LIBRARY

Art Words

An art glossary built around terms that appear in artwork descriptions on this site, growing little by little.

Index

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
  5. E
  6. F
  7. G
  8. H
  9. I
  10. J
  11. K
  12. L
  13. M
  14. N
  15. O
  16. P
  17. Q
  18. R
  19. S
  20. T
  21. U
  22. V
  23. W
  24. X
  25. Y
  26. Z
  27. 163 terms
Daguerreotype
The world's first practical photographic process, announced in 1839, fixing an image directly onto silvered copper.
Diptych
A work composed of two paired panels; used across genres from medieval altarpieces to contemporary photo pairs.
Decoration
The act of ornamenting; in art talk, it implies treating a work as an arrangement of surface rather than a narrative.
Design
The purposeful planning of form. Broadly construed, it also covers the structuring of a painting's composition.
Dessin
A French-origin word for drawing; a foundational training in form and tonal rendering, usually in monochrome.
Drawing
Capturing form, space, and time with line — both a finished work and a record of thought.