Descriptionary

cubism style of art originating in Paris in the early 20th century and characterized by the reduction of natural forms into geometric patterns.

Dada art movement of World War I era; it rejected tradition and advocated unusual or outlandish art forms. Its credo was "everything the artist spits is art."

decoupage a decoration consisting of cut-out paper figures or designs covering a surface.

deep relief a sculpted or carved design that projects high off its background. Also known as high relief.

diorama an illuminated, three-dimensional scene with or without a painted background, a popular museum display.

double image a painting that is cleverly designed to represent two different objects, such as a tree that is also a hand, a cloud that is also a face.

dragging stroke a light stroke that covers only the high areas of rough paper with paint.

drollery a humorous picture, often featuring ani­mals who dress and act as humans.

drypoint a picture printed from an engraving made by a hard needle.

ebauche in oil painting, the first paint layer.

eclecticism borrowing from other art styles to cre­ate a new style.

ecorche a drawing or status of a figure with its skin peeled and its inner musculature revealed; it is used as a study aid.

electroplate to coat with a thin layer of metal through an electrochemical process.

emboss to mold or carve in relief.

encaustic a painting painted with heated, colored beeswax. Also, the method of executing this type of painting.

epigone a second-rate imitator.

etching the process of the partial eating away of a surface to create designs or a relief printing surface.

exploded view in technical drawing, the illustration of separate components and their relationship to one another in a complex object, such as a motor.

expressionism an early 20th-century art movement that emphasized the expression of emotion through distorted forms.

fauvism art movement characterized by the use of colorful expressionist forms.

fecit Latin for "he made it," sometimes inscribed after the artist's name on a painting.

festoon a painting of a garland of leaves, flowers, and ribbons. Also known as a swag.

figurine a statue 10 inches or less in height.

filigree delicate ornamental work made from gold, silver, or silver-gilt wire.

film a continuous layer or coating of paint.

fine art any art created for its own sake as opposed to art created for purely commercial reasons.

flat without luster, as in flat paint.

flesh color human flesh tone, a color achieved by mixing white and yellow ocher.

floating signature a signature inscribed after a painting has been varnished, a sign of possible fraud.

foliated ornamented with depictions of foliage.

foreground the part of a painting that appears clos­est to the viewer.

foreshortening the reduction or diminishing of a subject in order to present an accurate picture of per­spective as the subject grows into the distance.

foxing on paintings executed on paper, spotting and splotching caused by molds.

fresco Italian for "fresh." The art of painting on fresh plaster. Also, a mural painted by this method.

frilling the formation of waves in thin paint.

frottage the process of making an impression of the texture of stone, wood, fabric, string, and other mate­rials by placing a piece of paper over the material and rubbing the paper with a pencil or crayon. Similar to a rubbing. Also, the impression made by this method.

fugitive colors pigments that gradually fade when exposed to sunlight.

gallery tone on an old painting, the darkening of varnish and the accumulation of grime creating a brownish haze or tone.

garzone Italian term for studio assistant or apprentice.

geometric abstraction an abstract painting featur­ing geometric shapes.

gilded covered with gold.

gilding the application of thin metal leaf to a surface.

glost fire the second firing of ceramics.

glyptic art the art of carving designs on gems and semiprecious stones.

goffer to decorate by embossing.

gouache the technique of painting on paper with opaque watercolors. Also, the picture rendered in this manner.

graphic arts any linear visual art, such as draw­ings, paintings, engravings, etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs.

grisaille a monochrome painting done in shades of gray to simulate sculpture.

grotesque ornamental painting or sculpture featur­ing a motif of leaves and flowers with imaginary or bizarre animal or human figures.

ground on a painting, the prime coat on which the painting is executed.

guilloche a decorative work consisting of interlaced curved lines.

hatching in drawing or painting, shading created with a series of close-set lines.