foreshortening

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

fore·short·en

(fôr-shôr′tn)

tr.v. fore·short·ened, fore·short·en·ing, fore·short·ens

1. To shorten the lines of (an object) in a drawing or other representation so as to produce an illusion of projection or extension in space.

2. To reduce the length of; curtail or abridge.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

foreshortening

(fɔːˈʃɔːtnɪŋ)

1. the representation of a line, form, object, etc as shorter than actual length in order to give an illusion of recession or projection, in accordance with the laws of linear perspective

2. the shortening or condensing of something

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

foreshortening

Reducing or distorting in order to represent three-dimensional space as perceived by the eye, according to the rules of perspective.

Translations

foreshortening

[fɔːˈʃɔːtnɪŋ] N → escorzo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

foreshortening

n (Art) → zeichnerische Verkürzung; (Phot) → fotografische Verkürzung

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Then all shadows disappear, the foreshortening of perspective disappears, and all proofs become white-- a disagreeable fact: for this strange region would have been marvelous if reproduced with photographic exactness.

View in context

Indeed, except in respect of staring about him (a branch of the public service to which the pictorial cherub is much addicted), this domestic cherub discharged as many odd functions as his prototype; with the difference, say, that he performed with a blacking-brush on the family's boots, instead of performing on enormous wind instruments and double-basses, and that he conducted himself with cheerful alacrity to much useful purpose, instead of foreshortening himself in the air with the vaguest intentions.

View in context

For these two men on the tower were left alone with the most terrible aspect of Gothic; the monstrous foreshortening and disproportion, the dizzy perspectives, the glimpses of great things small and small things great; a topsy-turvydom of stone in the mid-air.

View in context

This led to the definition of foreshortening which is described as an obvious shortening of the figure or form in relation to the angle from which they are observed.

Adventures in foreshortening

All the tricks of academic illusionism were in play: chiaroscuro, foreshortening, compositional geometry, detail, the depth perspective of Renaissance history painting.

Nicole Eisenman

LIFE-SIZE ASTRONAUTS: A LESSON IN FORESHORTENING How is it possible for fourth-grade students to draw life-size self-portraits that are dressed in the bulky suit of an astronaut, on a piece of 18" x 24" paper?

Looking into space. (Integrating the curriculum)

* Hassam makes numerous uses of perspective in this picture, the most noticeable of which are "convergence" and "foreshortening"--both are described in "This Painting" on page 36.

Impressionism

ALl the other buildings appear much narrower than they really are because of a perspective effect called foreshortening. When objects stretch away into the distance, distortion by foreshortening increases.

clip & save

The father will exhibit five paintings in his favourite Cubism style that reflects his passion for geometric shapes and his rejection of the concept that artists should adopt the traditional techniques of perspective, modeling, and foreshortening. His work, in which he uses oil colours, distances itself from the idea that art should copy nature.

Exhibition to journey across three generations, passion for art

Incorrect vertical angulation errors can cause either elongation or foreshortening.

Radiographic Images: Errors and Techniques: How to ensure your radiographs make the grade every time

The choral complement was huge, but sang with a lightness of touch, Mirga mouthing every word of the English text off pat, foreshortening long notes in order to spice the rhythm, and with an exhilaration which could only enhance the exuberance of the proceedings.