Art Words
A word you didn't know makes the work you're about to meet far more interesting.
An art glossary.
Lustre
A glossy finish; can also refer to iridescent sheens obtained from glaze or metal oxides.
Realism
A stance that resists idealisation and depicts subjects as they are, often paired with social observation.
Lithograph
A planographic print that exploits the resistance of oil and water; capable of broad tone and high editions.
Layer
Stacked planes in painting or digital images; their order and opacity change the expressive grain.
Resin
Synthetic resin used for transparent encapsulation and casting; common in contemporary sculpture.
Readymade
Presenting a manufactured object directly as art; Duchamp established the concept.
Rococo
An 18th-century French style of delicate elegance, marked by curves, pastel hues, and intimate subjects.
Romanticism
A late-18th to 19th-century current that valued feeling and the sublime against rationalist Enlightenment.