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 9 of 314 art terms
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Varnish
Transparent, hard protection or film, like a drying oil, that is often applied to paintings to seal and protect the surface
0 examples
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Vaudeville
A type of theatrical variety show, developed in the early 1880s in America, that remained the most popular form of entertainment until radio and film supplanted
1 example
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Vehicle
An industrial object designed to transport people or objects. Examples include cars, bicycles, airplanes, and boats.
8 examples
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Velocity
Term for measurement of speed, often used with “viscosity” and “muscular” to describe gestural painting
0 examples
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Vernacular photography
An umbrella term used to distinguish fine art photographs from those made for a huge range of purposes, including commercial, scientific, forensic, governmental,
14 examples
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Video
A term describing moving-image artworks recorded onto magnetic tape or digital formats, or generated using other mechanisms such as image-processing tools.
8 examples
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Viscosity
The thickness of a liquid
0 examples
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Visualization design
Visualization design aims to make information understandable and even beautiful. It translates and synthesizes highly complex ideas and experiences into
5 examples
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Vorticism
A short-lived British avant-garde movement, formed in London in 1914, with the aim of creating art that expressed the dynamism of the modern world. Visually,
3 examples
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