What does foreshorten mean?
To foreshorten is to render an object or figure as it would appear viewed at an angle, compressing its dimensions along the viewer's line of sight so that a flat image conveys convincing depth. The technique is fundamental to Western representational art: a painter might foreshorten a reclining body or an outstretched arm so it seems to project toward the observer, an effect mastered by Renaissance and Baroque artists on ceilings and frescoes where figures must be read from below. Beyond the studio, foreshorten can be used figuratively to mean reducing something's scope, duration, or extent, as when a schedule is cut short. The word carries a technical, somewhat formal register; it is most at home in discussions of drawing, painting, photography, and film composition. Understanding foreshortening helps viewers appreciate how artists manipulate perception to create the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface.
verbTo represent an object or figure in a picture as seen at an angle, so that parts appear compressed or shortened to convey depth and three-dimensionality; more broadly, to reduce something in scope, length, or duration.
- To depict an object or figure in perspective so that it appears shortened or compressed along the viewer's line of sight.
- To reduce or curtail something in length, extent, or duration (figurative use).
"The artist foreshortened the reclining figure so that her outstretched arm seemed to reach toward the viewer."
"In the ceiling fresco, the cherubs are dramatically foreshortened, their bodies receding into the painted sky."
"Budget cuts forced the team to foreshorten the project's testing phase."
Foreshortening is the trick that lets a flat painting grab you by the collar — Renaissance artists like Mantegna used it to make painted limbs seem to burst out of the canvas.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of foreshorten
Foreshorten arose in English in the early seventeenth century, formed from the familiar prefix 'fore-' (meaning 'before' or 'in front') combined with 'shorten', reflecting the way objects seen from the front appear contracted in perspective. It emerged alongside the flourishing of perspective theory in European art, when painters needed precise vocabulary for the optical effects they were systematizing. Its component parts are thoroughly Germanic English elements, making it a native construction rather than a classical borrowing, though its intellectual context owes much to Italian Renaissance treatises on perspective.
Related word forms
How foreshorten is actually used
The term belongs chiefly to art and design discourse, where it is technical rather than everyday vocabulary; the figurative sense of curtailing something is rarer and may read as slightly literary or affected in casual speech.
Easily confused with foreshorten
Shorten simply means to make something shorter in length or duration, whereas foreshorten primarily refers to depicting objects in perspective so they appear compressed, or figuratively curtailing something.