Learn to see form and color
Color → construction → frame → comparison
Open first topic ↗A space for your perspective
MANY HISTORIES. ONE WORLD OF ART.
Art glossary
Library of Fine Arts, Architecture and Visual Culture. Understand the eras, meet the artists and test your new knowledge with your own eyes.
68topics to explore
40 terms · 6 sections
0 of 68 articles readWHERE TO START
From materials to mass imagery
Experiment → design → replication
Open first topic ↗Start with the language of art
Observation → material → argument
Open first topic ↗Understand European chronology
Epoch context instead of date list
Open first topic ↗Go beyond one tradition
Compare while maintaining differences
Open first topic ↗From artwork to research
Form → history of the thing → own conclusion
Open first topic ↗Terms found: 40
FROM DEFINITION TO EXAMPLEAbstraction
A distraction from a recognizable subject or an image in which the relationships of lines, colors and shapes have independent meaning.
Explore an example ↗Aerial perspective
Convey depth through changes in contrast, clarity and color as you move away. The exact effect depends on the lighting and environment.
Explore an example ↗Allegory
Depiction of an abstract concept through a figure, action or system of attributes. Reading often requires knowledge of conventions.
Explore an example ↗Art Nouveau
An artistic movement at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, associated with the renewal of architecture, decorative arts and graphics.
Explore an example ↗Assemblage
Volumetric combination of objects and materials. It is close to collage in its assembly principle, but goes into three-dimensional space.
Explore an example ↗Attribution
Establishing the authorship, time, place or circle of creation of a work. May be revised as new data becomes available.
Explore an example ↗Canon
A set of works and authors that are given exemplary significance in a certain tradition. It changes along with institutions and attitudes.
Explore an example ↗Chiaroscuro
The relationship between illuminated and shaded areas, with the help of which you can build volume, space and semantic accents.
Explore an example ↗Collage
The combination of fragments of paper and other materials on the surface of the work.
Explore an example ↗Collage
A connection based on fragments of paper and other materials. The real thing is included in the image space.
Explore an example ↗Color relationships
The system of color relationships in a work. Not only individual colors are important, but also their lightness, saturation and interaction.
Explore an example ↗Composition
Organization of the elements of a work: their position, scale, rhythm and relationships. The composition directs attention, but is not reduced to one rule.
Explore an example ↗Contrapposto
The position of a standing figure with predominant support on one leg and interconnected inclinations of body parts.
Explore an example ↗Cropping
The choice of image boundaries, which determines which parts of the motif will be included in the field of view.
Explore an example ↗Curator
A professional who researches, selects, associates, and presents works in a collection or exhibition project.
Explore an example ↗Diptych and triptych
Works of two or three interconnected parts. The meaning is also determined by their combination and the method of disclosure.
Explore an example ↗Etching
A type of intaglio printing where indentations on a metal plate are made by etching.
Explore an example ↗Genre
Type of work by subject or task: for example, portrait, landscape or still life. Not the same as style or technique.
Explore an example ↗Glazing
A thin transparent or translucent layer of paint that changes the appearance of the underlying color.
Explore an example ↗Iconography
Study of plots, characters, attributes and sustainable ways of depicting them.
Explore an example ↗Impasto
Dense application of paint with noticeable relief. The tool mark becomes part of the image surface.
Explore an example ↗Installation
A work that organizes elements and environment into a spatial experience. May include sound, light, objects, and viewer movement.
Explore an example ↗Linear perspective
A way to convey depth through geometric projection. In a typical one-point diagram, lines of the same direction converge at a common point.
Explore an example ↗Lithography
Flat printing, using the difference in the properties of printing and non-printing areas of the surface in relation to paint and water.
Explore an example ↗Local color
Conventionally, the intrinsic color of the surface of an object, considered separately from changes in lighting and reflections.
Explore an example ↗Medium
A medium or method of artistic expression: such as painting, photography, or video. The meaning of the term depends on the context.
Explore an example ↗Modernism
A broad designation for various searches for a new artistic language, especially at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. The boundaries of the term are debated.
Explore an example ↗Negative space
Gaps and voids between or around forms that participate in the construction of image and volume.
Explore an example ↗Performance art
An artistic practice in which action, body and time are essential. Documentation may differ from the event itself.
Explore an example ↗Photogram
An image obtained by exposing a sensitive surface with objects placed on it to light, without a camera.
Explore an example ↗Plein air
Work outdoors with direct observation of nature. Doesn't necessarily mean finishing the entire painting outside the workshop.
Explore an example ↗Provenance
The history of ownership, movement and circulation of an item, established from documents and other evidence.
Explore an example ↗Readymade
An ordinary finished object selected and presented as a work. The author's judgment and context are key.
Explore an example ↗Relief
A sculptural image connected to the background plane and protruding from it to different depths.
Explore an example ↗Saturation
The degree of expression of the color tone; it is distinguished from lightness and the color tone itself.
Explore an example ↗Sfumato
Soft, almost imperceptible transitions of tone and color, softening the boundaries of form. Particularly associated with the painting of Leonardo.
Explore an example ↗Style
A relatively stable complex of artistic features. The term is applied to an era, group, or individual manner with varying degrees of precision.
Explore an example ↗Texture
The nature of the surface and traces of material processing: smoothness, graininess, stroke relief and other features.
Explore an example ↗Vanitas
A type of still life reminiscent of the transience of life and the fragility of earthly goods. The meaning of the details depends on the context.
Explore an example ↗Woodcut
Letterpress printing from a wooden plate: ink is transferred from the raised areas left behind.
Explore an example ↗These are introductory overviews, not a complete encyclopedia. Dates and the boundaries of movements are approximate and vary by region. Article links lead to further reading; some sources are in English. Reinforce your reading by examining original works, comparing artworks and consulting catalogs.