François Bonvin - Nun Standing in Attitude of Prayer - Walters 371355

Attitude as a term of fine art refers to the

posture Posture or posturing may refer to: Medicine * Human position ** Abnormal posturing, in neurotrauma ** Spinal posture ** List of human positions * Posturography Posturography is the technique used to quantify postural control in upright stance in ...

or gesture given to a

figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif *Noise figure, in telecommunication *Dance figure, an elementary dance pattern ...

by a painter or sculptor. It applies to the

body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...

and not to a

mental state A mental state, or a mental property, is a state of mind of a person. Mental states comprise a diverse class, including perception, pain experience, belief, desire, intention, emotion, and memory. There is controversy concerning the exact definiti ...

, but the arrangement of the body is presumed to serve a communicative or expressive purpose. An example of a conventional attitude in art is

proskynesis Proskynesis or proscynesis , or proskinesis ( Greek , ''proskýnēsis''; Latin adoratio) is a solemn gesture of respect for the gods and people; among the Persians, it referred to a man prostrating himself and kissing the earth, or the lim ...

to indicate submissive respect toward

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, emperors,

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

s of high status, and religious

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s; in

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted u ...

, it is particularly characteristic in depictions of the emperor paying homage to Christ. In 20th- and 21st-century

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, "attitude" is used most often to label one of these conventional postures; another example is the

orans Orans (/ˈoː.rans/), a loanword from Medieval Latin ''ōrāns'' translated as ''one who is praying or pleading'', also orant or orante, as well as lifting up holy hands, is a posture or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elb ...

pose. "Attitude" was arguably more important as an aesthetic term in the 19th century, when it was defined in one art-related dictionary as

the posture or disposition of the limbs and members of a figure, by which we discover the action in which it is engaged, and the very sentiment supposed to be in the mind of the person represented. It comprehends all the motions of the body, and requires a perfect knowledge of ponderation, and whatever refers to the
centre of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force ma ...
; but whatsoever attitude be given to any figure, that attitude must show the beautiful parts, as much as the subject will permit, let the subject be what it will. It must, besides, have such a turn as, without departing from probability, or from the character of the figure, may diffuse a beauty over the action. It is allowed that the choice of fine attitudes constitutes the greatest part of the beauties of grouping.John Gould, ''Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Artists: Comprising Painters, Sculptors, Engravers, and Architects, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time'' (London: E. Wilson, 1835), p. x
online.
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Gandharan - Seated Buddha in the Attitude of Preaching - Walters 25123

References

{{Reflist Composition in visual art Art criticism

See also

References