Art Brut vs Outsider Art vs Folk Art: What's the Difference?
Art brut, outsider art, folk art, naïve art, visionary art, self-taught art: what each term means, where it came from and how they overlap.
By The Outsider Artist editors, Editorial team, Website Studio
Updated
· Last reviewed · 3 min read
In short
- Art brut is Jean Dubuffet's 1945 term for art he believed was untouched by artistic culture; it is the strictest of the labels.
- Outsider art is Roger Cardinal's 1972 English equivalent, now used more broadly for self-taught art made outside the art world.
- Folk art follows shared community traditions; outsider art usually follows a private vision.
- Naïve art is made by untrained painters who imitate fine-art conventions and often want to join the art world.
- "Self-taught art" is the most neutral term and is increasingly used by museums.
Why are there so many terms?
Because nobody agrees exactly where the edges are. Each term was invented by a particular person, in a particular country, to make a particular point. Some describe how a maker learned (self-taught), some describe their relationship to society (outsider), and some describe the content of the work (visionary). Collectors, dealers and museums then stretched them to cover more and more artists.
What is art brut?
Art brut is the original term, coined by the French artist Jean Dubuffet in 1945. It means "raw art", in the sense of raw rather than cooked: art that has not been processed by art schools, museums and fashion. Dubuffet applied it strictly. He wanted work made by people with no artistic training and no interest in an audience, and he collected it from psychiatric hospitals, prisons, spiritualists and isolated individuals. His collection became the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, which still uses the term.
Dubuffet even created a separate category, Neuve Invention, for makers he admired but felt were too close to the art world to count as art brut.
What is outsider art?
Outsider art is the English term introduced by the critic Roger Cardinal in his 1972 book Outsider Art. He meant it as a translation of art brut, but in English it quickly widened. Today it is used for almost any art made by self-taught people outside the gallery system, including work that Dubuffet would have rejected. Commentators often put it this way: all art brut is outsider art, but not all outsider art is art brut. See Roger Cardinal and outsider art.
What is folk art?
Folk art is made within a shared tradition, passed down through a community. Examples include quilts, weathervanes, painted canal ware, shop signs, carved toys and religious objects. Its makers may be self-taught as individuals, but they follow conventions everyone around them recognises. Outsider art, by contrast, usually follows one person's private vision. The line blurs in the United States, where "folk art" is often used for self-taught artists such as Bill Traylor.
What is naïve art?
Naïve art is made by untrained painters who work in the familiar forms of fine art, such as landscapes, portraits and still lifes, but without academic technique. The results are often flat, bright and detailed. Many naïve painters wanted to be part of the art world. Henri Rousseau is the classic example. In Britain, the Cornish fisherman Alfred Wallis, who began painting at 70 and was championed by Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood in 1928, is usually described as a naïve painter rather than an outsider.
What is visionary art?
Visionary art describes the content of the work: images of spiritual, religious or inner visions. It can be made by trained or untrained artists. The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore uses the term broadly for self-taught "intuitive" artists. A "visionary environment" is a building or garden transformed into a single work of art; see our visionary environments topic.
How do the terms compare?
| Term | Coined or popularised | What it focuses on | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art brut | Jean Dubuffet, 1945 | Art untouched by artistic culture | Adolf Wölfli |
| Outsider art | Roger Cardinal, 1972 | The maker's distance from the art world | Henry Darger |
| Folk art | Long-standing term | Shared community traditions | Quilts, canal art |
| Naïve art | Early 20th century | Untrained painting in fine-art forms | Alfred Wallis |
| Visionary art | Long-standing term; the American Visionary Art Museum opened in 1995 | Spiritual or inner visions | Howard Finster |
| Self-taught art | Increasingly preferred today | How the maker learned | Bill Traylor |
| Outlier art | Lynne Cooke, National Gallery of Art, 2018 | Artists at variance with the mainstream | Judith Scott |
Which term should you use?
Use the term that fits your purpose, and use it carefully. "Art brut" is precise when you mean Dubuffet's idea or the Lausanne collection. "Self-taught" is the most neutral description. "Outsider art" remains the term most people search for and understand, which is why this site uses it, while acknowledging the debate. Our guide to the labels debate explains why many artists and curators now avoid it.
Where to go next
Read what is outsider art? for the bigger picture, or browse the glossary for other terms you will meet.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between art brut and outsider art?
Art brut is Jean Dubuffet's original 1945 term and is used strictly for art he believed was untouched by artistic culture. Outsider art is the broader English term introduced in 1972, now used for almost any self-taught art made outside the art world. All art brut is outsider art, but not all outsider art is art brut. Compare the terms.
Sources and further reading
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