What Is Repetition in Art?

In art, repetition is the recurrence of a particular line, pattern, shape or other visual element in a single work or a series of works. It is often used to establish authority or meaning for a particular element.

A repeating pattern, such as the meander, can be used to create a border for a work of art or to draw attention to another element. Some shapes are repeated in different ways; for example, a spiral shape is a repeated curve that gets smaller or larger depending on its direction.

Repetition can also be used in art to describe a copied work or a forgery. Artistic students often copy the works of professionals and masters to understand their craft, but forgery is the creation of a piece of work that is passed off to buyers and critics as genuine.