pictorialism

Noun

 * 1)  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
 * 2) Any artistic use of photography to imitate painting, especially using pictorial conventions.
 * 3) The theory that mental imagery is visual rather than based on language-like description.
 * 1) The theory that mental imagery is visual rather than based on language-like description.