In many paintings which create the illusion of three-dimensionality the picture space may be divided into three areas. These spatial divisions are commonly called the foreground, middleground and background.

The terms are very useful for discussing the apparent extent of spatial recession and for locating objects in the space of a painting.

The three terms, however, are relative depending upon the amount of spatial recession an artist chooses to depict and the clarity with which an artist separates the three spatial areas.

"Sunday Afternoon at La Grande Jatte" is an example of a painting with a clearly demarcated foreground, middleground and background. Click the Divisions button to see the spatial divisions.