Question | Answer |
Abstract art | works that may have form, but have little or no attempt at pictorial resresentation |
Allegory | work of art that possesses a symbolic meaning in addition to a literal interpretation (fable) |
Anamorphic image | image that must be viewed by speacial means,i.e. mirror, in order to be recognized |
Apotheosis | type of painting where images are rising heavenward |
Arabesque | flowing, intricate, symmetrical pattern from floral motifs |
Assemblage | 3D work made of various materials such as wood, cloth, paper, and misc. objects |
Avant-garde | innovative artists that reject traditional in favor of experimental techniques |
Benday dots | a pointillist approach to printing by Benjamin Day |
Biomorphism | movement that stresses organic shapes that hint at natural forms |
Bottega | Studio of Italian artist |
Calotype | early photo, characterized by grainy quality.+ and - image. william h.f.talbot. first photo. |
Camera obscura | box w/lens that captures light & casts image on opposite side |
Chiaroscuro | gradual transition from light to dark in a painting. forms not defined by sharp outlines, but by meeting of lighter and darker areas. |
Cire perdue | lost-wax process; clay figure covered in wax, and then again in clay. fired;wax melts away and leaves space between clays and creates a mold. |
Cloissonne | enamelwork in which colored areas are separated by thin bands of metal. |
Collage | composition made by pasting together different items onto a flat surface |
Color field | style of abstract painting of simple shapes and monochromatic color |
Contrapposto | graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees |
Cylinder seal | round piece of carved stone that produces an image when rolled onto clay |
Daguerreotype | early photo(by Daguerre)has shiny surface,meticulous finish & clarity of detail. unique photo that has no negative. |
Documentary photography | type that seeks social and political redress for current issues as way of exploiting society's faults. |
Donor | patron of a work of art who is often seen in that work |
Encaustic | ancient method of painting using colored waxes that are burned into a wooden surface |
Engraving | printmaking-tool called burin carves into metal plate, ink passes into crevices of plate.paper is applied, results in detailed print. |
Etching | printmaking- metal plate covered in wax,cuts into wax exposed the plate, plate submerged in acid,eats away exposed plate,plate cleaned,ink fills in crevices from acid. finest detail of early prints |
Exemplum virtutis | painting that tells a moral tale for viewer |
Foreshortening | visual effect when object is shortened in order to appear to be receding in space |
Fresco | applying water based paint onto freshly plastered wall. bond is durable and long lasting |
Frottage | rubbing a crayon or pencil over paper placed on surface with raised design |
Genre painting | painting in which scenes of everyday life are depicted |
Grisaille | painting done in neutral shades of gray to simulate the look of sculpture |
Hierarchy of scale | representation of person's importance by the size of them in a piece of art |
Horror vacui | artwork where the entire surface is filled with objects, people, designs in crowded way |
Icon | devotional panel depicting a sacred image |
Impasto | thick & very visible application of paint on a surface |
Lithography | printmaking- flat stone surface base,artist draws image with special crayon attracting ink. paper will absorb the ink and image made |
Mosaic | decoration using stone,marble or colored glass(tesserae)cemented to wall or floor |
Negative space | empty space around an object or a person |
Orans figure | figure with its hands raised in prayer |
Orthogonal | lines that appear to recede toward a vanishing painting |
Pastel | colored chalk that mixes with other ingredients to make soft/delicate hue |
Perspective | having to do with depth and recession in a picture |
Linear perspective | achieves 3D quality in 2D plane |
Atmospheric or aerial perspective | Landscapes that give the illusion of distance |
Photogram | image made by placing objects on photosensitive paper & exposing to light |
Plein-air | painting outdoors capturing effects of direct lighting on objects |
Pointillism | painting technique using smalls dots of color that are combined by the eye at a distance |
Quadro riportato | mural painting on curved ceiling -ex. sistine chapel |
Di sotto in su | ceiling paintings that appear to hover over you and look down on you |
Ready made | a commonplace object that is chosen and displayed as art |
Relief sculpture | sculpture that projects from a flat background |
Bas-relief | a very shallow relief sculpture |
Repousse | metal relief sculpture where the back side of a plate is hammered to raise relief in front |
School | group of artists sharing same philosophy, working around same time, not necessarily together |
Sfumato | hazy effect that distances viewer from subject of painting |
Still life | painting of grouping of inanimate objects like fruit or flowers |
Tapa | cloth made from bark that is soaked and beaten into a fabric |
Tempera | paint employing egg yolk as binding medium noted for quick dry time & flat opaque colors |
Tenebrism | dramatic dark and light contrast in a painting |
Tessellation | a decoration using polygonal shapes with no gaps |
Triptych | 3 paneled painting or sculpture |
Trompe l'oeil | painting attempting to resemble 3D real existing object |
Vanitas | theme in still life painting that stresses brevity of life and folly of human vanity |
Woodcut | printmaking-wooden piece cut into with tool leaving design raised and background cut away. ink rolled on print made.strong angular surfaces , sharp lines |
Zoopraxiscope | device projecting sequences of photos to give illusion of movement |