Definitions for "Inscape"
Disambiguation: for inscape in visual art (in the works of Roberto Matta, for example), see Inscape (visual art)
Inscape, in visual art, is a term especially associated with certain works of Chilean artist Roberto Matta, but it is also used in other senses within the visual arts.
The definition of inscape, according to Webster's New World College Dictionary is "the essential quality of a thing, place, person, etc., especially as expressed in an artistic work."
Term devised by G. M. Hopkins to describe the 'individually distinctive' make up of natural phenomena as perceived through the five senses. He also coined the term 'instress' to describe the force or energy which creates and sustains 'inscape'. Instress is similar in many ways to the Chinese concept of Tao. See Hopkins' sonnet as kingfishers catch fire (lines 5-8) in which he articulates something of inscape and instress.