Pictuur

Pictuur is a Dutch term for a pictorial representation, encompassing a range of visual works such as paintings, drawings, prints, and other graphic depictions. In general use it can refer to the image itself or to the medium of painting and drawing as a broader category, rather than to a single fixed work.

Etymology and related forms: the word derives from Latin pictura, via Old French or directly into Dutch, with cognates in other languages referring to the act or result of painting. The term shares roots with the English word picture, reflecting the same historical development of visual representation terminology.

Usage and scope: historically common in Dutch, especially in art history, catalogues, and scholarly writing. In contemporary everyday Dutch, especially in the Netherlands, the word pictuur is often supplanted by more specific terms: schilderij for a painting (typically on canvas or panel), afbeelding or plaatje for an image, and kunstwerk for a broader work of art. Pictuur remains prevalent in older texts and in certain technical or critical contexts where a broad sense of “pictorial work” is intended, including references to prints, drawings, and other graphic media.

Geographic notes: in Dutch-language contexts outside the Netherlands, such as Flemish or Afrikaans usage, the term can appear with slightly different emphasis or frequency, but generally carries the same broad sense of a visual representation.

See also: painting, schilderij, afbeelding, grafische kunsten, kunstwerk.