GLOSSARY CONCEPT DEFINITION Aerial perspective Leonardo da Vinci, among others, observed that as a landscape recedes from the viewer its colours and tones alter due to the nature of the atmosphere. The pictorial equivalent of this phenomenon is called aerial or atmospheric perspective. This effect can be achieved in a painting by establishing gradual tonal changes between foreground and background, so creating an impression of space which approximates to that seen in nature. Because of the subtle gradation of colour required, the oil medium was best suited to achieving this illusion, Applied Art Distinctions have in the past been made between the fine and applied arts. Painting is usually seen as ‘fine’, while the making of jewellery or porcelain, for example, is seen as ‘applied’. This division is to some extent derived from the older categorisation of arts and crafts Attribution itis not always known who painted a picture. An attribution is an assessment of who was responsible for creating a particular work. Attributions are made with different degrees of certainty, depending on factors such as style and documentary and scientific evidence: “by Caravaggio’ shows reasonable certainty about the attribution ~attributed to Caravaggio’ intimates a degree of doubt about the authorship of the picture. ~by the Studio of Caravaggio’ means painted by a pupil of the named artist, probably under his direction “a Follower of Caravaggio’ is someone who admired the artist's style, but was not necessarily a pupil of his. an Imitator of Caravaggio’ is one who slavishly admired the artist, but may have worked at a much later date. BaroqueIn relation to painting and sculpture Baroque is sed in a number of senses, but perhaps most Usefully to describe large, usually 17th-century, worksof a dramatic and exuberant nature which employ diagonal compositions and illusionistic effects in order to impress the viewer. The works of the Flemish painter Rubens and the Roman sculptor Bernini are often described as Baroque in this sense. The term was originally derogatory and may be derived from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning an irregular pearl. ‘Camera obscura This is an optical device which is the ancestor of modern cameras. From the 17th century onwards some artists used it as an aid to plotting compositions. Essentially the camera obscura consisted of a lens attached to an aperture on the side of a darkened tent or box. Light reflected from the chosen subject outside of the box passed through the lens and was projected on to a surface on a much smaller scale inside the encased area. The subject could then be traced. This mechanical means of recording images is known to have been employed by Canaletto. The Delft artists Fabritius and Vermeer may also have experimented with it, Caricature Apicture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect. Chiaroscuro This is an Italian term which fiterally means ‘light-dark’. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted. Artists who are famedforthe use of chiaroscuro include Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggi Leonardo employed it to give a vivid impression of the three-dimensionality of his figures, while Caravaggio used such contrasts forthe sake ofdrama, Both artists were also aware of the emotional impact of these effects. Contrapposto Contrapposto is the Italian word used to describe the way in which the different parts of the human body are counterpoised - balanced against each other. Anabilty to represent this natural tendency was seen as part of the artist's skill in recording human anatomy in action, a skill much prized during the Renaissance when interest in anatomy and in the nude increased, especially in Italy But the movement and variety which complex contrapposto could entail are associated with the figura serpentinata favoured by Mannerist artists and has more to do with what is balletically possible than with movements commonly observed. Conversation piece This is the name given to a type of group portraiture, Works of this sort are usually small in scale and depict, relatively informally, a group of family members or friends. They are sometimes, but not necessarily, engaged in conversation. The setting can be either domestic o rural. Such paintings were particularly favoured in England in the 18th century. Artists such as Zoffany and Gainsborough _paiinted Conversation Pieces. Decorative Art The main function of decorative art is to embellish something other than itself: an object, a room, a building facade, etc. in this sense, the word decorative can be applied to purely ornamental work, such as embroidery; to narrative representation, such as a mural painting cycle; and to illusionistic ceiling paintings and the lke Drypoint A variation of the etching technique in which lines are scratched with a needle directly into the copper printing plate. EngravingWoodcut, engraving and etching were the main methods of making prints before the invention of photography. To make an engraving, a plate, usually of copper, is cut with a burin (a sharp gouging tool). The plate is put in a press and ink rolled onto it. The ink is retained in the cuts and transferred to the paper. Etching Etching was one of the main methods of making prints before the invention of photography. In etching the printing plate is covered i varnish, The design is scratched through with a needle. Acid is applied, which bites into the exposed metal, but does not affect the covered areas, thus etching the design onto the plate. The vamish is removed, and the plate inked for transfer to paper. The longer the acid is applied, the deeper the lines are etched, and the darker they are and faint lines are ‘stopped out’ with varnish after only a litle biting. Lines canbe cut directly into the metal with a needle, a process known as drypoint. The metal thrown up by the needle - the burr - catches the ink and creates a particulary rich effect. Fake A fake is an object that has been tampered with for the purposes of fraud - for example, by adding a signature or creating a false provenance. Foreshorten If an object or person is foreshortened it is depicted as though receding from the viewer into the picture space. To achieve this effect successfully requires knowledge of the laws of perspective Forgery A forgery is an object created in direct imitation of another artist's manner with the intention to deceive the viewer. Fresco A fresco is a type of wall painting. The term comes from the Italian word for fresh because plaster is applied to the walls while stil wet There are two methods of carrying out frescopainting: buon fresco and fresco a seco. For both methods layers of fine plaster are spread over the wall surface. The penultimate layer is called the arriccio, and the cartoon is drawn on this. The final layer of very smooth plaster is called the intonaco. In buon fresco the paint is applied to wet intonaco, and only as much plaster as can be painted in one day is spread on the wall. This method bonds the fresco to the wall. Each day's work is called a giornata. In fresco a secco the paint is applied dry, either on top of the buon fresco, which has dried, or on a dry intonaco. The technique for detaching frescoes and transferring them to a new support has been known since at least the 16th century. Genre Painting Term used in an arthistorical context to describe a type of subject matter for painting Such pictures were particularly favoured in the Netherlands in the 17th century and many artists specialised in their production. They showed both peasant life and bourgeois urban life. Gothic The term Gothic is derived from Goths, a Germanic people who invaded southern Europe at the time of the decline of the Roman Empire. The term was first employed by Italians to describe northern art, but is now widely applied to the architecture and other art forms created in northem Europe _ between approximately the 12th and16th centuries. Gothic architecture is characterised by the Pointed arch, but also in later forms by the ogival arch, by increasingly perpendicular and attenuated supporting members, and by tracery with flowing and intersecting lines. In the figurative arts an elongation of the figure and a flowing linear treatment of drapery forms and of anatomy were characteristic. Grisaille A grisaille is a painting which has been executed in monochrome or in a very limitedrange of colour, but in which the forms are defined by variations of_—_tone. Grisaille painting was particularly popular for the outsides of the shutters of polyptychs in Northern Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Illuminated manuscripts Illuminated manuscripts are hand-written books, generally on parchment or vellum, with illustrations, which were produced during the Middle Ages, before the invention of printing. The illustrations (lluminations) could be just an initial capital letter, a whole page, or part of a whole page. They were often very elaborate, using gold leaf. Many of the greatest illuminated manusoripts were produced in Paris and Burgundy in the 14th century. Impasto In painting, impasto (from the Italian for dough) describes areas of the surface of a painting which are heavily built up with paint layers. Impastoed paint is highly textured; brush or palette knife marks are usually clearly evident. The intention is to make the light falling across the painting reflect in a particularly noticeable way. Highlights, or perhaps jewels on a costume, may be heavily impastoed for this reason, as in some of the works of Rembrandt Later, artists such as Van Gogh employed the technique extensively for decorative and expressive purposes. Linear perspective Perspective in general is a means of constructing a convincing impression of three- dimensional space on a_ two-dimensional surface. Linear perspective primarily uses line to produce this effect. Aerial perspective, however, primarily uses tone and colour. The best known system of linear perspective is that, described by Alberti in his treatise 'On Painting’ (‘De Pictura’, 1435), in which receding parallel lines appear to converge on a single point on the horizon. MedievalMedieval means the middle period or "Middle Ages’, a term used to describe the period between the Late Roman era and the Renaissance, that is, approximately, the 10th to 14th centuries Polyptych An altarpiece which consists of a number of panels is called a polyptych, ‘poly’ meaning many in Greek. In the most popular form the main tier would consist of a central panel containing the figure of a saint or, more often, the Virgin and Child, and the side panels would contain figures of single or paired saints. Other, smaller panels might contain half-length figures of saints ranged above the main tier. The whole structure would be mounted on a predella, made up of small rectangular panels often with narrative scenes. Most polyptychs have been dismembered and the surviving panels distributed between several museums and galleries. Predella Predella is an Italian term for the long horizontal structure at the base or ‘foot of an altarpiece. Such structures are usually painted with narrative scenes which are related to, or expand upon, the subject of the larger images above. Print Aprintis an image which has been produced by mechanical means using an inked block or plate. Prints can be made by employing various techniques such as woodcut, etching, engraving, lithography. Quattrocento Quattrocento is the totality of cultural and artistic events and movements that occurred in Italy during the 15th century, the major period ofthe Early Renaissance. Designations such as Quattrocento (1400s) and the earlier Trecento (1300s) and the later Cinquecento (1500s) are Useful in suggesting the changing intellectual and cultural outlooks of late- and post-medieval Italy RococoThe term Rococo is a style label applied particularly to the painting, interior decoration and architecture popular in France during the reign of Louis XV (1715 - 1774). It was initially applied in a derogatory manner by Neo- classicists of the late 18th century. The word may derive from the French rocaille which describes the embellishment of grottoes and fountains, and by implication suggests whimsical decoration. Rococo art is based on the study of natural forms; it is dominated by asymmetry, curved forms, and light bright colours Sketch A sketch is a rapidly executed depiction of a subject or complete composition, which is Usually produced in preparation for a more detailed and completed work. Still Life Inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers, food and everyday items are painted as the main focus of interest in still lifes. The term derives from the Dutch ‘stilleven’, which became current from about 1650 as a collective name for this type of subject matter. Still life painting - later called ‘natures mortes' was particularly popular in the Netherlands during the 17th century and was often associated with material decay and the futility of worldly life. Still lifes with this interpretation are known as ‘'Vanitas’ or "Memento Mori. Though losing most of this symbolism still life has remained a popular subject with artists to this day. Studio "Studio' had replaced ‘workshop’ as the term for the artist's workplace by the 17th century, following the introduction of the Academies of painting and the artists’ rise in status, Italso encompasses the membersof the studio. Paintings classified as ‘Studio of indicate that they were painted by assistants working in the studio. In the 19th century the studio could also constitute a school of painting, where paying pupils were taught the rudiments of painting,Couture's studio in Paris, for example, was attended by those artists who were opposed to the methods of Ingres’s studio, which came to enjoy the approval of the Academy. Tempera Paint of any sort is made by combining pigment, which is the source of colour, with medium, which binds the particles of pigment together. In its wider sense, tempera can mean any one of several paint media, but it now commonly refers to egg tempera alone, that is, paint made using egg yolk as a medium. Egg tempera has been used since Antiquity. Most early Italian paintings are in this medium. it was often combined with oil painting in late 1Sth-century Italy, but became less common after 1500. Tenebrism Tenebrism is a term derived from the Italian ‘tenebroso' which means darkened and obscuring, It is used to describe a certain type of painting in which significant details such as faces and hands are illuminated by highlights which are contrasted with a predominantly dark setting, The late paintings of Caravaggio and those of many of his followers are often described as tenebrist Terribilita Grand style, vigor, strength and emotional intensity transmitted by a work of art. Originally conceived as a quality attributed to the figures of Michelangelo by his contemporaries in the sixteenth century. Trompe-loeil Trompe-tceil is a French phrase which means to trick the eye. A trompe-toeil painting creates the Illusion that the viewer is looking at the object itself, not a painting of the object. Vanitas| Vanitas is the Latin for vanity, in the sense of emptiness or a worthless action. "Vanity of Vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity’ (Ecclesiastes 12: 8). The implication of these words from the Old Testament is that all humanaction is transient in contrast to the everlasting nature of faith. A vanitas is a particular type of stil life painting in which objects symbolically refer to such a theme, For example, objects which suggest human achievements such as books and instruments, are related to reminders of mortality Woodcut A woodcut is a print produced from a wooden block. Areas to be left blank on the paper are cut away from the surface of the wood; the lines leftin the relief on the block are inked, and leave a mark on the paper when they are printed. Workshop ‘A workshop was where a painter in the Middle ‘Ages and Renaissance carried out his work. There he would have apprentices and assistants, the chief of whom might carry out a painting without the master's participation. Such a painting is referred to as a ‘workshop’ piece.