frontalityn.
/frʌnˈtalɪti/ A principle in sculpture, according to which the figure is carved or moulded as seen from the full front. In the strictest style, the figure is divided by an imaginary plane into two symmetrical halves, with no bending to either side.
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frontality1905
1905 P. Gardner Gram. Greek Art v. 56 Lange has expounded in detail his theory of frontality in early art.
1910 E. A. Gardner Six Greek Sculptors 34 The bold modelling of the figure, and the skill with which the twist of the body is rendered, make it worthy of notice in its departure from the rigid ‘frontality’ of early art.
1920 Q. Rev. July 39 A new decorative style of portraiture, of which the leading characteristic was a return to the frontal view of primitive Greek art. That is to say, ‘frontality’ became, as in the archaic periods, the basic principle of composition.
1938 Burlington Mag. June 307/2 Rousseau found in frontality a compositional device used by the primitives.
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Mar. 148/4 The well-known panels in San Vitale at Ravenna depicting Justinian and Theodora with their retinues (which illustrate the replacement of the Hellenistic three-quarter pose of the head by full-faced frontality).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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n.1905