Art Terminology and Concepts

Flashcards to help study key terms and concepts related to visual art.

Drawing

A form of visual art where a person uses various instruments to mark paper or another two-dimensional medium.

Sketch

A rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene, often made as a preliminary study.

Aesthetic

A set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.

Monochromatic

Containing or using only one color.

Commentary

An expression of opinions or explanations about an event or situation.

Impressionist

A 19th-century art movement characterized by small, visible brush strokes and an emphasis on light.

Art

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form.

Fine Art

Creative art, especially visual art, appreciated primarily for its imaginative or aesthetic content.

Beauty

A combination of qualities that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight.

Kitsch

Art or design considered poor taste due to excessive garishness or sentimentality but can be appreciated ironically.

Craft

An artistic practice traditionally defined by functional products or natural media usage.

Art Therapy

A form of psychotherapy using self-expression through art as a remedial activity.

Representational Art

Art that derives from real object sources with strong visual references to the real world.

Nonrepresentational Art

Compositions that do not rely on representation or mimesis.

Abstract Art

Art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of visual reality but uses shapes and colors for effect.

Commemoration

Remembrance usually expressed in a ceremony.

Persuasion

The action of persuading someone to do or believe something.

Idealism

The practice of forming or pursuing ideals, especially unrealistically.

Self Expression

The expression of one's feelings or thoughts in art, music, or dance.

Art Criticism

An interpretative effort to understand a work of art from a theoretical perspective.

Formal Theory

Focuses on composition and an artwork's influence from past works.

Contextual Theory

Considers art as a product of culture and value systems.

Expressive Theory

Paying attention to the artist's expression of personality or world view.

Formal Analysis

A process of analyzing the elements and principles used by the artist.

Stylings Analysis

Study of art in context of its stylistic period.

Iconographic Analysis

Establishes the meaning of a work at a specific time.

Contextual Analysis

Analyzes a text within its historical and cultural context.

Two Dimensional

Having width and height but no thickness.

Three Dimensional

Having or appearing to have length, breadth, and depth.

Line

A long, narrow mark or band.

Shape

A flat, enclosed area of artwork created through lines, textures, or colors.

Mass

A shape or three-dimensional volume that implies weight, density, or bulk.

Geometric Shapes

Shapes with perfect, uniform measurements, often not found in nature.

Organic Shapes

Shapes associated with the natural world, like plants and animals.

Biomorphic Forms

Forms that evoke living entities, despite being abstract.

Perspective

A technique for creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface.

Linear Perspective

A type of perspective where relative size and position are determined by converging lines.

Atmospheric Perspective

Creates depth by painting distant objects with less clarity and lighter tones.

Vanishing Point

The point at which receding parallel lines seem to meet in linear perspective.

Kinetic Art

Sculptural constructions with movable parts, activated by various means.

Feminist Analysis

The examination of visual representations of women in art.

Gender Studies Analysis

Explores how artwork reflects experiences based on the artist’s gender.

Psychological Analysis

Investigates artwork through the consideration of the artist’s mental state.

Composition

The placement or arrangement of visual elements in a work of art.

Pattern

An underlying structure that organizes surfaces or structures regularly.

Unity

Strategies used to make parts of a work of art relate visually as a whole.

Balance

The distribution of perceived visual weights in a composition.

Symmetrical Balance

Achieved when elements are arranged equally on either side of a composition.

Asymmetrical Balance

When each half is different but maintains equal visual weight.

Hue

The traditional color name assigned to a specific wavelength of light.

Value

The relative lightness or darkness of a color.

Chroma

Traditional color name assigned to a specific wavelength of light.

Chiaroscuro

An Italian term describing the contrast of light and dark in art.

Texture

The perceived surface quality of a work of art.

Impasto

A painting technique where paint is laid on thick so brush strokes are visible.

Watercolor

Artists' paint made with a water-soluble binder and water, giving a transparent color.

Gouache

A method of painting using opaque pigments thickened with a glue-like substance.

Acrylic

A synthetic medium made from polymers of acrylic acid.

Encaustic Painting

Technique where pigments are mixed with hot liquid wax.

Fresco

A painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster.

Ink Wash

Chinese origin brush painting using black ink in various concentrations.

Iconography

The visual images and symbols in a work of art and their interpretation.

Iconology

The study of visual imagery and its symbolism in social or political terms.

Trade

A skilled job requiring manual skills and special training.

Pinhole Camera

A simple camera without a lens and with a tiny aperture.

Digital Camera

A camera that captures photographs in digital memory.

Collagraph

A printmaking technique combining relief and various textures.

Giclee

Fine art reproduction technique using high-quality inkjet printers.

Lithography

A printing method based on the immiscibility of oil and water.

Offset Printing

Wherein inked images are transferred from plate to rubber blanket then to surface.

Post and Beam

A building method using heavy timbers instead of dimensional lumber.

Relief Sculpture

Artwork where figures are carved into a surface without completely disconnecting.

Additive Sculpture

Three-dimensional artwork created by adding separate parts.

Carving

Shaping material by scraping away portions of it.

Mixed Media

Works of art made with more than one medium.

Emphasis

An area within artwork that draws attention as a focal point.

Focal Point

The area in the composition naturally drawn to the viewer's eye.

Contrast

Differences between art elements like color and texture that intensify them.

Rhythm

Achieved through repetition of visual elements.

Scale

The size relation of one thing to another.