75 art terms Flashcards
Abstract
An artwork that is not realistic
Academic
Art that follows prescribed rules; not experimental
Acrylic
A water-based paint developed in the 1950s that may be applied thinly like watercolor or thickly like oil paint, and will adhere to almost any surface
Aesthetic
The branch of philosophy that explores what is considered beautiful in art based on social, visual, and contemporary standards
Appropriation Art
A scene or subject “borrowed” from another, generally famous, artwork but changed slightly so as not to be considered a copy or forgery
Archaic art
Art in its most ancient form, usually Greek sculpture or vases from 620 to 500B.C.
Art brut
Literally “crude art”, created by untutored artists such as criminals or the insane who feel driven to express themselves through art
Avant-garde
Anything that is at the forefront of new expressions or developments in art
Balance
Principle of Designs
Bas-relief
Also called low-relief, this is one-sided sculpture that projects slightly from a background
Camp
Artwork deliberately created to be amusing because of it’s affected characteristics, or out-of-date, exaggerated subject matter
Caricature
Character studies that usually exaggerate one or more features, often in a comic-like expression
Cartoon
A full-scale drawing for wall painting or tapestries; comic strip or caricature
Ceramic
Any object made of clay that is dried, then placed in a kiln (furnace) or pit made permanent through “firing” (baking) with an extremely high temperature
Classical
Refers to work of “unadorned beauty” the term is frequently applied to work that originated in ancient Greece and Rome
Cloisonné
An Asian technique for fusing ground glass to a metal surface that has had patterns applied with thin metal strips. It is used to decorate vases, jewelry, and small ornamental objects
Collage
A grouping of different textures, objects, and materials glued on a supporting base
Composition
Renaissance masters arranged forms, lines, colors within geometric formats such as triangles or rectangles to create pleasing compositions
Conceptual art
The idea is as important as the reality, and might often have been only in writing. Art of ideas that might be written about, but from which an artwork may or may not have been completed
Conté
A greaseless, hard chalk available in black, gray, white, bistre (brown) and sanguine (red) that was used in drawing by many of the old masters
Contour
An outline drawing of a form or object
Contrapposto
Classical Greek and Roman art was noted for the realistic posture of its sculpture
Copy
A faithful rendition of an original work of art, often done with permission inside a museum
Design
Artists and designers arrange their compositions by emphasizing one or more of the elements-line, form, shape, color, value, texture, and space-in their artwork
Diptych
Two painted or carved panels that are usually hinged together
Donor
A client or patron of an artist who donated the work to an institution
Earthworks
A deliberate moving of the earth and change in natural topography designed by artists
Eclecticism
Incorporating stylistic ideas from a variety of periods and cultures in an artwork
Element
Reference to artistic design considerations such as color, line, texture, shape or form, and space
Elongated
A form of stylization in which the human figure is vertically distorted deliberately for dramatic effect
Empahsis
A design principle that gives dominance to particular area through color, size, or repetition
Environmental art
Created in outdoor space such as a sculpture park or garden
Etching
A design is scratched on a metal plate that has been covered in a thin coat of a dark waxy substance
Focal point
The center of interest of an artwork
Foreshortening
In the drawing of the human figure, a portion that is projected toward the artist
Forgery
An artwork created in the manner of a specific artist or culture with the deliberate intent to defraud
Found object
Ordinary objects used to create art by combining, as in a sculptural assemblage
Fresco
The technique of painting into freshly laid plaster
Genre
A form of realistic painting of people that depicts ordinary events of the day, not religious, historical, or mythological
Gilt
A thin coat of gold leaf applied to the surface of a painting, frame, and architecture
Glaze
A mineral coating that becomes glass-like when fired and makes ceramics waterproof. (It is also used to create a luminous effect in oil or watercolor paintings by building up transparent layers of color)
Golden section
A proportion in a rectangular painting of a ratio of roughly 8 to 13 (inches or centimeters) that was considered by Renaissance masters to express perfect visual harmony
Happening
A spontaneous performance, under the direction of an artist, that combines the visual arts and a theatrical event
Horizon line
The distant view where sky meets water or land at the artist’s eye level
illustration
An artwork developed to accompany a story, advertisement, or written text
Installation
An arrangement of objects in a gallery or elsewhere that in itself constitutes a work of art
Intaglio printing
A method in which damp paper is pressed into the inked etched or engraved lines of a metal printing plate
Kinetic art
Artwork that involves real or apparent movement
Kitsch
Artwork, often mass-produced, that intentionally goes beyond good taste. Tacky.
Landscape
A scenery painting (cityscape and seascape)
Lithograph
A printmaking method discovered in 1798 has allowed artists great artistic freedom ever since
Lost-wax
A method of creating a replica of a wax sculpture by covering the model with a material to plaster
Medium
Refers to the actual material used in creating an artwork, such as watercolor, oil, or pastel
Mobile/stabile
A hanging, movable sculpture, stabile rests on the ground, but may also have moving parts
Modeling
In sculpture, the process of physically working the clay or wax into a form
Mosaic
A design or picture created by imbedding small stones or pieces of glass in cement
Mural
A very large continuous painting made to full an entire wall or even a room
Naturalism
Reality-based painting
Non-objects
An abstract artwork not based on anything in reality
Odalisque
A term used in the 19th century to describe a painted nude or semi-nude reclining women
Oil paint
A painting consisting of powdered pigment held together with oil
Outsider art
Artwork that is created by people who are not part of the normal “art world” and are usually untrained or self-taught
Pastel
A type of medium created with pigments held together with a binder and pressed into a stick form
Perspective
Refers to the depth created in a painting that gives it a three dimensional quality
Polychrome
Many-colored
Polyptych
A painting that consists of four or more panels hinged together
Principles of art
The application of the elements of design through balance, emphasis, contrast, pattern, unity, variety, rhythm, and movement
Public art
Artwork that is commissioned by a public or private to be displayed in a viewing area that can be seen by the public
Ready-made
A found object that has been repurposed as art
Realism
An artist’s effort to portray a subject as accurately as possible
Romanticism
A type of painting that idealizes an image, often with Surrealisric or imaginative composition
Still life
A composition featuring inanimate objects, such as food, dead animals, or flowers
Stylize
Taking creative license to abstract a recognizable image or form, leaving it simpler, yet recognizable
Tesserae
Small pieces of stone or tile used in creating mosaics
Value
Differences in the lightness or darkness of a hue, one of the elements of design
