Art terms
This glossary explains some of the techniques, mediums, art movements, and other terms you’ll encounter on our website, along with links to examples in the collection.
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Showing all 240 art terms
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A
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Abstract Expressionism
The dominant artistic movement in the 1940s and 1950s, Abstract Expressionism was the first to place New York City at the forefront of international modern
8 examples
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Abstraction
Non-representational works of art that do not depict scenes or objects in the world or have discernable subject matter.
9 examples
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Acrylic paint
A fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion (or blend). A key difference between acrylic paint and oil paint is that acrylics
6 examples
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Action painting
Art critic Harold Rosenberg coined the term “action painting” in 1952 to describe the work of artists who painted using bold gestures that engaged more
6 examples
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Actuality
A nonfiction film, usually lasting no more than one to two minutes, showing unedited, unstructured footage of real events, places, people, or things. Actualities,
3 examples
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Alkyd Enamel Paint
Common household commercial paint made with a chemically modified version of linseed oil that dries quickly to a hard, often glossy finish.
2 examples
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Alligator Skinning
A texture that often forms on the surface of dry paints that have a very high medium content and an extended drying time.
0 examples
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Allover painting
An approach to painting that emerged with the Abstract Expressionists, in which each area of the composition is given equal attention and significance.
5 examples
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Ambrotype
A lightly exposed wet-plate glass negative that appears as a positive when placed on a black backing.
3 examples
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Animal skin glue
Natural adhesive created from animal bones, used in woodworking until synthetic glues were invented.
1 example
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Appropriation
As an artistic strategy, the intentional borrowing, copying, and alteration of preexisting images, objects, and ideas
12 examples
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Aquatint
An intaglio printmaking technique that creates tonal areas. Its name reflects its watercolor-like effects. Powdered resin is sprinkled on a metal plate
7 examples
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Architectural fragment
An object formerly part of a built structure, intended to be part of a built structure, or representing a structural element of a building.
8 examples
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Architectural model
A presentation of an architectural concept in three-dimensional form. Can also refer to digital files representing the same.
9 examples
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Architecture
The science, art, or profession of designing and constructing buildings and other structures for use or habitation by humans; a building, or buildings
6 examples
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Arte concreto
Two groups interested in Concrete art emerged in the 1950s in the rapidly industrializing country of Brazil. Based in Some Brazilian concrete artists, such as Lygia Clark, Helio Oiticica, and Lygia Pape, grew frustrated with the limits of Concrete art and pushed it to a new level of experimentation. Around 1960 Oiticica said, “All real art does not separate technique from expression.” They called this work, which often included the viewer as a participant, Neo-concrete art.
6 examples
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Arte Povera
A movement of young Italian artists who attempted to create a new sculptural language through the use of humble, everyday materials. Meaning “poor art,”
6 examples
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Artist’s book
A term referring to publications conceived, designed, and illustrated by artists, often self-published or published by arts organizations in large or unlimited
7 examples
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Art nouveau
An international artistic movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that emphasized the unity of the arts and sought to reflect the intensive
5 examples
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Arts and Crafts movement
Informal movement in design and architecture that championed the unity of the arts, the experience of the individual craftsperson, and the qualities of
6 examples
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Assemblage
A three-dimensional work of art made from combinations of materials including found or purchased objects.
13 examples
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Audio
Sound as recorded, transmitted, or reproduced. Could include or refer to the use of noise and/or silence.
6 examples
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Automatism
Strategies of writing or creating art that aimed to access the unconscious mind. The Surrealists, in particular, experimented with automatist techniques
7 examples
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Avant-garde
French for “advanced guard,” originally used to denote the vanguard of an army and first applied to art in France in the early 19th century. In reference
7 examples
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B
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Bauhaus
The school of art and design founded in Germany by Walter Gropius in 1919, and shut down by the Nazis in 1933. The faculty brought together artists, architects,
8 examples
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Ben-Day dots
An inexpensive mechanical printing method developed in the late 19th century and named after its inventor, illustrator and printer Benjamin Henry Day,
4 examples
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Binder
The material that holds the pigment together in paint and creates uniform consistency. Binder is often a liquid or an oil, like linseed oil, which is commonly
0 examples
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Biomorphic
Derived from the Greek words bios (life) and morphe (form), the term refers to abstract forms or images that evoke naturally occurring forms such as plants,
9 examples
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Black Arts movement
This 1960s and 1970s cultural movement, begun by African American artists and intellectuals based in the United States, arose during a time when Black
5 examples
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Black Maria
The world’s first film studio, developed in 1892–93 by American inventor Thomas Alva Edison and his assistant and protégé, William K. L. Dickson. Comprised
0 examples
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Black Mountain College
A small liberal arts college founded in 1933 by John Rice on a farm in Asheville, North Carolina, and continued under changing leadership until 1957. Courses
7 examples
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B movie
A low-budget movie, especially one made for use as a companion to the main attraction in a double feature.
4 examples
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Brazilian Concrete art
Two groups interested in Concrete art emerged in the 1950s in the rapidly industrializing country of Brazil. Based in Some Brazilian concrete artists, such as Lygia Clark, Helio Oiticica, and Lygia Pape, grew frustrated with the limits of Concrete art and pushed it to a new level of experimentation. Around 1960 Oiticica said, “All real art does not separate technique from expression.” They called this work, which often included the viewer as a participant, Neo-concrete art.
6 examples
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C
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Calcium white
A white pigment often characterized by a warm tonality and significant transparency.
0 examples
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Canvas
A closely woven, sturdy cloth of hemp, cotton, linen, or a similar fiber, frequently stretched over a frame and used as a surface for painting.
8 examples
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Cartes-de-visite
Small photographs mounted to cardstock, patented in 1854. These “visiting” cards, most often featuring individual or celebrity portraits, were popularly
2 examples
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Cast
(verb) To form a material, such as molten metal or plastic, into a particular shape by pouring or pressing into a mold; (noun) something formed in a mold;
6 examples
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Celluloid
The first synthetic plastic material, developed in the 1860s and 1870s from a combination of camphor and nitrocellulose. Tough, flexible, and moldable,
4 examples
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Charcoal
Among the earliest known drawing materials, charcoal sticks are produced by burning vines or twigs of wood in an airless atmosphere. The black tonality
12 examples
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Chine collé
A technique, used in conjunction with printmaking processes such as etching or lithography, that results in a two-layered paper support: a tissue-thin
8 examples
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Choreography
The art of creating and arranging a wide range of dance, from classical ballet to experimental performance; a work created by this art. A person who creates
5 examples
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Chroma
The intensity of a given color.
0 examples
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Chromogenic color print
The dominant photographic color process of the 20th century is made up of three gelatin layers containing cyan, magenta, and yellow organic dyes. Together,
6 examples
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Cinématographe
A combination motion-picture camera, printer, and projector invented by French photographers, photographic equipment manufacturers, and brothers Auguste
2 examples
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Cinematographer
The person who sets up both camera and lighting for each shot in a film, the cinematographer has a major influence over the look and feel of a shot or
0 examples
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Cityscape
An artistic representation of a city or urban environment
8 examples
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Coating
Varnish applied after the painting has dried to unify its surface gloss. Coating often becomes yellow or gray with age.
0 examples
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CoBrA
A European avant-garde movement active in the aftermath of World War II (from 1948 to 1951), whose name was derived from the first letters of the three
2 examples
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