Foreground
DEFINITION
One of the zones of linear perspective in fine art, it is the part of the composition that appears to be closest to the viewer. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"<br><br>The area of a painting closest to the viewer. In a landscape this would include the area from the viewer to the middle distance. ? See Background, Middle ground.<br><br>The area of a picture or field of vision, often at the bottom, that appears to be closest to the viewer. Also, to give priority to one aspect of a thing over another.Example: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Luncheon of the Boating Party (Le d?jeuner des canotiers), 1881, oil on canvas, 51 x 68 inches (129.5 x 172.7 cm), Phillips Collection, Washington, DC. This painting presents a still life in its foreground as a focal point of this f?te galante. The Collection offers The Story Behind the Masterpiece. See genre.A foreshortened image: looking at a standing man, from a vantage above his headforeshortening -A way of representing a subject or an object so that it conveys the illusion of depth ? so that it seems to thrust forward or go back into space. Foreshortening's success often depends upon a point of view or perspective in which the sizes of near and far parts of a subject contrast greatly. Notice how the head and feet of the man on the phone differ in size. In the black and white hand, note how the shapes of fingers oriented to the side differ from the shape of the finger pointing toward you. The shadow below the foreshortened index finger also helps to convey the direction of this finger's placement.About foreshortening: "Foreshortening is squishing a shape to make one part of it look as if it's closer to your eye than the other." Mark Kistler, American TV artist / instructor. "The Twelve Renaissance Words of Drawing in 3-D," 1997.