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 31 of 200 art terms
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Painting
A work of art made from paint applied to canvas, wood, paper, or another support.
7 examples
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Papier mâché
French for “chewed-up paper,” a technique for creating three-dimensional objects, such as sculpture, from pulped or pasted paper and binders such as glue
3 examples
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Pastel
A soft drawing stick composed of finely ground pigment mixed with a gum tragacanth binder. Pastel sticks are often applied to a textured paper support.
7 examples
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Patina
A fine crust or film on bronze or copper, usually green or greenish-blue, formed by natural oxidation; the sheen on a surface, such as one made of wood,
2 examples
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Pencil
An implement for drawing or writing. Early pencils were composed of small fragments of natural graphite or soft metallic lead secured in wood or bone holders.
3 examples
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Performance
An event that could include a diverse range of actions, movements, gestures, and choreography. Performance is often preceded by, includes, or is later
8 examples
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Periodical
A magazine or newspaper published at regular intervals.
6 examples
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Perspective
Technique used to depict volumes and spatial relationships on a flat surface, as in a painted scene that appears to extend into the distance.
3 examples
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Photography
For much of the history of the medium, a photograph was defined as a chemical image rendered visible by the action of light on photosensitive compounds.
9 examples
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Photogravure
A general term for any metal-plate intaglio printing process in which the image has been transferred to the plate by photographic means. Acid is used to
7 examples
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Photomontage
A collage work that includes cut or torn and pasted photographs or photographic reproductions.
3 examples
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Pictorialism
An international movement comprised of loosely linked camera clubs and societies that sought to highlight the artistic possibilities of photography and
10 examples
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Plastic
A term applied to many natural and synthetic materials with different forms, properties, and appearances that are malleable and can be molded into different
6 examples
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Platinum print
A photographic print made using the light sensitive gelatin and other colloids so that they become insoluble when exposed to light
6 examples
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Pochoir
French word for “stencil.” A method of applying colored paint, usually to paper, through cut-out areas of a thin material, such as paper, copper, or plastic,
1 example
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Pointillism
A painting technique developed by French artists Georges-Pierre Seurat and Paul Signac in which small, distinct points of unmixed color are applied in
3 examples
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Pop art
A movement comprising initially British, then American artists in the 1950s and 1960s. Pop artists borrowed imagery from popular culture—from sources including
6 examples
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Portfolio
A group of prints, often focused on a common theme, by a single artist or a group of artists, usually housed in a protective box or folder, and containing
2 examples
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Portrait
A representation of a particular individual, usually intended to capture their likeness or personality.
11 examples
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Poster
A large, usually printed placard, bill, or announcement, often illustrated, that is posted to advertise or publicize something, or used for decoration;
7 examples
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Post-Impressionism
A term coined in 1910 by the English art critic and painter Roger Fry and applied to the reaction against the naturalistic depiction of light and color
6 examples
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Postmodernism
In art, postmodernism refers to a reaction against modernism. It is less a cohesive movement than an approach and attitude toward art, culture, and society.
6 examples
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Praxinoscope
A popular 19th-century optical toy, invented by a Parisian science teacher named Charles-Émile Reynaud, comprised of a cylinder fitted with a strip of
0 examples
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Prefabrication
In architecture, the assembly of buildings or their component parts at a location other than the construction site. Prefabricated units may include doors,
3 examples
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Primitive Art
A term that has been used to refer to the art of various historical European periods and of non-Western societies. In the mid-19th century, it was primarily
5 examples
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Print
A work of art on paper that usually exists in multiple copies. It is created not by drawing directly on paper, but through a transfer process. The artist
6 examples
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Printer
The specialized technician or establishment that provides expertise on printing and often collaborates with artists to make prints. The printer also executes
1 example
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Product design
The design of items intended to be manufactured, most often for specific utilitarian purposes. Examples include typewriters, kitchen appliances, and utensils.
7 examples
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Proof
A print that is not part of the regular numbered edition, including examples printed in advance of the edition, such as “trial proofs,” that are used to
6 examples
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Propaganda
Any systematic, widespread dissemination or promotion of particular ideas, doctrines, practices, etc. to further one’s own cause or to damage an opposing
6 examples
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Prototype
A preliminary model or release of a product built to test its viability, from which other versions are copied or developed.
3 examples
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