Color Gradient

A term used in computer graphics to describe a fluid range of color filling an area. Gradients come in various forms, although axial (a color transition from one side of a space to another), and radial (transitions in a circle) are the most common. While color gradients are most often associated with the late 20th century and digital art—having been heavily influenced by the growth of Photoshop—the use of smooth color transitions were also present in earlier art. See, for example, the pre-Suprematist works of Kasimir Malevich, Katsushika Hokusai’s views of Mount Fuji, or the 1970s paintings of Judy Chicago.