Definition of "pictorialism" [pictorialism]

• A school of artistic photography that emphasized using photography to mimic certain styles of contemporary painting, that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (noun)
• Any artistic use of photography to imitate painting, especially using pictorial conventions (noun)

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• "While other prolific photographers and artists of the time were turning to sharp focus aesthetics or the social documentary philosophy of pictorialism, which is characterized by soft focus, heavy manipulation in the darkroom, and unusual printing processes."
• "I love the lighting in this film that recalls German expressionist silent film, pictorialism and later film noir."
• "The Met's house style was an extravagant pictorialism."