Horror vacui (art)
Latin phrase which means "fear of empty space" / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the concept in art. For other uses, see Horror vacui (disambiguation).
In visual art, horror vacui (Latin for 'fear of empty space'; UK: /ˌhɒrə ˈvækjuaɪ/; US: /- ˈvɑːk-/), or kenophobia (Greek for 'fear of the empty'),[1] is a phenomenon in which the entire surface of a space or an artwork is filled with detail and content, leaving as little perceived emptiness as possible.[2] It relates to the antiquated physical idea, horror vacui, proposed by Aristotle who held that "nature abhors an empty space".[3]