Academic art a style of painting and sculpture approved of by the traditional European academies of art, particularly the French Académie des Beaux-Arts in the 19th century, which favored a blend of the styles of Neoclassicism and Romanticism.
Academy an official art school or place of training.
Allegory a story or image that contains a hidden meaning or meanings, usually moral or political.
Altarpiece an area where a deity or saints are worshipped.
Antiquity a term generally meaning the ancient Greek and Roman periods, from approximately 2 BCE to 500 CE.
Assumption in art this usually means the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which, according to the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and parts of Anglicanism, was when Christ’s mother was taken up into heaven at the end of her earthly life.
Automatism the process of creating art without conscious thought, to work with the unconscious or subconscious mind to reveal hidden or unknown thoughts and ideas.
Avant-garde meaning cutting edge or forefront, this is used to describe artists who are unconventional, forward-thinking, innovative, experimental and inventive.
Bauhaus a German school of art, design and architecture founded in 1919, with a curriculum that aimed to amalgamate artistic creativity and manufacturing that had been virtually eradicated by mass production.
Benday dots colored dots of equal size named after their inventor, the illustrator and printer Benjamin Henry Day Jr. (1838–1916). Depending on the effect required, the dots are closely or widely spaced or overlapping.
Canvas strong, coarse unbleached cloth made from hemp, flax, or cotton, usually stretched over a wooden frame and primed before being painted on.
Chiaroscuro an Italian term that describes the use of dramatic light and dark tones.
Classical designs or images that are influenced by ancient Greek or Roman forms, art or principles.
Collage a form of art in which pieces of paper, fabric and other materials are arranged and stuck on to a supporting surface. It was first used as an artists’ technique in the early 20th century.
Commission an order or request for works of art to be made.
Complementary colors colors located opposite each other on the color wheel. They are: red-green, blue-orange and yellow-violet. When mixed together, complementary colors create brown, and when placed next to each other, they make each other appear brighter.
Composition the arrangement of elements within a work of art.
Consumerism a preoccupation with and an inclination toward wanting and buying goods.
Contour lines that represent the outlines of figures or forms.
Dante Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), was born in Florence, a contemporary of Giotto and the first major poet to write in his local language of Tuscan instead of Latin. His most famous work is The Divine Comedy, which is divided into three books, Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. It has been illustrated many times by numerous artists.
Figurative in art, a work that retains strong references to the real world and particularly to the human form. More generally, figurative also applies retrospectively to all art before abstract art.
Focal point the center of interest or focus in a work of art.
Foreshortening an object in a work of art seen in perspective from close to the viewpoint so that it appears dramatically distorted.
Found objects often functional and manufactured, or naturally occurring objects that were not originally intended for artistic purposes, but have been used in an artistic context.
Fresco wall painting made on plaster. Buon fresco is made while the plaster is still wet so the image becomes part of the wall as it dries, fresco secco is made while the plaster is dry and so is less permanent.
Genre in painting, this usually means “a scene of everyday life” and generally features a person or people undertaking activities that are often quite commonplace.
Gesso mixture of plaster and glue, used to create a smooth surface for painting on.
Glaze generally meaning a thin, transparent layer of paint, often applied in several layers, to build up depth and modify colors in a painting.
Grand Tour during the 18th century, the Grand Tour became an essential part of the education of prosperous young men and some young women. It developed through an admiration of the past, especially ancient Greece, Rome and the Italian Renaissance, and involved a long tour of certain parts of Europe.
Ground a coating applied to a support, such as canvas or panel, to make it ready for painting. Grounding, or priming as it is also called today, is a method of creating a smooth surface that can be easily painted on.
Guild an association of people of the same trade or profession, formed to protect their mutual interests and to maintain standards within their occupations.
Idealized, idealization the representation of objects and figures according to perfect standards of beauty rather than reality.
Impasto an Italian word for paste or mixture, this is used to describe a painting technique where paint (usually oil) is applied thickly, so that the texture of marks from the brush or palette knife are clearly visible.
Juxtaposition placing objects close together or side by side for comparison or contrast.
Manifesto a public declaration of a group or an individual’s principles, beliefs and intentions.
Mosaic a picture made up of small pieces. Traditionally these were made of terracotta, glass, ceramics or marble and used to decorate floors and walls. Mosaic has been a decorative medium for over 5000 years.
Narrative this describes art that tells stories, such as religion, myth, legend, history or literature. Some of the earliest art was narrative.
Opaque the opposite of transparent; impenetrable, or not able to be seen through.
Painterly a style of painting marked by its freedom and visible brush marks.
Palette either the board or surface on which an artist lays and mixes colors, or the range of colors used by an artist or in a particular work of art.
Patron someone who commissions or buys art from an artist.
Perspective a technique for representing objects in the visible world on a two-dimensional surface, to create illusions of depth and distance. Invented in Italy in the early 15th century, linear perspective relies on the notion that objects appear smaller the further away they are. Aerial or atmospheric perspective is a technique for creating an illusion of distance by using more blue, less brightness and no distinct outlines.
Pigment usually powder, that makes up the color of paint when mixed with oil, water, or another fluid.
Popular culture cultural activities, ideas or products that reflect the tastes of the general population within any society.
Relief an image that has elements raised from the flat base. Bas relief is low relief, when design elements are barely more prominent than the flat background. High relief is when design elements are boldly projected from the background.
Sacra Conversazione from the Italian meaning “holy conversation,” this is applied to any altarpiece featuring saints grouped around the central Virgin and Child in a single panel.