ART TERMS AND DEFINITIONS:
click for: ARTIST STYLESABSTRACT:
ART IN WHICH ELEMENTS OF FORM, NOT SURFACE APPEARANCE HAVE BEEN STRESSED IN HANDLING
THE SUBJECT MATTER. THE SUBJECT MATTER MAY OR MAY NOT BE RECOGNIZABLE. TO A DEGREE, ALL
ART IS ABSTRACT; BUT THE MORE THE ARTIST ANALYZES AND INTELLECTUALIZES IT, THE MORE
ABSTRACT IT BECOMES. MUCH MODERN ART IS ABSTRACT; IT MAY ALSO BE NONOBJECTIVE ART, BUT THE
TERMS ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS.
AIRBRUSH:
MINIATURE PRECISION SPRAY GUN ATTACHED TO AN AIR COMPRESSOR. AN AIRBRUSH IS USED BY
ARTISTS TO CREATE A SMOOTH APPLICATION OF PAINT OR GRADUATIONS IN VALUE AND COLOR.
AERIAL PERSPECTIVE:
THE EFFECT OF DISTANCE REPRESENTED BY PALE AND LESS INTENSE COLORS FOR FARAWAY
OBJECTS, PORTRAYING THEM AS THEY APPEAR IN NATURE BECAUSE OF CONDITIONS SUCH AS DISTANCE ,
AIR AND LIGHT. ALSO CALLED COLOR PERSPECTIVE.
ART DECO:
A GEOMETRIC, SLEEK, ELEGANT STYLE OF DECORATIVE ART POPULAR IN THE 1920s AND 1930s.
CANVAS:
TIGHTLY WOVEN, HEAVY CLOTH OF HEMP, COTTON ETC., USED FOR PAINTINGS.
CARICATURE:
A REPRESENTATION OF A PERSON OR THING IN WHICH THE CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES ARE
MAGNIFIED, USUALLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF SATIRE OR HUMOR. THE CARICATURE CONCEPT IS REFLECTED
IN ANNIE LEE’S PAINTINGS.
COLLAGE:
THE APPLICATION OF PAPER OR "USEFUL" MATERIALS TO A BACKGROUND TO FORM A
PICTURE OR DESIGN.
COLOR:
COLOR CONSISTS OF 3 ATTRIBUTES:
1- HUE OR TINT -- THE ACTUAL
COLOR ITSELF; e.g., RED.
2- INTENSITY ----- THE
DEGREE OR PURITY, STRENGTH, OR SATURATION.
3- VALUE ---------
THE LIGHTNESS OR DARKNESS OF THE COLOR.
COMPLEMENTARY COLOR:
A COLOR HAVING MAXIMUM CONTRAST WITH ANOTHER COLOR. THE COMPLEMENT OF A PRIMARY COLOR
IS FORMED BY MIXING TWO PRIMARY COLORS. THUS, GREEN IS THE COMPLEMENT OF RED.
DRAGGING:
A METHOD OF APPLYING PIGMENT, MIXED WITH LITTLE OR NO VEHICLE, BY DRAGGING IT LIGHTLY OVER
THE TACKY SURFACE OF A PAINTING TO PRODUCE THE APPEARANCE OF BROKEN COLOR.
ETHNIC ART:
THIS IS ART THAT REFLECTS A CULTURAL GROUP WHICH IS DEFINED SOMETIMES BY RACE AND
SOMETIMES BY REGION. IT OFTEN FOCUSES ON THE FACES, LANDSCAPES AND TRADITIONS INHERENT TO
A CULTURE.
HORIZON LINE:
A LINE ACROSS A PICTURE, ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO THE TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES, AT WHICH SKY
AND EARTH APPEAR TO MEET. THE VANISHING POINT OR POINTS ATE LOCATED ON THIS LINE.
IMPASTO:
A PARTICULARLY THICK OR HEAVY APPLICATION OF PAINT SHOWING THE MARKS OF THE BRUSH,
PALETTE KNIFE OR OTHER APPLICATION TOOLS. ALSO CALLED LOADED BRUSH WORK.
IMPRESSIONISM:
THE 19th CENTURY FRENCH MOVEMENT, WELL DEVELOPED BY THE TIME OF THE FIRST
IMPRESSIONIST EXHIBITION IN 1874. CALLED THE CULMINATION OF REALISM BECAUSE, IN ANALYZING
NATURAL EFFECTS, THE IMPRESSIONISTS DEVISED THE SPECTRUM PALETTE AND RELIED ON OPTICAL
MIXING TO CAPTURE THE IMPRESSION OF LIGHT AT A GIVEN MOMENT. SOME WELL KNOWN
IMPRESSIONISTS: MONET, RENOIR, SISLEY, DEGAS.
LACQUER:
A RESINOUS VARNISH THAT, WHEN APPLIED IN SEVERAL LAYERS, ATTAINS A HIGH GLOSS FINISH.
MEDIUM:
IN THE GENERAL SENSE, THE PARTICULAR MATERIAL WITH WHICH A PICTURE IS EXECUTED (e.g.,
OILS, WATERCOLOR, CHALK, PEN AND INK, ETC.)
MODERN/CONTEMPORARY ART:
GENERAL TERMINOLOGY USED TO ENCOMPASS THE RICH VARIETY OF ART STYLES THAT PARALLELED
THE RAPID SCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN THE 20th
CENTURY.
MONOCHROMATIC:
USING DIFFERENT SHADES OF ONE COLOR.
MOTIF:
BASIC THEME OR SUBJECT.
NEOCLASSICAL ART:
THIS STYLE WAS DEVELOPED IN ITALY IN THE MID-1700s. IT WAS BASED ON THE NOBLE SIMPLICITY
AND TIMELESS STYLE OF GRECO-ROMAN ART FOUND IN THE RUINS OF THE ITALIAN CITIES OF
HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII.
ORIENTAL:
THE TECHNIQUE USED IN THE ORIENTAL STYLE IS VERY SOFT AND FORMAL. A FINELY DETAILED
OUTLINE IS APPLIED DELICATELY TO THE BUTTERFLIES OR BIRDS, WHICH HOLD GREAT SIGNIFICANCE
IN THE ORIENTAL CULTURE.
OVERPAINTING:
LAYERING PAINT OVER AN UNDERLAYER OF PAINT.
PALETTE:
THE SURFACE ON WHICH AN ARTIST SETS OUT AND MIXES HIS PIGMENTS; ALSO THE RANGE OF COLORS
USED BY AN ARTIST.
PALETTE KNIFE:
A THIN, FLEXIBLE STEEL BLADE WITH A WOODEN HANDLE AND BLUNT EDGE; USED BY AN ARTIST TO
APPLY PAINT, MIX OIL COLORS AND CLEAN THE PALETTE.
POINTILLISM:
AN OUTGROWTH OF IMPRESSIONISM PIONEERED BY "GEORGE SEURAT" BASED ON THE
JUXTAPOSITION ( TO PLACE CLOSE OR IN CONTRAST) OF DOTS OF PURE COLOR, BLENDED NATURALLY BY
THE EYE. FOR EXAMPLE, DOTS OF RED AND YELLOW USED SIDE BY SIDE BLEND OPTICALLY TO CREATE
ORANGE WHEN VIEWED FROM A DISTANCE.
PRIMITIVE ART:
ALSO CALLED NATIVE OR FOLK ART. THIS FORM OF ART IS TYPICALLY CREATED IN A VERY
SIMPLISTIC STYLE AND COMMONLY DEPICTS THE EVERY DAY LIFE OF A PARTICULAR CULTURE.
STILL LIFE:
A PAINTING OR DRAWING OF A GROUP OF INANIMATE OBJECTS; i.e., MOTIONLESS OBJECTS SUCH
AS FRUIT, VIOLINS, BOOKS, COMMON HOUSEHOLD ITEMS).
STRETCHER BAR:
THE WOODEN FRAME ON WHICH A PAINTING’S CANVAS IS STRETCHED.
TONDO:
A PAINTING DONE IN A CIRCULAR STYLE OR A SCULPTURED MEDALLION.
TRIPTYCH:
3 PAINTINGS RELATED IN COLOR AND SUBJECT MATTER WHICH EITHER FORM A CONTINUOUS SCENE OR
ARE MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN GROUPED TOGETHER.
VANISHING POINT:
IN PERSPECTIVE, THE POINT OR POINTS ON THE HORIZON LINE AT WHICH RECEDING PARALLEL LINES
MEET AND SEEM TO DISAPPEAR.
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