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
Color Field Painting
A branch of American Abstract Expressionism in which large fields of colour carry the work's spiritual weight.
Calligraphy
The craft and art of beautiful writing; the line's weight, speed, and breath bridge image and poem.
Chiaroscuro
A technique of strong light–dark contrast to render volume and mood; Caravaggio is its emblem.
Kinetic Art
Art whose work itself moves, drawing on wind, motors, or viewer motion.
Canvas
A general term for the painting cloth — usually linen or cotton — primed with gesso.
Cubism
An early-20th-century movement by Picasso and Braque that depicts a subject from multiple simultaneous viewpoints.
Croquis
A rapid sketch that captures movement and gesture; the French word implies 'quickly drawn.'
Collage
A technique of cutting and pasting heterogeneous materials; ranges from early-20th-century Cubism to today.
Conceptual Art
A movement from the 1960s that takes the concept itself, rather than the finished object, as the work.
Composition
The arrangement and relation of elements within an image; what 'composition' covers.