Line Art Is the Term Used to Describe Art That Is

Art History Terms

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Like whatever creative field, art history has its own linguistic communication. While this reality can be overwhelming for aspiring art historians, having a handy glossary of art terms tin make analyzing a work of art a lot less intimidating.

In this list, you'll find 25 words that volition help you discuss fine art with ease. Ranging from general concepts, like brushwork and composition, to specific techniques, including chiaroscuroandtrompe l'oeil, this arsenal of art terms offers everything y'all need to make the most out of your adjacent museum visit.

Analyze art like a professional with this art history glossary.

Abstract

Breaking away from the figurative representation of objects,abstract art reimagines imagery as a study of the relationship between shape, course, color, and line. Abstraction occurs on a continuum, including the fractured-withal-recognizable forms of Cubism and the totally non-pictorial nature of Abstract Expressionism.

Aerial Perspective

As known equally atmospheric perspective, this method for creating depth in two-dimensional artworks focuses on the idea that the further an object is from the foreground, the lighter in tone and hue the color will be. By exaggerating the departure in these tones, artists tin utilize aerial perspective to create drama and constitute the illusion of space on the picture plane.

Assemblage

This artistic form or medium uses a mix of materials that create 3-dimensional layers from a fixed based. The usage of unlike materials makes information technology similar to collage, but in a three-dimensional form. Assemblage has its origins in Cubism and the work of artists like Man Ray and Vladimir Tatlin, who often used found objects in their artwork.

Avant-garde

The French term avant-garde literally translates to "accelerate baby-sit," but is used to depict artworks, movements, or artists that are experimental and forward-thinking.

Biomorphic

Biomorphic artwork is art that, while remaining abstract, evokes the form and shape of natural and living organisms. The term was first used relating to art in the mid-1930s and has been continued with Surrealism and Cubism. Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Familia is an example of architecture that has been characterized equally biomorphic.

Brushwork

Brushwork refers to the style a painter applies paint to a surface. It is typically characterized by the size, texture, and precision of the strokes. For instance, brushstroke may exist described as "tight" or "loose" depending on how visible they are to the naked eye.

Oil painting on canvas (Photo: Stock Photos from Sugariness Fine art/Shutterstock)

Chiaroscuro

Italian for "lite-dark," chiaroscuro is the use of stiff contrasts between luminosity and shadow to achieve a sense of volume and dimensionality. This unique technique was developed during the Italian Renaissance by Leonard da Vinci, the Baroque period by Caravaggio, and the Dutch Golden Historic period past Rembrandt.

Composition

The composition of a work of art is the way in which its visual elements are bundled, peculiarly in relationship to one another.

Conceptual

This 20th-century fine art class developed in the 1960s, when artists began to emphasize ideas and concepts over the finished production. Fine art that is conceptual breaks free from all the standard rules and tin can accept any form from sculpture and painting to happenings and performances.

Contour

Every bit the outline of something, the contour is one of the building blocks of cartoon. Using different contour lines tin can dramatically alter the way an artwork appears and is almost evident in line fine art.The Danceby Henri Matisse is merely one case of a piece of work of art known for its distinct contours.

Contrapposto

In sculpture, contrapposto ("counterpose" in Italian) is an asymmetrical posture in which most of a figure's weight is distributed onto i foot. This results in a realistic opinion, equally famously axiomatic in Michelangelo'sDavid statue.

Figurative

A piece of work of art is considered figurative when its subject affair is representational.

Foreground

The foreground of a work of art is the part of the composition that is closest to the viewer. It is typically discernible from the background, which appears to exist further abroad.

Foreshortening

Foreshortening is a technique in which an artist distorts perspective to evoke an illusion of depth. Foreshortened subjects oft appear to recede into the moving picture aeroplane.

Genre

A genre refers to a type of fine art (typically painting). Examples of genres include landscape and nonetheless life.

Iconography

Iconography refers to the subject matter, or images, used to convey meaning or communicate a bulletin in a work of fine art.

Impasto

This Italian discussion for "mixture" refers to thick layers of paint used to create texture. While information technology was first used by Venetian painters during the Italian Renaissance, it really took hold in the 19th century. Renowned landscape painter J.M.West. Turner used impasto to build layers of color and drama in his work. Painters often use palette knives for this technique, which is meant to emphasize their talent in manipulating their chosen medium.

Medium

A medium is the material used to create fine art. Examples of mediums are watercolor pigment, oil, pastel, marble, and charcoal.

Mod

Every bit a move, the term "modern" refers to art created betwixt the onset of Impressionism and Pop Art, which ushered in contemporary art. On a more general scale, still, "modern" tin mean current or cutting-edge.

Motif

In the visual arts, a motif is an element of iconography. In paintings, a motif can refer to any pictorial characteristic of the composition. In the decorative arts and architecture, information technology often denotes a recognizable symbol that repeats.

Narrative

Narrative, in terms of art history, is the visual storytelling that occurs within a piece of art. While not every piece of art volition have a articulate story, narrative art asks painters and sculptors to apply visual cues in order to pb viewers through a serial of events.

Pentimento

Pentimento ("repentance" in Italian) refers to the presence of prove that an artist has painted over a previously-rendered subject field. In The Old Guitarist past Pablo Picasso, for example, the vague outline of a woman'south face up is apparent beneath the final brushstrokes.

Perspective

Perspective is the representation of 3-dimensional depth and space on a flat surface. There are two principal types of perspective: linear and atmospheric. Linear perspective employs intersecting lines and vanishing points as a means to brand objects appear far away. According to Leonardo da Vinci in A Treatise on Painting, atmospheric perspective, on the other hand, illustrates the idea that "colors get weaker in proportion to their distance from the person who is looking at them" through tonal changes.

Scale

Scale refers to the size of an object in relation to another. Ofttimes, as in the case of large-scale paintings, this comparison is based on the portrayed object'due south existent-life size.

Sfumato

Predominantly associated with the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, sfumato (derived fromfumo or "smoke" in Italian) is a method of shading and color-blending that evokes a soft, "smoky" haze. This technique is apparent in the blurred groundwork and softly-defined facial features of the Mona Lisa.

Manner

A work of fine art's style is a classification of its visual appearance. Ofttimes, fashion is characterized according to the distinctive aesthetic approach of an individual creative person, art motion, catamenia, or culture.

Tone

Tone refers to the lightness or darkness of a particular color.

Trompe l'oeil

In French, trompe fifty'oeil means "deceive the centre." Information technology is a technique that creates optical illusions of iii-dimensionality by employing eye-communicable lifelike imagery.

Pere Borrell del Caso, 'Escaping Criticism' (1874) (Photo: Collection Banco de España via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)

Now that you've grasped the basic terms, master Art History 101 with these must-have fine art history books.

This article has been edited and updated.

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