narrative art
Art depicting stories
Narrative art is visual art that tells a story or depicts a sequence of events.
The term covers paintings, sculptures, and other works that convey plot, character, or dramatic action—from ancient Greek vases showing myths to Renaissance frescoes of biblical scenes.
The museum's collection of narrative art spans three centuries of history painting.
Distinguished from purely decorative or abstract art by its storytelling intent.
- comicsSequential art medium
- visual storytellingConveying meaning through images
- illustrationPicture explaining something
- graphic novelsBook-length illustrated stories
- picture bookVolume with art-driven narrative
Trajan's Column · plot · visual metaphor · mythology · figurative art · illuminated manuscripts · cave paintings · ukiyo-e · religious iconography · allegory · tapestry · folk tales · moral tales · editorial cartoons · pictorial · historical narratives · dramatic · depiction
- visual artdrawing, fine art, painting, portrait, sketch
- artworkpaintings, portrait, drawings, drawing, illustrations
- Fine Artoil painting, portrait, landscape, sketch, watercolor
- illustrationpainting, drawing, watercolor, sketch, charcoal
- self-expressionstyle, self-expression, fashion, self-portrait, clothing
- Renaissance artMichelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Titian
narrative artabstract art
Visual work avoiding depiction
abstract expressionism · minimalism · hard-edge painting · decorative art · suprematism
narrative artstill life
Art of inanimate objects
portrait · landscape · decorative art · pattern design · frozen moment