Art Appreciation test 3
Ground
A coating applied to canvas or board. Usually called Gesso, it protects the canvas from solvents used in oil paints, but is also used to smooth the surface of a rough support.
Wash
in a drawing or painting is a large flat area of ink, paint or dry media diluted with water and applied with a brush. Watercolor paintings are traditionally created with this.
is any one of multiple impressions ( images) made from a master image.
Tooth
refers to the roughness or smoothness of a piece of paper.
Gouache
A painting medium similar to water color, but opaque instead of transparent. Water color is mixed with Chinese chalk, it is difficult to mis, and blend. But brush strokes using this media are usually visible and used primarily for studies.
Glazing
A painting technique implying thin transparent or semi-transparent layers put one over the other in order to give a more luminous quality and a deeper more details surface
Metal Point
A drawing technique, especially silverpoint, popular in the 15th and 16th centuries, in which a stylus with a point of gold, silver, or some other metal was applied to a sheet or paper treated with a mixture of powdered bones (or white lead) and gum water.
Pencil
A drawing tool made of graphite in a wood cylinder. The wood gives the graphite stiffness and protects the fragile material from breaking. Pencils can be blended by smudging, and can create very precise lines.
Finished Drawing
A finished drawing is one that is done as a work of art and not as a preparation or study. A finished drawing is created for exhibition and display as work of art.
Tusche
A greasy liquid that also comes in a hardened, crayon like form used in Lithography.
Printmaking
A method of reproducing images in multiples. There are five basic methods of printmaking: Relief, Intaglio, Lithography, Silkscreen, and Monotype.
Etching
A more fluid and free process of intaglio printing, done by scratching through an acid resistant ground that coats a metal plate. The coated plate is then set in an acid bath .The scratched areas of exposed plate are etched out by acid , leaving the same design permanently cut into the surface of the plate.
Water Color
A painting medium consisting of pigment suspended in a solution of water and gum arabic. These paintings are usually painted on thick sheets of rag paper. Done is washes, this type of paint is transparent and the whiteness of paper is almost always present
Impasto
A painting technique used with oil or acrylics, where the pain is applied very thinly to canvas or support. The artist Rembrandt van Rijin created this technique
Oil Pastel
A pastel that has an oil binder
Acrylic Paint
A plastic resin that when mixed with water and pigment forms a inorganic and quick drying paint medium. It is very versatile and eliminates the use of poisonous solvents like Turpentine. Images created with this paint are bright in color and can be used in washes, glazes, or impasto.
Original Print
A print created by the artist alone and which has been printed by the artist or under the artists direct supervision
Screen Printing/Serigraphy
Screenwriting's a stencil printmaking process in which the image is transferred to paper by forcing ink through a mesh, areas not meant to be printed are blocked out. Many screen prints are produced using photo sensitive screens that transfer photographic images.
Pen and Ink
refers to a type of ink drawing that uses a pen as the tool for delivering the ink to the surface of the paper can create very precise lines. Pens used for these types of drawings usually have tips that vary in size based on the width of the line they create.
Johannes Vermeer
was a leading painter in the town of Delft. He left few works but the paintings that remain are some of the finest examples of Dutch painting. Many of his works are enigmatic scenes of women in domestic settings, occupied with cultivated activity such as writing, reading, letters or making music. Like other Dutch genre paintings the works of him contain symbolic and iconographic elements whose meanings are now forgotten. He created still life, landscape, and allegorical portraits.
Fresco Secco
This is a type of paint applied to a plaster surface that is dry. It forms a layer on top of the wall. It is less permanent than bun fresco, and slightly less brilliant in color. The sistine chapel in rome is one of the greatest examples of this.
Theodore Gericault
Was a French painter commonly associated with the Romantic style of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His most famous work the Raft of the Medussa caused an uproar among the people of France when it was exhibited at the Paris salon. I it was based on the story of the survivors of the wrecked ship the Medussa.
Fransisco Goya
Was a Spanish painter that is called a Romantic for the breath of imagination and craftsmanship he put into his paintings. He was the court painter to the king of Spain producing portraits and historical works for the state. He also worked for the church and produced many religious works
Jacques Louis David
Was a painter that created images like the Oath of the Horatii, which illustrates a story from ancient Rome. His career will span a number of different regimes with vastly different attitudes about government. He will even be appointed court painter by Nepoleon.
Rembrandt Van Rijn
Was one of the most prolific painters ever, he was also an accomplished Print Maker. He was a leading artist of his time and region but had many difficulties late in life, and was forced into bankruptcy. He created works on many topics from religious subjects to landscapes. One of his most famous works is the Night Watch, commissioned as a group portrait his approach to the composition is completely unconventional to the time, and the scale of the painting is monumental 12 by 14 feet.
Synthetic Media
With the invention of plastics , paints have been produced that are versatile media for creating paint.
Pigment
a coloring agent used in drawing media and paint. Many substances are used as pigments and to list them all would be impossible. Today pigments are made chemically,in factories, and almost any color can be obtained. For a good part of history artists gathered and mixed their own pigments. Many of the old masters were not only great artists but excellent chemists due to the fact that they had to create their own
Ink
a common Liquid media for drawing and is made from carbon mixed with a binder and vehicle.
Charcoal
a dry drawing media that is created from burning wood. It can be used at various harness. Like chalk it can be spread easily and when used to represent volumetric forms can be manipulated to create seamless transitions from light to dark.
India Ink
a version of this media that is usually water proof, so that once it is dry can be painted over with a wash and the lines will remain unchanged.
Tempera Paint
(Vey popular in the middle ages) This is a type of painting media made by combining water, a pigment, and usually egg yolk. Usually applied to board primed with gesso made form glue and plaster. This type of paint drys quickly and applied to a white surface, is bright in color with a somewhat flat or matte surface.
Chalk
A soft dry media usually white in color, used for creating highlights and gray mid tones, when used with charcoal. Chalk also comes in many colors, that when manipulated correctly can be mixed to create other colors.
Romanticism
An approach to art that emphasizes the personal, the emotional, and the dramatic, which it often expresses through the use of exotic, literary, or historically remote subject matter. In the 19th century, the Romantic movement arose as a reaction to the austerity of Neoclassicism and as an expression of the spirit of revolution that characterized the age.
Dry Point
An intaglio print making process in which the copper or zinc plate is incised by a needle pulled back across the surface leaving a burr . The result of this process is a more expressive line than that produced by engraving and etching.
Mezzotint
An intaglio print making process in which the plate is ground all over with a sharply textured rocker, leaving a burr raised on the entire surface that if inked would be rich black. The surface is subsequently lightened to a greater or lesser degree by scraping away the burr
Aquatint
An intaglio process in which the acid bites around powdered particles of resin resulting in a print with a granular appearance.
Engraving
An intaglio process where the lines are scratched into the surface of a metal plate. Most commonly copper, the plates used in engraving are more durable than wood. These types of prints have a look that is typical of intaglio printing, fine lines, hatching and cross hatching for contrast.
Liquid Media
Artist use many different media for creating drawings that are not dry. Liquid media is flowing and can be spread and mixed with water and other liquids that act as a vehicle for the dry substance used.
Eugene Delacroix
He rejected French classicism and was a non-conforming artist that used bright colors, that were not accepted in his day. He revolutionized the art of painting by abandoning preparation drawings for sketch paintings. He traveled to North Africa and this opened new subject matter for his work. He was very popular with the younger painters of his time and he struggled with not being accepted by the critics of the time
Fresco
One of the oldest forms of painting, it is a type of paint applied to a plaster surface, usually a wall. Images created in fresco when clean are usually bright in color and have a flat or matte surface. During the renaissance, this form of painting technique was used to create large scale works that remain vivid today, after 500 years.
Neoclassicism
Romanticism and Realism will become styles that mark these times, and academies, particularly in France will control the artwork that is exhibited. Art historians use the words classicism and romanticism in a general sense for basic and opposing attitudes in art and architecture. Both classical and romantic influences are sometimes seen in the work of a single artist or school.
Counter Reformation
The Baroque style of painting shows a great deal of influence from an event. With the introduction of Protestantism in Northern Europe and the Reformation of the Christian Church to a more human centered religion, protestants removed much of the artworks from their churches The Catholic Church undertook a Counter to this by emphasizing a more naturalistic depiction of holy events in paintings and sculpture.
Mimesis
The concept of imitation, involving the creation go representations that transcend or exceed mere appearance by implying the sacred essence of things
Delineation
The descriptive representation of an object by means of outline or contour drawing.
Denotation
The direct or literal meaning of an image
Buon(true) Fresco
This is a type of paint applied to wet plaster. Through the chemical reaction of the plaster hardening, the paint is chemically bound to the plaster and becomes an integral part of its surface. These types of paintings are permanent and last long as the surface they are painted on. To remove this, the surface must be a gouged out of paint over.
Oil Paint
This is a very versatile media that is thinned with turpentine. Made with linseed oil, this paint dries very slowly and can be worked on over a long period of time. It can be applied thickly or thinned to make transparent washed. It has a rich slightly shinny surface that has al luminous quality. Jan Van Eyck is believed to had invented it.
Age of Reason
This term is used to describe a period when common people will question the rule of kings and look back to ancient times when rulers were chosen for their merits and not by some religious, or hereditary ties. This will result in bloody revolutions in America, and France. The results will include the development of true democracy in western culture. The artwork of this time will reflect this new political reaction to the rule of kings and exhibit an understanding of classical ideals.
Intaglio Process
A print making process in which the areas to be printed are below the surface of the plate. Lines are carved or etched into the plate, filled with ink, applied by a roller,leaving the plate completely covered with ink. The surface of the plate is them wiped, so that there is only ink in the carved areas below the surface. The kind of images made using this process usually have very fine lines, hatching and cross hatching are methods used to create depth and contrast.
Woodcut Print
A printing process that utilizes a wood block carved so that those parts not intended to print are cut away, leaving the design raised. They are usually high contrast, with expressive lines and shapes.
Lithography
A printmaking process in which a polished stone, often Limestone, is drawn upon with a greasy material :The surface is moistened and then inked. The ink adheres only to the greasy lines of the drawing and the design is transferred to dampened paper usually in a printing press.
Monotypes
A printmaking process in which only one impression results. Many times the artist paints inks right On to the surface of the plate, creating a truly one of a kind image.
Wood engraving
A relief print carved into the end grain of a wood block. Fine lines are employed resulting is a very tight image with white lines on a black ground.
Linocut
A relief print similar to woodcut, but the block is linoleum
Gianlorenzo Bernini
A sculptor, painter and architect and a formative influence as an outstanding exponent of the Italian Baroque. He was an exceptional portrait artist and owes to his father his accomplished techniques in the handling of marble and also an impressive list of patrons that included the Borghese and the Barbarini families. He originally worked in the Late Mannerist tradition but rejected the contrived tendencies of this style.
Sketch
A sketch is a drawing that is used as a study or plan for a greater work. Usually a sketch is done as a form of preparation. In complex works, like a large sculpture or work of architecture, many sketches may be prepared. A sketch is generally not considered a finished work, and therefore less valuable.
Pastel
A soft crayon made of chalk and pigment. The word pastel is also used to describe any work done in this medium. Pastel colors refer to pale light colors as well. Many times a work done in pastel is called a painting. This media is considered the simplest form of painting because the colors are applied in masses rather than in lines. Colors can be mixed on the surface of the paper by blending. It come in dry chalk form and in a form that is oily.
Graphite
A soft form of carbon similar to coal, it is a dry drawing media that in the form of a pencil is one of the most common drawing instruments. It is used in a stick form as well. It comes in various hardness, and can be blended using smudging. It can also be erased using gum, synthetic and rubber erasers. Bread crumbs also make an effective eraser of graphite. It also fixed when permanent.
Fixative
A thin film sprayed over pastel, charcoal, conte and graphite drawings to protect them from smudging. Fixatives are sometimes called workable, which means that once applied and dry, the artist can continue working on the drawing over top of the fixed areas, to add more detail or change the idea.
Solvent/Vehicle
A thinner that enables paint to flow more readily and that also cleans the brushes used. Water is the the solvent for water color paint, turpentine is the solvent for oil paint
Proof
A trial impression of a print made before the final edition is run, so that it may be examined and if necessary corrected. To tell that a print is a proof and not part of the edition, it will be marked with the letters AP
Relief Process
Any Printmaking process in which the image to be printed is raised off the background. A relief print is an exact copy of the carved drawing, or matrix, and when reproduced through the use of a press, on paper, create a reverse image. It usually uses a press to transfer the image from plate to paper.
Cartoon
Any full sized drawing, subsequently transferred to the working surface, from which a painting or fresco is made (171). We also use the word cartoon to refer to comic drawings done for animation and satire. Cartoons of this nature have also been categorized as works of art, and are usually considered works of Graphic Design.
Medium
Any material used to create a work of art. An example of drawing media is pencil, charcoal, or pastel.
Value and Market
Artists prints are sold as originals and can be very expensive. Many art collectors have large collections of prints made by famous artists. The only way to truly prove that their prints are original is to document them with a numbering system and the artists signature.Traditionally the artist reviews a trial print, or proof, of his work which is documented with the letters AP. When the final prints are run the artist signs and numbers each with a system that states the number of the print, and the number of prints run in that edition. An example would be: 3/35 which means the third print made in an edition of 35.
Caravaggio
His paintings are the most realistic works of western art to this point and his technique will be copied and studied by most of the great painters to come. His life was short and turbulent but his virtuous abilities with paint and canvas will earn him the trust of many rich patrons and eventually the Catholic Church itself. Most of his works are created with the use of models that come from the streets of his time and show how people really looked then.
Binder
In a medium the substance that holds pigments together. For dry media the binder is usually a substance that is at some point a liquid and can be mixed with a pigment. Charcoal is a dry media that is created by burning wood and like chalk can be used with little or no preparation beyond their natural occurrence
Binder
In a paint mixture the binder is the substance used to hold the pigment together as a liquid, paste, or solid. In tempera paint, egg yolk serve as the binder. Gum Arabic is used as a binder for water color paint.
Chiaroscuro
In drawing and painting the use of light and dark to create the effect of three dimensional modeled space. Both chalk and charcoal can be considered ideal media for the creation of drawings that employ the method of chiaroscuro.
Pigment
In paint the pigment is the material, usually in a powdered form, that makes the color. Today artist generally buy their paints premixed and ready for use, but in the past artists had to mix their own.
Vehicle
In the case of drawing media this term describes mixing a liquid with a dry media. The vehicle enables the artist to spread out the colored dry media using a brush. Most common is water
Graphic Design
In the fine arts , the various multi-replica processes by which original, one of a kind, prints are made. The field of graphic design, and it's more recent categorization, visual communication, includes designing type, and images for use in mass media. This area of study was created for commercial purposes and has application to any visual media. Today most graphic designers use the computer and digital media to create graphic design. By its nature drawing is an important aspect of graphic design
Trompe I' Oioel
Literally means "to fool the eye", this term is applied to a form of representation(painted or sculpted) that attempts to depict the object as if it were actually present before the eye in 3-D space. Originally used by painters as a way to complete with photography in creating realistic images
Dry Media
Media used for drawing that is solid and dry. Usually these media are compressed into a stick and are applied directly onto the surface of a piece of paper. Dry media is used for the making of fine art including: Metal point(silver point), chalk, graphite, pencil, pastel(chalk to oil), and conte crayon. In general these media are made by combining a pigment with a binder that holds the pigment together in a solid form. A simple crayon is just a color mixed in hot wax and cooled to a solid stick. In this case the binder is the wax.
Paint and Surface
The form of paint and the the surface on which the painter works is an issue for the investigation, because they have a profound effect on the image created. Fresco, Tempera, Oil, and Acrylic paints are all different types of paint with distinct characteristics. All paint is made by mixing a Pigment, and a binder, then spreading this mixture Page 2. Painting with a Solvent or Vehicle. Painters apply paint in thick or thin layers usually with a brush.
Hardness
The hardness and density of drawing media like charcoal, graphite, chalk, and conte, has a large effect on the drawing. Most of these media are available in a variety of hardness. In general the harder the media the less apt it is to spread by smudging.
Matrix
The master image used to create prints. It may be created a number of different materials depending on the printing methods used. A copper plate with an etched image on one side is a common matrix for Intaglio printing.
Connotation
The meaning associated with or implied by an image
Baroque Art
The name given to art and architecture created in the 17th century. Baroque is a style that dominated European art, it was theatrical, used realism, illusionism, ornate forms, and a sense of motion, and it included many of the best known artists of western culture.
Edition
The number of impressions ( images) authorized by the artist made from a single master image created by the artist, or subject to the artists approval.
Registration
The precise alignment of impressions (plates), made by two or more blocks or plates on the same sheet of paper, utilized particularly when printing two or more colors.
Support
The surface on which the artist paints. (canvas, wood panel, wall)
Innovative Drawing Media
There are many artists that use drawing in innovative ways. This includes the use of materials other than those discussed previously. The artist Matisse used shapes cut from paper to develop interesting drawings. The Nasca Indians created huge drawings in Peru that can only be comprehended from air planes.
Conte Crayon
crayons are a soft dry drawing medium made by adding clay to graphite. Conte is much like charcoal or chalk media in that it is easily blended by smudging, and finished drawings should be fixed. Conte crayons come in many colors, but most commonly they are sold in sets of black, white and a brownish red ( sanguine).