Vocabulary part 2 Flashcards
French for “author,” the word describes a filmmaker, usually a director, who exercises
extensive creative control over his or her films, imbuing them with a strong personal style.
Auteur
The first practical photographic process. Invented by Jacques Louis Mandé
Daguerre and made public in 1839, it produced a single permanent image directly on a prepared
copper plate.
Daguerreotype
An intaglio printmaking technique similar to engraving in which the design is
scratched directly into a metal plate with a sharp, pointed tool that is held like a pen. As it cuts
through the metal, the tool raises a rough edge called a burr, which, if left in place, produces a
soft, velvety line when printed. Also, a print made by this method.
Drypoint
Painting medium in which the binder is wax, which is heated to render the paints
fluid.
Encaustic
An intaglio printmaking method in which lines are cut into a metal plate using a
sharp tool called a burin, which creates a clean, V-shaped channel. Also, a print resulting from
this technique.
Engraving
A painting medium in which colors are applied to a plaster ground, usually a wall
(mural) or a ceiling.
Fresco
Printmaking techniques in which the lines or areas that will take the ink are incised
into the printing plate, rather than raised above it (compare relief). Aquatint, drypoint, etching,
mezzotint, and photogravure are intaglio techniques.
Intaglio
A relief printmaking technique in which the printing surface is a thick layer of
linoleum, often mounted on a wooden block for support. Areas that will not print are cut away,
leaving raised areas to take the ink.
Linocut
A planographic printmaking technique based on the fact that oil and water repel
each other. The design to be printed is drawn in greasy crayon or ink on the printing surface—
traditionally a block of fine-grained stone, but today more frequently a plate of zinc or
aluminum. The printing surface is dampened, then inked. The oil-based ink adheres to the
greasy areas and is repelled by the damp areas.
Lithography
In printmaking, a surface (such as a block of wood) on which a design is prepared
before being transferred through pressure to a receiving surface (such as a sheet of paper).
Matrix
A drawing technique in which the drawing medium is a fine metal wire. When the
metal employed is silver, the technique is known as silverpoint.
Metalpoint
A planographic printmaking method resulting in a single impression. A typical
technique is to paint the design in oil paint on a plate of glass or metal. While the paint is still
wet, a piece of paper is laid over it, and pressure is applied to transfer the design from the plate
to the paper.
Monotype
A coloring material made from various organic or chemical substances. When mixed
with a binder, it creates a drawing or painting medium.
Pigment
Printmaking techniques in which the image areas are level with the surface of the
printing plate. Lithography and monotype are planographic methods.
Planography
Anything that projects from a background. In printmaking, techniques in which portions
of a block meant to be printed are raised. See woodcut, linocut, wood engraving.
Relief
An elaborate textile meant to be hung from a wall and featuring images and motifs
produced by various weaving techniques.
Tapestry
Paint in which the pigment is compounded with an aqueous, emulsified vehicle such
as egg yolk.
Tempura
In mosaic, a small, usually cubic piece of colored ceramic, stone, or
glass used as the basic unit of composition.
Tessera
Anything that projects from a background. Sculpture in
which figures are attached to a background and projected from it to some degree. The figures project minimally, as on a coin. And the other figures project
substantially from the background, often by half their full depth or more.
Bas-relief/Low relief
High relief
In sculpture, a subtractive technique in which a mass of material such as stone or
wood is shaped by cutting and/or abrasion. 2. A work made by this method. Compare modeling.
Carving
The process of making a sculpture or some other object by pouring a liquid into a
mold, letting it harden, and then releasing it. Common materials used for casting include bronze,
plaster, clay, and synthetic resin.
Casting
A pose that suggests the potential for movement, and thus life, in a standing
human figure. Developed by sculptors in ancient Greece, contrapposto places the figure’s
weight on one foot, setting off a series of adjustments to the hips and shoulders that produce a
subtle S-curve.
Contrapposto
In sculpture, a work fully finished on all sides and standing free of a background.
Compare relief.
In the round
A technique for casting sculptures or other objects in metal. A model of the object to
be cast is created in wax, fitted with wax rods, then encased in a heat-resistant material such as
plaster or clay, leaving the rods protruding.
Lost wax
