line drawing a drawing executed by lines only.
lithochromy the art of painting on stone.
lithograph a print made by lithography.
lithography a printmaking process employing a metal plate or stone on which a drawing is made with a crayon or greasy ink from which an impression is pressed onto paper.
local color in painting, the real or actual color of an object as distinguished from that subjected to unusual lighting.
magic realism in painting, a highly realistic rendering of a subject accompanied by an air of surrealism due to the subject being placed in a strange or unex- pected place or time. Also, a form of realism rendered with flat paint and an absence of shadows.
marbling a form of decoration imitating the swirling patterns of marble.
marouflage the technique of cementing a painted canvas on a wall with strong adhesives.
marquetry inlay work of small pieces of wood, mother-of-pearl, marble, and such-like, set in a floral or decorative pattern.
master an artist recognized as having great skill.
masterpiece one of an artist's best works.
mat a kind of inner painting frame or border made of cardboard or other still material.
matte of a finish, dull, flat.
mechanical drawing drafting.
medium the type of art form in which an artist works.
mezzo fresco a painting executed on partially dry plaster, Also, the method itself.
mobile a three-dimensional art work hung from a stand or from the ceiling and moved by slight air currents.
moire effect an optical illusion of a nonexistent pattern created by superimposing a repetitive design over another repetitive design.
monochrome a painting painted in shades of one color. Also, the part of painting in this manner.
montage a picture made up of parts of other pictures or prints that are overlapped.
mosaic an assemblage of small pieces of tile, marble, wood, glass, or stone that form a picture or decorative pattern in a wall or floor.
motif in an art work, an element with a recurrent theme.
mural a painting executed directly on a wall or ceiling or on a canvas that is cemented directly to a wall.
neoclassical art any art influenced by the art of ancient Greece or Rome.
neutral color any color between warm and cool colors. Brown is a neutral color.
nonobjective art art that does not represent anything recognizable.
nouveau French term for a beginning artist or student.
objective art art that represents a person, place, or thing.
objet d'art a small, valuable artistic article.
op art a style of art popular in the 1960s and characterized by repeating abstract patterns that create optical illusions.
opening a private showing the day before an art exhibition opens to the public.
optical mixing painting small dots or strokes of different colors close together so they create the illusion of a mixed color when viewed from a distance. (For example, blue and red dots painted close together will appear as violet from a distance.)
overpainting in oil and tempera painting, the final coat applied after the underpainting.
painterly highly artistic. Also, like a painting.
palmette a palm leaf ornament or design.
pastel a colored crayon made of pigment and chalk. Also known as a pastille. A work of art executed with pastels.
pastel shades soft, delicate hues.
pastiche an art work imitating the style of previous works, or executed in different styles; a hodgepodge.
pate-sur-pate low-relief decoration on ceramics.
perspective the technique of accurately rendering a three-dimensional object or scene on a two-dimensional surface.
petite nature a painting in which the figures are smaller than life-size but larger than half-size.
pochade a quick color sketch on which details are added at a later time.
pointillism a style of painting characterized by the creation of an image through the use of painted dots and short strokes, as developed by Georges Seurat in the late 19 th century.
polychrome executed in several colors, especially referring to a wood or stone carving.
pop art an art style made famous by Andy Warhol and characterized by larger-than-life replicas of commercial or widely recognized objects, such as food labels, packages, comic strip panels, etc.
portrait any work of art representing someone's face. It can also be used to describe a rendering of a full-body shot.
postiche a fake; an imitation.
pouncing a technique of transferring a drawing on one surface to another by perforating the lines of the original drawing and then passing pounce powder through the holes to the transfer surface.
pricking a test to determine a painting's relative age and possible authenticity, characterized by sticking a pin into a thick area of paint; if the pin can be pushed through easily, it means the paint is soft and relatively new and therefore a possible forgery.
primary colors the colors red, yellow, and blue, from which most other hues can be obtained by mixing with one another or with black or white.
primer a white base layer of paint on which a painting is executed. A ground.
primitive an art style uninfluenced by historical or contemporary forms. Also known as naive art.
profil perdu a profile or sideview showing more of the back of the head (or object) than the front.
psychedelic art U.S. abstract art of the 1960s, characterized by wild, swirling curves inspired by the use of hallucinogenic drugs.
realism an art style characterized by the realistic depictions of people, places, or things without abstraction or distortion.
relief a projection from a flat surface; a raised area.
Renaissance French for "rebirth." A period of western European history (roughly 1300s to 1500s) known for its many advances and innovations in the arts.
repousse a method of forming a relief design by hammering a metal plate from the back.
retouching adding to or changing a finished painting.
rococo a French art style of the 1700s, characterized by elaborate, florid, and delicate ornamentation, especially in architecture.
rubbing a method of making a rough copy of a relief work by placing paper over the design and rubbing it with crayon, charcoal, pencil, or other writing instrument, as in a tombstone rubbing.
scale drawing a drawing whose dimensions are of the same ratio as those of the object drawn.
scrambled colors superficially blended colors that create swirls of different hues, a deliberate effect.
scrimshaw the art of carving on whalebone. Also, the art work itself.
scroll any spiral-like decoration.
scumble a thin layer of semitransparent paint applied over a painting to create a hazy effect.
secco a method of painting on dry lime plaster. Also, a mural painted in this manner.
secondary colors the colors green, orange, and purple, formed by mixing primary colors.