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motif
has definitions from the fields of fine art,writing,music
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[ noun ] a design that consists of recurring shapes or colors
Used in print (Norman Kent, "The Watercolor Art of Roy M. Mason"...)It is this subject_matter that has brought Mason a large and enthusiastic following among sportsmen , but it is his exceptional performance with this motif that commends him to artists and discerning collectors . Long observation has taught Mason that most landscape can be reduced to three essential planes : a foreground in sharp focus - either a light area with dark accents or a dark one with lights ; a middle_distance often containing the major motif ; and a background , usually a silhouetted form foiled against the sky . |
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[ noun ] (music,fine art) a theme that is elaborated on in a piece of music
Synonyms Used in print (Leo Lemon, "Catch Up With" and "Something to...)A biting , pithy parable of the all pervading hollowness of modern life , the piece has been set by Mlle_Lagoon to a sumptuous score ( a single motif played over_and_over by four thousand French_horns ) by existentialist hot-shot Jean-Paul_Sartre . |
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[ noun ] (fine art,writing) a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
Synonyms Examples "it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme" Used in print (Gibson Winter, The Suburban Captivity of the...)The motifs of impersonal interdependence and insulation of residential communities have polarized ; the schism between central_city and suburb , Negro and White , blue_collar and white_collar can be viewed_as symptomatic_of this deeper polarization of trends in the metropolis . |
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