˈpeɪntəlɪ /

adjective

1. having qualities peculiar to painting, esp the depiction of shapes by means of solid masses of colour, rather than by lines Compare linear
2. of or characteristic of a painter; artistic

Word History and Origins

Origin of painterly¹

First recorded in 1580–90; painter ¹ + -ly

Example Sentences

It’s my choice because of the awe-inspiring details and the painterly quality of the composition.

From Science News

It then combined that analysis with an automated search of the photography website Flickr to help it generate painterly collages in the mood of the original article.

From Science News

After peeling back the male petals to uncover a pollen-dusted part, she brushes it across the female’s orange ovary with a painterly stroke.

From Popular-Science

Regal in posture, resplendent in jewel-toned gowns and framed by painterly cinematography, this Anne is as unforgettable as she is unconventional.

From Time

The ironic painterly stroke and the disembodied functional object are a perfect Pop pair.

From The Daily Beast

Whatever else anyone may say about him, he had probably the most painterly eye of any movie director.

From The Daily Beast

Together, they're a portrait of Hopper—an assortment of memories and places organized around his cinematic and painterly eye.

From The Daily Beast