A painting whose texture resembles the real thing being depicted is described as having

• A. Real texture
• B. Simulated texture
• C. Implicit texture
• D. Abstract texture

Answer: (B)

Texture in art can be real (the surface literally feels rough or smooth) or visual, where the artist makes the surface look like it has texture without actually changing its feel. When a painting renders the surface so precisely that it imitates the texture of the depicted material, it’s creating simulated texture. The viewer perceives things like rough wood grain, soft fabric, or gritty stone through careful use of shading, line, and detail, even though the surface itself remains flat. This illusion is a hallmark of trompe l’oeil techniques, where the goal is to fool the eye with convincing surface quality. It isn’t real texture, since you can’t feel the surface; it isn’t implicit texture, which would rely on more indirect suggestion rather than a precise, recognizable mimicry of a material; and it isn’t abstract texture, which would stray from representing identifiable materials.