<p>There is a term. My old university professor and friend used it in conversation only last week. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCckenfigur" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rückenfigur</a> is the German art term for a figure seen from behind, and placed inside the scene as a proxy for the viewer.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-10T22:08:35.270Z
Thank you, Will! This is the most fitting answer.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-10T19:33:56.410Z
2023-11-10T22:09:27.530Z
2023-11-10T22:09:27.530Z
Willartist
<p>Posterior: The back or behind, as opposed to the anterior.</p>
<p>As seen here: <a href="https://www.medicinenet.com/anatomic_orientation_terms/definition.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.medicinenet.com/anatomic_orientation_terms/definition.htm</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-14T05:19:00.923Z
That seems to be used exclusively for anatomical images, though.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-16T18:08:11.683Z
Welcome to Arts & Crafts. Good suggestion, but to me, it misses the mark for a couple of reasons. 1. It's a term used in medicine and some other fields. I'm not aware that it's the term commonly used in art. 2. I'm not sure it captures the correct "perspective". It describes the visible surface of the subject. The viewer's experience would be different (view of the posterior, view from the rear). Then the perspective, itself, has a name. In architecture, it might be called "rear elevation", but I don't think that's used in art. Rear view? Posterior view? That's the gist of the question.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-13T20:51:17.923Z
2022-09-13T20:51:17.923Z
Cheese 4 ever
<p>Rear View</p>
<p>It's called simply 'rear view'. I know this from attending art school in London. And visiting more than 100 art museums around the world.</p>
<p>Rear means 'from behind'. It's somewhat hard to look up, obscured by cars and rear view mirror for some reason.</p>
<p>But if you Google 'Degas, rear view of a dancer' and click images, you'll see about 1 million results, including a painting by Degas with this name:</p>
<p>[https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en-US/degas/rear-view-of-a-dancer-black-chalk-pastel/black-chalk-and-pastel/asset/376536][1]</p>
<p>Or Google 'rear view of a dancer' you'll see 12.3 million results.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-07T23:31:08.177Z
2022-09-07T23:31:08.177Z
user3025
<p>There are several ways to indicate the angle at which a person is depicted in the visual arts: <em>en profil</em>/in profile, <em>en trois quarts</em>, frontal. While these all generally relate to portraits, I wonder if there is a term for seeing a person from the back.</p>
<p>In video games there is the term 'third person', but while this term AFAIK is gaining ground in the film world, this has more to do with the position of a camera in relation to a person we <em>identify</em> with than with one <em>we are watching as someone else</em> (or <em>empathize</em> with).</p>
<p>Hammershøi famously depicted people this way in his still interiors, influenced by Vermeer and Ter Borgh:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/WNCGk.jpg" width="350" alt="Vilhelm Hammershoi - Interior with Young Woman seen from the Back - 1904"><br/>
<sup><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interior_with_Young_Woman_Seen_from_the_Back" rel="noreferrer">source</a></sup></p>
<p>This painting is titled 'Interior with Young Woman seen from the Back', but I wonder if there is a more technical term.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-12T21:18:41.880Z
And by "more technical", you mean a translation of "from the back" into another language, like French? Just like " en profil , en trois quarts"...
virolino
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-12T23:02:05.117Z
Not in French, specifically, no. I wonder if there is a more technical term than 'from the back'. Preferably a single word, or a more unique set of words, that makes it easier to find, identify, and describe this type of view.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-19T23:39:59.417Z
That is a hard one. I am a writer who knows the Spanish language well, including the Mexican vernacular, and I am unable to think of one. I will ask my companion when she comes, she knows the of old folk sayings; when I dont know a word I always ask her.
Maria Alaniz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-24T21:15:04.513Z
I'll leave this as a comment because it isn't definitive, but it isn't clear that there is a dedicated term for this.  I did some Google-fu and found a lot of references to specific works.  Most were identified as "view from the back", a couple as "back view".  One image of a ballerina from the back was identified as "unrecognizable ballerina".  I couldn't find any reference to a particular terminology other than such common English-language descriptors.
fixer1234
<terminology>
What is it called when we view a person from the back?
Joachim
# What is it called when we view a person from the back?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-12-12)

There are several ways to indicate the angle at which a person is depicted in the visual arts: *en profil*/in profile, *en trois quarts*, frontal. While these all generally relate to portraits, I wonder if there is a term for seeing a person from the back.

In video games there is the term 'third person', but while this term AFAIK is gaining ground in the film world, this has more to do with the position of a camera in relation to a person we *identify* with than with one *we are watching as someone else* (or *empathize* with).

Hammershøi famously depicted people this way in his still interiors, influenced by Vermeer and Ter Borgh:

![Vilhelm Hammershoi - Interior with Young Woman seen from the Back - 1904](https://i.sstatic.net/WNCGk.jpg)  
[source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interior_with_Young_Woman_Seen_from_the_Back)

This painting is titled 'Interior with Young Woman seen from the Back', but I wonder if there is a more technical term.

**Tags:** terminology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: And by "more technical", you mean a translation of "from the back" into another language, like French? Just like " en profil , en trois quarts"...  
> **username_0**: Not in French, specifically, no. I wonder if there is a more technical term than 'from the back'. Preferably a single word, or a more unique set of words, that makes it easier to find, identify, and describe this type of view.  
> **username_2**: That is a hard one. I am a writer who knows the Spanish language well, including the Mexican vernacular, and I am unable to think of one. I will ask my companion when she comes, she knows the of old folk sayings; when I dont know a word I always ask her.  
> **username_3**: I'll leave this as a comment because it isn't definitive, but it isn't clear that there is a dedicated term for this.  I did some Google-fu and found a lot of references to specific works.  Most were identified as "view from the back", a couple as "back view".  One image of a ballerina from the back was identified as "unrecognizable ballerina".  I couldn't find any reference to a particular terminology other than such common English-language descriptors.  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2023-11-10. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

There is a term. My old university professor and friend used it in conversation only last week. [Rückenfigur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCckenfigur) is the German art term for a figure seen from behind, and placed inside the scene as a proxy for the viewer.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you, Will! This is the most fitting answer.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2022-09-13. Score: 3

Posterior: The back or behind, as opposed to the anterior.

As seen here: <https://www.medicinenet.com/anatomic_orientation_terms/definition.htm>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: That seems to be used exclusively for anatomical images, though.  
> **username_3**: Welcome to Arts & Crafts. Good suggestion, but to me, it misses the mark for a couple of reasons. 1. It's a term used in medicine and some other fields. I'm not aware that it's the term commonly used in art. 2. I'm not sure it captures the correct "perspective". It describes the visible surface of the subject. The viewer's experience would be different (view of the posterior, view from the rear). Then the perspective, itself, has a name. In architecture, it might be called "rear elevation", but I don't think that's used in art. Rear view? Posterior view? That's the gist of the question.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2022-09-07. Score: 2

Rear View

It's called simply 'rear view'. I know this from attending art school in London. And visiting more than 100 art museums around the world.

Rear means 'from behind'. It's somewhat hard to look up, obscured by cars and rear view mirror for some reason.

But if you Google 'Degas, rear view of a dancer' and click images, you'll see about 1 million results, including a painting by Degas with this name:

[https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en-US/degas/rear-view-of-a-dancer-black-chalk-pastel/black-chalk-and-pastel/asset/376536][1]

Or Google 'rear view of a dancer' you'll see 12.3 million results.


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