drapery

In art, the representation of the folds in material. As such folds are very difficult to portray, particularly rich velvets, silks, and satins, artists and sculptors have used drapery as an important ‘signature’ of their type of work. Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, and Matthias Grünewald are among those who have made particularly fine studies of drapery.

Different artists, schools, and periods have dealt with drapery in different ways using a variety of techniques. For this reason, art historians often look at the way that drapery has been painted to help them identify and date a painting.