Is something depicted in art or within art?

I am writing about certain paintings and the content depicted on the canvas. Which proposition should I use: in or within?

"... depicted in paintings"

or

"... depicted within paintings"

Solution 1:

Either "in" or "within" can be used, with slight differences depending on whether you're talking of painting as a medium or a physical space. In art history, "in" seems more common, particularly when talking about style or technique, although "within" can be used to emphasise ideas of containment or closure within a geometrical space.

If you're talking about painterly technique or the artist capturing something on canvas, then "in" is common: "the collagelike organization of shallow space in paintings by Picasso, Gris and Stuart Davis" (Art in America), "Rousseau's vision and his unself-conscious techniques inspired similar effects in paintings by Picasso, Paul Klee, Andre Derain, and Raoul Dufy." (MOMA)

If it's something contained within the pictorial space of the painting (particular spatial arrangements, such as what is inside the frame), "within" is often used, e.g. "a painting within a painting", or "secrets hidden within paintings" (Oxford Student). Here you are emphasising the geometrical arrangement rather than the technique.