🖼ap art history review

Atmospheric perspective

Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Verified for the 2027 exam
Verified for the 2027 examWritten by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025

Definition

A technique for creating the illusion of depth by depicting distant objects with less detail, lower contrast, and cooler or hazier colors to simulate the effect of atmosphere between the viewer and distant forms.

AP course connection

Topic 3.3: 3.3 Materials, Processes, and Techniques in Early European and Colonial American Art

Unit 3