Fine Art Glossary

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A

ABC art - a 1960's art movement and style that attempts to use a minimal number of textures, colors, shapes and lines to create simple three-dimensional structures. Also known as minimalism.

Abstract art - A 20th century style of painting in which nonrepresentational lines, colours, shapes, and forms replace accurate visual depiction of objects, landscape, and figures. The subjects often stylized, blurred, repeated or broken down into basic forms so that it becomes un recognizable. Intangible subjects such as thoughts, emotions, and time are often expressed in abstract art form. Early Abstract artists include French artist Robert Delaunay (1885-1941) and Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944).

Abstract Expressionism Art - Movement in American painting that began in the 1940's and became a dominant trend in the 1950's. It combines Action Painting, which emphasizes spontaneous paint application, and Color Field Painting, which emphasizes large unbroken fields of colour. Prominent Abstract Expressionist artists of the era include American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) and Dutch artist Willem de Kooning (1904-1997).

Academic - art that conforms to traditional standards or the standards of a particular academy or school.

Acid Free (Neutral pH) - Papers that are without acid in the pulp. Acidity in paper can cause the molecular structure of the paper to break down, discolour and weaken. Acid free papers have a pH of 7.0. If prepared properly, papers made from any fiber can be acid free.

Achromatic colours - white, gray and black colors as opposed to the chromatic colours.

Acrylic colours - synthetic painting colors made by distributing pigments in a vehicle made of a polymethyl methacrylate solution in mineral spirits. Often called plastic paints to distinguish them from polymer colors that also contain acrylic. First used in the 1940's, they are valued for their versatility.

Action painting - Spontaneous method of painting involving the dribbling or splashing of paint onto canvas surfaces. Rather than use the typical easel, American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) was well-known for his method of laying the canvas on the floor of his studio and splattering paint directly onto the canvas from above.

Advancing and retreating colors - the apparent tendency of the warm colours such as oranges and reds to appear to advance toward the viewer and the cool colors of blue and violet to recede. This is derived from the observable phenomenon that an object seen from afar will seem more blue or gray than it truly is. Advancing and retreating colours are used to portray landscapes.

Aerial perspective - the attempt to portray the atmospheric haze that shows depth in nature. Aerial perspective is used to add the illusion of depth in painting. The use of retreating colors and less focus helps to achieve this effect.

Aestheticism - the idea that the pursuit of beauty is the primary goal of art and that art need not reflect any moral, social or religious concerns. Also known as "art for art's sake".

Alla prima - the method of oil painting in which the desired effects of the final painting are achieved in the first application of paint as opposed the technique of covering the canvas in layers with the final painting being achieved at the end.

Alligatoring - a form of cracking that appears on paintings in a pattern that resembles an alligator's hide.

All-over painting - a method of painting in which the entire canvas is covered in a fairly uniform manner rather than the traditional method of painting the canvas in a way that delineates the top, bottom and middle of the painting. First devised by the American artist Jackson Pollock.

American scene painting - a style of representational, naturalistic painting in the U.S. from the 1920's and into the 1940's that depicted scenes of typical American life in an attempt to move away from modernism.

Anamorphosis - particularly popular in the 18th century, an image that is painted in a way that makes it appear distorted unless viewed from a specific viewpoint or an optical device

Ancient - dating from a time before the 5th century.

Antique - A printing paper with a rough finish but good printing surface, valued in book printing for its high volume characteristics.

Antic work - art using groupings of humans, animal or flowers in a grotesque way.

Applied art - art used in the design or decoration of useful objects. Applied art is secondary to the function of the object itself as opposed to fine art where the primary function is aesthetic.

Aquarelle - a technique or work derived from the technique of using transparent watercolours in painting.

Arabesque - Intricate decorative ornamentation of interlacing lines, fruits, floral and animal symbols loosely based on Arabic styles.

Archaic - pertaining to a relatively simple period in the development of a particular region's art.

Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper - This fine art archival 100% acid free paper is produced by Arjomari Paper Group, which has continued the centuries old tradition of mould made papermaking in France. Arches paper is currently one of the most popular fine art watercolour papers used in Giclée printmaking for its durability and quality. Its "cold press" textured surface and warm white color creates a stunning transfer of acrylic Paintings.

Archival Inks - Inks used in fine art reproduction that have been optimised for permanence.

Archival Paper - A paper with long-standing qualities, acid free, lignin free, usually with good colour retention.

Archiving - Images are archived, often on CD-ROM, for a specified period. Information necessary to reproduce the print is also archived, including ink, tables, sizes, and media used.

Aquatint - Printing technique capable of producing unlimited tonal gradations to re-create the broad flat tints of ink wash or watercolour drawings by etching microscopic cracks and pits into the image on a master plate, typically made of copper or zinc. Spanish artist Goya used this technique.

Art Deco - popular in the U.S. and Europe in the 1920's and 1930's, a style of design and decoration with designs that are geometric and use highly intense colors, to reflect the rise of commerce, industry and mass production.

Art for art's sake - the idea that art is valued purely for its aesthetic value and not for any religious or moral value.

Art nouveau - French for "new art". A painting, printmaking, decorative design, and architectural style developed in England in the 1880s. Art Nouveau, primarily an ornamental style, was not only a protest against the sterile Realism, but against the whole drift toward industrialization and mechanization and the unnatural artifacts they produced. The style is characterized by the usage of sinuous, graceful, cursive lines, interlaced patterns, flowers, plants, insects and other motifs inspired by nature. Henri Toulouse-Latrec and Gustav Klimt were among those greatly influenced by the movement.

Art Print - A precise reproduction of an artist's Original Painting, which has captured the stunning and vibrant colours of the Original Artwork.

Artist Proof - Print intended for the artist's personal use. It is common practice to reserve approximately ten percent of an edition as artist's proofs, although this figure can be higher. The artist's proof is sometimes referred to by it's French épreuve d'artist (abbreviation E.A.). Artist's proofs can be distinguished by the abbreviation AP or E.A., commonly on the lower left of the work.

Asymmetry - the depiction in a work of art of two sides as being not identical without impairing the general harmony of the work. Asymmetry is used to prevent a work from appearing static and superficial, as no two sides of a life form are identical.

Atelier - an artist's studio or workshop.

Attributes - any object or article used to symbolize the profession of the person being represented, such as a caduceus for a doctor.

Avant-garde - French term for "vanguard", a term that describes artists and their art that stand at the beginning of a movement that often does not conform to the traditional or previously accepted ideas or standards.

B

Background - the part of a picture or scene that appears to be the farthest from the viewer, typically nearest the horizon.

Barbizon school - the name of a group of French landscape painters in the French village of Barbizon during the period about 1830 to 1880 who were the first to paint landscapes from nature rather than from memory in a studio. The approach led to realism.

Baroque - a dynamic and dramatic style of art and architecture in mostly Catholic countries during the 17th century that stressed emotion, variety and movement. It was a style that used ornate forms as well as illusionism and realism to achieve its purpose.

Batik - an Indonesian method of printing textile. A design is made on the fabric by coating it with wax to repel dye. The cloth is then dipped in dye after which the wax is removed so the design appears in the original color of the cloth. Often, this process is repeated for a number of colours to complete the desired design.

Bauhaus - a German school of art and architecture that tried to meld the techniques and materials of industrial mass production (including glass, concrete, steel and chrome) and the aesthetics of design. Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, it was closed by Hitler in 1933 with many of its practitioners and teachers relocating to the United States.

Bird's eye view - seeing from a high enough view or altitude as to give a comprehensive view of a scene; also known as aerial view.

Blind - Printing using an uninked plate to produce the subtle embossed texture of a white-on-white image, highlighted by the shadow of the relief image on the uninked paper. This technique is used in many Japanese prints.

Board - used as a surface for art, often refers to a piece of wood lumber or a durable sheet of another material such as cardboard.

Body art - a style of art where the artist uses his or her own body as the medium for expression often shown in private or public performances. Examples include tattooing, piercing, scarification, henna painting and branding.

Boite - French for "box", the collection of an artist's work to be viewed by clients.

Bon-A-Tirer or BAT (bone-ah-ti-ray) - The proof accepted by the artist that is used as the standard for comparing all subsequent prints. Some printers require a signed BAT before production printing can begin.

Bravura - a term used to describe bright and excited brushwork.

Brush - the tool used to apply paint to a surface, often consisting of a gathering of bristles held together by a ferrule attached to a handle. The bristles may come from hairs of a variety of animals including boar, squirrel and badger as well as synthetic. Red sable hairs are often considered the finest. Different shapes are desirable for different paint types and techniques.

Brushwork - The characteristic way each artist brushes paint onto a medium, such as canvas.

Buffering - The neutralizing of acids in paper by adding an alkaline substance (usually calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate) into the paper pulp. The buffer acts as a protection from the acid in the paper or from pollution in the environment.

Byzantine - the art and architecture of the Eastern Roman Empire from about AD 330 to 1450. The style itself is mostly religious. Pieces are characterized by a strong use of colors and figures. The figures seem to be flat with prominent eyes and backgrounds that are golden in tone. Most works of the period tend to be clear and simple, probably for an effective presentation of the intended religious lesson.