Art Terms

installation

Originally referred to hanging works of art for exhibition, but now also describes works of several separate parts that are placed over the space of a room in a specific arrangement, usually specific to the dimensions of the space and for a temporary period of time.

biomorphic

"biological shape." A term used to describe organic-looking forms that are curved, appear to be swelling or rotund, as if living and growing, ex: cells, lima beans, parts of the human body, or of plant, or animal forms. Used in early Surrealism by Arp, Calder, Miro, etc.

vanitas

( Latin , "vanity" ) contains objects symbolic of the inevitability of death and is a genre of still-life painting that flourished in the Netherlands in the 17th century

Contrapposto

When standing, the body weight resting on one leg, with the other leg relaxed, posed forward, giving the human form an "s" curve, as in sculpture.

Calligraphy

handwriting that is considered exceptionally beautiful in any language.

Arch

is a curved structure made of stone or brick that supports weight over an opening, such as a window or door

Fresco

is a painting technique in which pigments are applied to a surface of wet plaster, which binds with the plaster when dry.

Patron

is a person who supports the arts or an artist.

Monotheism

is a religion distinguished by the belief in only one god.

Canon

is a rule of proportion that meets the requirements of a specific cultural aesthetic.

Barrel Vault

is a single arch extended in depth from front to back, forming a tunnel-like structure.

Symbol

is a visual element that represents something else, often an abstract concept like peace or courage.

Narrative

is an artwork that tells a story.

Mosaic

is an image or decoration created by covering a surface with small pieces of variously colored material such as glass, stone, or tile.

Easel

is an upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas).

Aerial or atmospheric perspective

is the blurring of forms, colors, and values as they recede into the background.

Picture Plane

is the flat, two-dimensional surface of a painting, a drawing, or a print.

Palette

is the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art. It is also the board that provides a flat surface on which artists mix paints and the range of colors used.

Scale

is the size of an object or image that is measured by its relationship to other objects and images that are recognized for their normal or actual size.

Naturalism

is the style of art with imagery that appears like the world we see around us.

Pendentive

is the triangular concave sections that are created when a dome is supported by a base of arches.

Composition

is the unified organization of the elements of an art work. The invention or combination of the parts of any literary work or discourse, or of a work of art; as, the composition of a poem or a piece of music.

Monochromatic

means that an artwork contains only the hues, tints, and shades of one color.

Genre painting

the depiction of subjects and scenes from everyday life, ordinary folk and common activities. It achieved its greatest popularity in seventeenth century Holland (the Netherlands) with the works of Jan Vermeer (1632-1675).

pictorial space

the depth of space behind the picture plane.

Stylization

the distortion of an image or a figure according to an artistic convention or canon.

modeling

the process of making a sculpture in which malleable substances such as clay or wax are pushed or pulled into shape. Such sculpture is described as modeled.

Gothic Revival or neo-Gothic

the renewed popularity of the Gothic style of architecture towards the middle of the 19th century.

Style

the term for specific recognizable attributes that are consistent and coherent in the art work within a historical period, cultural tradition, or art or group of artists.

Primary colors

those that when mixed produce the largest range of new colors: red, yellow, and blue, for example, that can produce orange, violet, and green, all secondary colors, etc.

Sculpture in the round

three-dimensional sculpture that is carved free of any attaching background or block.

hand

used to describe the artist's touch as identified by a connoisseur; material evidence in the work of art that indicates that it was made by hand, such as obvious, unblended brush strokes or chisel or graphic marks.

Classical

1) relating to ancient Greek or Latin literature, art, or culture as in "classical mythology"or of art or architecture) influenced by ancient Greek or Roman forms or principles. Considered well proportioned and harmonious. 2) a form of art regarded as representing an exemplary standard; traditional and long-established in form or style.

Pop Art

20th century art based on modern popular culture and the mass media, especially as a critical or ironic comment on traditional fine art value

Pediment

A low pitched triangular space or gable resting on columns, a portico, a door, or a window.

buttress

A mass of masonry or brickwork used as a support or brace counteracting the outward (lateral) thrust of an arch or vault. A pier buttress is a solid mass of masonry. A flying buttress is one that reaches over a side aisle to support the heavy stone roof of a cathedral.

apprentice

A person who is learning an art or a trade by working with a skilled worker in that field, such as in a workshop.

Renaissance

A rebirth of learning and the arts in Europe during the 14th through the 17th centuries, along with the revival and study of ancient Greek and Roman cultures.

Salon

A regular exhibition of art, begun in 1737, that was chosen by members of the French Academy - a professional organization and art school; the only important public exhibition available to artists in the mid-nineteenth century.

Idealism

As artistic interpretation of the world as it should be according to respective cultural aesthetics within their cultural and historical contexts.

muse

Generally, a guiding spirit or source of inspiration

Baroque

Is a style of the seventeenth century in Europe that is characterized by a flare for the theatrical, often including dramatic light, exaggeration, and forms that seem to extend outward to the space around them.

inlay

Making an image by setting thin pieces of a material precisely into a depressed ground. Examples of materials typically inlaid are wood, metal, stone, shell, glass, ivory and tile.

Gothic

The name given to the style of architecture, painting, and sculpture which flourished in western Europe, mainly France and England, between the 12th and 15th centuries-- the later Middle Ages.

Genres

When used in the plural form, genres are the various categories of subject matter in the traditional academic hierarchy. For example: history, mythology, religion, portraiture, genre (see the first sense above), landscape, still life.

Aesthetics

a branch of western philosophy that is concerned with the meaning of beauty. The notion of what is beautiful is a cultural value and therefore has an enormous range of meaning

Mudra

a hand gesture with symbolic meaning in Hindu and Buddhist art

Ukiyo-e

a kind of Japanese woodblock print or painting; literally "pictures from the floating world."

Yakshi

a lesser Hindu or Buddhist female divinity, associated with fertility and vegetation; the male counterpart is the Yaksha.

allegory

a literary term for a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Realism

a mid-19th century style of painting that depicts life in a recognizable manner. The representation in art or literature of objects, actions, or social conditions as they actually are, without idealization or presentation in abstract form.

Cast

a process in which a mold of a form is made, liquid material is poured in, allowed to harden and then removed to produce a sculptural replica of the original form.

Portrait bust

a sculpture of a human being showing only the head and shoulders

Relief

a sculpture that is partly projecting from a flat surface, but is not fully in the round.

Mausoleum

a stately tomb usually built above the ground.

Linear or Mathematical perspective

a system of rendering the illusion of three-dimensional depth on a flat two-dimensional surface by delineating a horizon line and multiple orthogonal lines that meet at a vanishing point.

metaphor

a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.

carving

a type of sculpture in which unwanted materials are removed from a large block of material like stone or wood.

Mosque

an Islamic place of worship

Self-portrait

an artist's depiction of herself or himself.

Still life

an assembled composition of objects set up by the artist to use as subject matter for an art work.

Parody

any humorous, satirical imitation, as of a person, event, or a work of art, etc.

Mural

any large painting that covers all or most the entire wall it is on. It can be painted directly on the wall or it can be portable.

Representational art

presents nature, people, and objects from the world in a recognizable form.