USEFUL INFORMATION - Glossary of Fine Art Terms
Paint
A mixture of coloured matter called pigment (qv) and a binding medium
such as oil, wax, egg yolk, gelatine, or acrylic (qv).
Painter
An artist who paints.
Painting
The practice of applying paint (qv), pigment (qv), colour
(qv) or other medium (qv) to a surface, as a form of artistic
expression. The term describes both the act (verb: to paint/painting/painted)
and the result (noun: a painting). Paintings are painted onto a support
(qv), such as canvas (qv), board, paper (qv), wood,
walls or glass.
Painterly
Either a form of painting (qv) where images are predominantly created
by use of colours rather than by defined lines or edges and where the artist’s
brushstrokes are noticeable - the opposite of Linear (qv). Or an
image that shows the distinctive and characteristic style or technique used
by a particular artist.
Palette
The surface on which an artist mixes his colours, typically oil paints
(qv). Or the characteristic range of colours used by an artist.
Palette Knife
A blunt knife with an extremely flexible steel blade and no sharpened cutting
edge, used primarily for mixing paint (qv) colours. Can also be
used to create certain artistic techniques.
Paper
A thin material used for writing. printing and packaging and, typically,
made of cellulose pulp derived from compactly-interlaced fibres of rags,
wood, or straw etc. (From Ancient Egyptian writing material: papyrus).
Panel(s)
A rigid support (qv) for painting (qv), usually made of
wood or, less frequently, of metal, ivory or glass. As oil paint (qv) became
the medium of choice during 15thC and both large (and small) canvases
(qv) offered lighter and easier supports (qv) to construct than panels,
they decreased in popularity. However some artists continued to prefer less
flexible surfaces for oil paintings (qv) and panels have
remained in use.
Panel Painting
Painting (qv) on wooden panels. This was the standard surface
for painting until the introduction of canvas (qv) in the 15thC.
Parchment
A writing material made from the skins of sheep or calves, less frequently
pigs, goats or other animals. It has also been used for painting
(qv), and occasionally for printing and bookbinding. Animal skin had
been used as a writing material since ancient times but the refined methods
of cleaning and stretching involved in making parchment enabled both sides
of a leaf to be used, leading eventually to the supplanting of the manuscript
roll by the bound book. Vellum (qv) is a fine parchment made from
delicate skins of young animals. Paper began to replace parchment
from about the 14thC, but parchment is still used for certain kinds
of documents, and the name is often applied to high quality writing paper.
(From Latin: pergamena = of Pergamu - a major city in western Asia
Minor in New Testament times).
Paris Salon
See (The) Salon.
Pastel
Either a drawing (qv) stick made of pigments (qv) ground
with chalk (qv) and mixed with gum and water which, when pressed
into dried stick form, produces a crayon (qv). Ora drawing executed
with these pastel crayons. Or a soft, subdued tint (qv) of a colour.
Pastoral
Relating to a romantic or idealised image of rural life, a world peopled
by shepherds, nymphs and satyrs. (From Latin: pastor = shepherd).
Patina - Patinated
The change in appearance to the surface of an antique material, such as
wood, as a natural effect of age. It is caused by the use, handling, and/or
chemical changes in the surface finish and the build-up of dirt, grease,
or polish, all of which give objects the ‘old look’ prized by
collectors. Also, specifically, the green-brown encrustation on bronze
(qv) sculptures (qv).
Pencil
A writing or drawing (qv) instrument comprising a very thin cylinder
of, typically, graphite (or coloured graphite or charcoal) and clay, usually
encased in a thin outer wooden cylinder with a tapering end which can be
sharpened. (From Latin: peniculus = tail).
Pentimento (plural: Pentimenti)
The under-drawing (qv) or changes made to the composition of an original
artwork by the artist which remain visible in a drawing (qv) or painting
(qv) or become visible over time. Traditionally these lines or marks
remained unintentionally. However from the 19thC they have been used as part
of the visual expression, to add richness to a work. (From Italian: pentirsi
= to repent).
Perspective
The method of representing three-dimensional objects on a flat surface
in order to convey a sense of depth and to portray the subject as the viewer
would expect to see it in real life. (From Latin: perspectiva = look).
There are three major types of perspective:
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Herringbone Perspective In which the lines of projection converge not on a vanishing point (see linear perspective below) but on a vertical axis at the centre of the picture, as in Roman painting (qv). |
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Aerial or Atmospheric Perspective The effect on the appearance of an object between it and the viewer caused by the earth’s atmosphere: as the distance between the viewer and the object increases, the contrast between the object and its background decreases, becoming lighter in colour and of lesser contrast (the contrast in the details of the object itself also decreases, the colours become less saturated (qv) and shifting towards the background colour, usually blue). Aerial perspective was discovered and so named by Filippo Brunelleschi (Italian, 1377-1446). |
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Linear Perspective Creating the illusion of depth by use of a series of actual or implied lines that intersect at a vanishing point on the horizon. It also determines the relative size of objects from the foreground to the background. The first artist to make a systematic use of linear perspective was Masaccio (born Tommaso Cassai or Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Mone, Italian, 1401-1428) and its principles were set out by the architect Alberti (Leon Battista Albert, Italian, 1404-1472) in a book published in 1436. The use of linear perspective had a profound effect on the development of Western art and remained unchallenged until the 20thC. See Vanishing Point. |
Picture Frame
See Frame.
Pictorial Plane
Parallel to the viewer’s line of sight.
Pigment(s)
The mineral, organic or synthetic source of paint (qv). When finely
ground into a coloured powder and mixed with a binder (qv) such as
oil, wax, egg yolk, gelatine, or acrylic (qv), it becomes paint
(qv), ink (qv) or crayon (qv), etc. Minerals that have
traditionally been used are metals, types of earth, and even semi-precious
stones in the case of lapis lazuli (ultramarine blue); organic substances
have included plant roots although they are not considered as lightfast
(qv) as the most commonly used minerals. (From Latin: pigmentum =
colour substance).
Pinx
Self-description in the first person singular of the more usual term, Pinxit. (From Latin: pinx = I painted it).
Pinxit - Pinx
Self-description in the third person singular denoting the artist or creator of a work of art. Generally inscribed next to the artist's signature. (From Latin: pinxit = he or she painted it).
Plastico
See Maquette.
Plate
In printmaking (qv), the surface on which an image is incised. Also
known as the matrix (qv).
Plein Air
Describes paintings (qv) that have been created outdoors rather than
in an artist’s studio. Plein air painting was taken up by the French
Impressionist painters as well as by British painters such as John Constable
(1776-1837). Its popularity was aided by the development of easily portable
painting equipment and materials, including paints (qv) available
in tubes. (From French: open air).
Pochoir
A stencil and stencil-brush process for making multi-coloured prints, and
for tinting black and white prints, and for colouring reproductions and
book illustrations, especially fine and limited editions. Sometimes called ‘hand
colouring’ or ‘hand illustration’. Pochoir, as
distinguished from ordinary stencil work, is a highly refined technique,
skillfully executed in a specialised workshop. (From French: pochoir
= stencil).
Polychrome Decoration
The gilding (qv) or coloured painting (qv) of a work of sculpture
(qv).
Polyptych
A painting (qv), usually an altarpiece, made up of a number of panels
fastened together. Some polyptychs were very elaborate, the
panels being housed in richly carved and decorated wooden frameworks, the
most famous example being Duccio’s (Duccio di Buoninsegna, Italian,
c.1255-c.1318) altarpiece in Sienna Cathedral, Italy, Maestà (Majesty)
with Twenty Angels and Nineteen Saints. (From Greek: poluptukhos
= folded many times).
Polychrome - Polychromatic
Having many colours (qv), as opposed to monochrome (qv),
which refers to a single hue or colour. The opposite of Monochrome (qv).
Poppy Oil
One of the most commonly used binders (qv) in oil painting (qv) after linseed
oil (qv). It is considered not to yellow as much as linseed oil but is
not quite as strong and permanent.
Pouncing
A technique for transferring the design of a cartoon (qv) onto
another surface. Fine holes are pricked along the contours of the drawing
(qv) and then dabbed with fine charcoal (qv) powderso that a
faint outline appears on the new ground (qv), e.g. a wall.
Primary Colours
The three basic colours (qv) - red, yellow and blue - which cannot
be mixed or formed by any other colour combinations, and from which all other
colours can be created.
Primer - Prime - Priming - Primed
A coating layer of animal-glue size (qv), usually white, with which
the support (qv) is traditionally treated (primed), followed
by one or more layers of ground (qv), on top of which the painting
(qv) is executed. Traditionally, this has been a lead-based paint
(qv), but other materials have more recently come into use. The lack
of a primer, or one of poor quality, can cause paint to crack or
peel off the surface of the canvas (qv).
Printmaking
The process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Except in
the case of monotyping (qv), the process allows for the production
of multiple prints (qv) or impressions (qv). Prints are
created from a single original surface or matrix (qv) such as:
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Metal plates (qv), usually copper or zinc, for engraving (qv) or etching (qv). |
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Stone for lithography (qv). |
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Wood blocks for woodcuts (qv). |
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Linoleum for linocuts. |
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Fabric plates for screen-printing. |
Works printed from a single matrix create an edition (qv), the precise number of impressions being determined by the original artist who may or may not be the printmaker. In modern times each print is usually signed by the original artist and numbered to form a ‘limited edition’. Following production of an agreed number of prints, the matrix is destroyed to ensure that no further prints can be made.
Prix de Rome
France’s most prestigious annual art competition and bursary created
during the reign of King Louis XIV in 1663 and organised by the Académie
Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture) for
its most promising art students (painters, sculptors, and architects, later
extended to include engravers and musicians). The elimination contest was
both difficult and demanding and the prizes were therefore greatly coveted
and widely respected. The winner of the ‘Premier Grand Prix’,
known as the agréé, was entitled to an extended period
of stay and study at the Palazzo Mancini (Mancini Palace) in Rome at the expense
of the King of France. ‘Deuxième Grand Prix’ were also
awarded, which entitled these winners to the same prize but for a shorter
period of time. The importance of the competition in terms of establishing
an artist’s career and reputation cannot be over-stated. The competition
ceased in 1968.
Profil perdu
A pose in which the sitter's head is turned away from the viewer so that
only an outline of the cheek is visible. (From French: lost profile).
Proportion
In painting (qv), sculpture (qv) and architecture, the ratio
between the respective parts and the whole work. Various hypothesis
have been established to best define the perfection of proportion. For example:
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The Canon of Proportion: a mathematical formula which established the ideal proportions of the various parts of the human body. The unit of measurement is usually the relationship of the head to the torso (1:7 or 1:10). |
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The Golden Section (qv) or ‘Golden Mean’: a line ‘A’ is divided into a small section ‘B’ and a larger section ‘C’, so that the ratio between ‘B:C’ is in the same relationship as ‘A:C’. |
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The Quadrature: uses the square as a unit of measurement. |
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Triangulation: uses an equilateral triangle in order to determine important points in the construction. |
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Harmonic Proportions: an analogy with the way sounds are produced on stringed instruments, for example an octave = 1:2 (the difference in pitch between two strings, one being half the length of the other), a fifth = 2:3, a fourth = 3:4. |
(From Latin: proportio = proportion).
Provenance
The history of an artwork's ownership since its creation. Authentic, documented
evidence of an unbroken ownership history from the date the artwork was
created to the present day represents the ideal provenance but
this is only very rarely the case for work of any age. Any prior information
about the history of a work, such as previous ownerships, invoices or other
documentary evidence is however valuable in supporting the authenticity
and attribution (qv) of a particular work. (From French: provenance
= origin).
Quadrature
See Proportion.
Rebate
A cut-away groove at the back of the inner edge of a picture frame which
is intended to receive the painting (qv) and hold it in place.
Realism
An art style which evolved in the 19thC where a painting (qv) portrays
a view of the natural world in a highly representational manner with subjects
selected from everyday events and situations.
Rectilinear
Stressing the use of straight lines as opposed to curvilinear (qv) which
stresses the use of curved lines.
Relief
A sculptural term in which all or part of the subject(s), frequently figural
(qv), projects from the flat surface. There are three basic forms:
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Low Relief, also known as Bas-Relief, Haut-Relief or Basso Rilievo, in which figures project only slightly, usually less than half their depth, from the background, as on a coin. |
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Medium Relief, also known as Mezzo-Rilievo, in which figures are seen half round. |
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High Relief, also known as Alto Rilievo, in which figures are almost detached from their background. |
(From Latin: relevare = to raise).
Re-lining
The process by which a new canvas (qv) is adhered to the back of
an existing canvas which has become damaged or lost its elasticity and become
brittle. The removal of the old lining material and adhesive is a
delicate operation that requires the considerable skills, care, and precision,
of a professional picture restorer. Also known as ‘Lining’.
Repoussoir
A means of achieving perspective or spacial contrast by the use of a device
such as a large figure or object in the immediate foreground of a painting
(qv) to increase the illusion of depth in the remainder of the picture.
(From French: push back).
Representational Art
See Figurative Art.
Reprography
- Reprographic
The process of reproducing, reprinting, or copying graphic material (or
documents) which are virtually indistinguishable from the original, by mechanical,
electronic, or photographic means such as photocopying or xerography, scanning,
digital printing, or photography.
Resin
A general term for a wide variety of more or less transparent (qv), fusible materials, used to designate any polymer that is a basic material for paints (qv) and plastics.
Restoration
Repairing damage to a painting (qv), work on paper (qv), or other
artwork so as to return it as closely as possible to its original state. With oil
paintings (qv) this may include the removal of dirt, filling large cracks, re-lining
(qv) the canvas (qv), and delicate over-painting (qv). Professional,
modern day restoration techniques are designed to be ‘undone’ at
some time in the future without harming the original pigment (qv).
Rilievo
In painting (qv), the impression that an object is three-dimensional,
that it stands out from its background fully-rounded. (From Italian: relief).
Rocker
See Cradle.
Royal Academy (RA)
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) was founded by King George III
in 1768 and originally limited to 40 members, all of whom were admitted
on 10th December 1768. Sir Joshua Reynolds was its first president. It
was the first institution in Great Britain devoted solely to the promotion
of the visual arts and to raising the standing of art, artists and architecture,
its role being defined as to 'promote the arts of design'.
Full membership is limited to 80 Academicians or RAs, who may be painters, sculptors, printmakers, or architects, but must be "professionally active in Britain". The Academy's rules require that there must always be at least 14 sculptors, 12 architects, and eight printmakers, the balance being made up of 46 painters. New Academicians are elected by the existing RAs. On reaching the age of 75 they become Senior Academicians and so create vacancies for new members. Elections are held annually and new members are nominated and voted in by existing RAs. All members are required to donate an example of their work to the RA before receiving their Diploma signed by the Sovereign. These works form part of the RA's Permanent Collection.
The RA has held an annual selling exhibition since its formation and enjoys a worldwide reputation as a venue for exhibitions of international importance. It is located in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London.
Salon
A fashionable gathering of artists, writers, and intellectuals held in
a private home.
The Salon
The official, State-sponsored art exhibition of the Académie des
Beaux-Arts (Academy of Fine Arts) in Paris. First held in the Palais
du Louvre (Palace of the Louvre) in 1725 it became known as The Salon (or
less commonly as the Salon de Paris). Between 1748-1890 it was recognised
as the pre-eminent annual or bi-annual art event in the world and exhibition
at The Salon was essential for any artist wishing to achieve success
in France, as well as a sign of royal favour.
Sanguine
A red-brown chalk, used for drawing (qv). (From French: sang
= blood).
Saponification
The process by which a paint binder (qv) becomes transparent
(qv) or discoloured, under moist and alkaline conditions.
Saturation
See Intensity.
Sculpture
A three-dimensional artwork made by one of four basic processes:
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Carving in stone, wood, ivory or bone. |
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Modelling in clay. |
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Modelling in clay or wax and then casting the model in bronze. |
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Constructing (20thC). |
One of the appeals of sculpture to artists is its permanence. The earliest known human artefacts which we would call sculpture date from the Upper Paleolithic period (c.40,000-10,000 years ago). Sculpture flourished in Ancient Egypt from c.3,000 BC and in Ancient Greece from c.1,000 BC where it reached its peak of perfection from c.500–400 BC with both carved sculpture and sculpture caste in bronze (qv). Following the fall of the Roman Empire (traditionally held to be 4th September 476 AD), the bronze casting process was almost lost but, together with carved sculpture, underwent a major revival in the Renaissance.
Scumble - Scumbling
A painting (qv) technique (the opposite of glazing, qv), which
consists of laying a thin layer of opaque (qv) oil paint (qv) over
another layer of a different colour (qv) or tone (qv), so
that the lower layer is not completely obliterated, in order to create an
uneven, broken effect.
Secco - Secco Fresco
Term applied to a technique of mural (qv) painting (qv) in
which the colours were applied to dry plaster, rather than wet plaster as
in fresco (qv). The colours were either tempera (qv) or pigments
(qv) ground in lime water (if lime water was used, the plaster had to
be dampened before painting). In Italian Renaissance art the finishing
touches to a true fresco would often be painted secco as
it was easier to add detail in this way (unfortunately, because the secco technique
is much less permanent, such areas have frequently flaked off over time).
(From Italian: secco = dry).
Secondary Colours
A hue (qv) created by combining two primary colours, such as yellow
and blue mixed to create green. In pigment (qv) the secondary colours
are orange, green, and violet.
Secondary Supports
See Support.
Sepia
A rich brown pigment (qv) made from cuttlefish ink (qv).
Sfumato
A technique, largely developed by Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519),
in which the gradations from light to dark are so gradual they are almost
imperceptible. Sfumato softens lines and creates a soft-focus effect.
It was often used to represent objects or landscape meant to be perceived
as distant from the picture plane. (From Italian: faded).
Sgraffito
A painting (qv) technique by which one colour is laid over another
and scratched in, with the other end of the brush, for example, so as to reveal
the colour underneath. (From Italian: graffiato = scratched).
Shade
Term for a colour darkened with black.
Shellac
A yellow resin (qv), formed from secretions of the lac insect, used
in making varnish (qv).
Sigmoidal
Sigmoidal cracks, also known as mechanical cracks, are usually the
result of a blow to the canvas (qv) of an oil painting (qv). If
the blow is to the front of the painting, it often creates a concentric circular
pattern resembling a cobweb. If the canvas has suffered a blow, or been scratched
or rubbed, from behind, the cracks may resemble a feather.
Silverpoint
A drawing (qv) method using a metal pencil made of copper, brass,
or bronze (qv) with a silver tip fused to it. Silverpoint was
already in use as a drawing technique in the 14thC and the delicate, light-grey
lines produced by the silver tip, which were all identical in thickness, made
it a particularly popular artistic tool throughout the course of the 15thC.
Simultaneous Contrast
The tendency of complementary colours (qv) to seem brighter and more
intense when placed side by side.
Sinopia
The preparatory drawing (qv) for a fresco (qv) drawn on
the wall where the painting (qv) is to appear. Also the red-brown
chalk used to make such a drawing.
Size - Sizing
In painting (qv), a layer of glue, usually made from rabbit or other
animal skin, which comes in crystal form, is then soaked in water and gently
heated, and applied to the support (qv) prior to painting. Its
purpose is to prevent the acids in the oil paint (qv) from attacking
and rotting the canvas (qv), causing it to become brittle, and to
promote adhesion between it and the ground layer (qv). In paper manufacture, size is
applied as a penetrating sealer so as to reduce the paper’s absorbency
by capillary action and thus helping to retain the ink (qv) on the
surface of the paper.
Sotto in sù
The perspective in which people and objects are seen from below and shown
with extreme foreshortening (qv). (From Italian: up from under).
Sketch
A preliminary drawing (qv) of a composition.
Spelter
The most common commercial form of zinc (qv). Sometimes and inaccurately
referred to as ‘spelter bronze’, spelter applies to a
type of sculptural casting made from this white metal to which various coatings
have been applied to give the effect of patinated (qv) bronze (qv). Popular
from the 1850s to the early 1900s, particularly for the figures adorning the
tops of 19thC mantle clocks. A simple test to distinguish between bronze and spelter is
to scratch the underside of the base surface with another piece of metal:
if the scratch is a copper colour, it’s bronze, but if it is a silvery
grey, it's spelter. Any attempt to chemically clean spelter objects
is likely to render them valueless. (From Old French: espeautre).
Spirit of Turpentine
See Turpentine.
Squaring-up
A method for transferring an image to a larger or smaller format.
Staffage
The figures and animals in a landscape or veduta (qv) which are not
the primary subject matter of the work, and often added by another painter
as directed by the master artist. (From German: staffieren = to fit out).
Stippling - Stipple
A pattern of closely spaced dots, flecks or other small marks used to create
a sense of three-dimensionally on a flat surface, especially in drawing
(qv) and printmaking (qv). See also Hatching and Cross-Hatching. (From
Dutch: stippen = to prick).
Strainer(s)
A plain frame (qv), usually made of wood, with rigid, immovable corner
joints, over which fabric canvas (qv) is stretched to form the support
(qv) for a painting. Unlike a stretcher (qv), a strainer does
not have keys (qv) or wooden wedges so its size cannot be adjusted
once the canvas has been stretched over it.
Stretcher(s)
A plain frame (qv), usually made of wood, over which fabric canvas
(qv) is stretched to form the support (qv) for a painting
(qv). Unlike a strainer (qv), a stretcher has expandable
corner joints that can be adjusted by driving small keys (qv) or
wooden wedges into the interior corners of the reverse of the stretcher to
ensure that the canvas remains taught.
Stretcher Bar Mark(s)
An impression of the stretcher (qv) which has become visible on the
surface of a canvas (qv) painting (qv). Stretcher bar
marks appear on the surface of the painting as raised parallel lines
or cracks. They are usually the result of a slackening of the canvas (qv) on
its stretcher with age.
Style
A constant or recurring characteristic(s) that identifies a work of art
with a particular artist, group of artists, or culture, or with an artist’s
work at a specific time or during a particular period of his or her career.
Stylised
Based on forms in the natural world which have been simplified or distorted
for the purposes of the intended design.
Subtractive Colour
Colour (qv) resulting from the absorption of light.
Support
The surface on which a work of two-dimensional art, typically a painting
(qv), is created, i.e. canvas (qv), cardboard, paper (qv), wooden
panel or plaster-covered wall. Auxiliary structures, such as strainers
(qv) and stretchers (qv), are referred to as ‘secondary
supports’.
Study
A preliminary drawing for a painting (qv) or other work of art.
Symbol
A mark or character which is generally regarded as typifying or representing
something else, typically an idea or quality, such as the use of white to
represent purity. (From Greek: sumbolon = symbol or token).
Symmetry - Symmetrical
Descriptive of a design in which the two halves of a composition on either
side of an imaginary central vertical axis correspond and balance one another
in size, shape, and placement.
Tarlatan - Tarlatan Cloth
A starched, open-weave fabric, much like cheese cloth, used to wipe the ink
(qv) off the plate (qv) during the intaglio (qv) printmaking
(qv) process: the open weave allows for the tarlatan to pick
up a large quantity of ink and the stiffness imparted by the starch helps
prevent the fabric from taking the ink out of the incised lines. (From French: tarlatane).
Tempera
A method of painting (qv) in which the paint (qv) is comprised
of finely-ground coloured pigment (qv) mixed to a paste with water,
then combined with egg yolk as a binding (qv) medium (and may subsequently
be diluted with water). Tempera was widely used in Italian art in
the 14thC and 15thC both for panel painting (qv) and fresco (qv), subsequently
being replaced by oil paint (qv). Tempera colours
are bright and translucent (qv), though allowing little time for
blending as the paint dried very quickly. Graduated tones were created
by adding lighter or darker dots or lines of colour to an area of dried paint.
Also referred to as Tempera (qv). (From Latin: temperare = to
moderate).
Tenting
Paint (qv) and/or ground (qv) which has started to flake
(qv) and has moved outwards from the support (qv) to form ‘pitched
tents’. Tenting is usually the result of changes in the
dimensions of the support, such as canvas (qv) shrinkage.
Terracotta
An unglazed, fired clay used for architectural features and ornaments,
vessels, and sculpture (qv). (From Italian: baked earth).
Tertiary Colours
Created by correctly mixing the primary (qv) and secondary colours
(qv).
Texture
The actual ‘feel’ of a surface, e.g. its roughness or smoothness. In
art, texture may refer to the illusion of roughness or smoothness often achieved
with contrasting patterns.
Three-quarter Face
A term denoting the particular angle from which the human face is depicted.
Depending on how far the head is turned away from a fully frontal angle (en
face), the picture is described as three-quarter face.
Tint
A variety of colour (qv), especially one made lighter by the mixture
of white, so as to create a colour of lighter value (qv), i.e. a
light red as opposed to a dark red, the latter being of a darker value.
(From Latin: tinctus = dyeing).
Tondo (plural: Tondi)
A circular painting (qv) or relief (qv) sculpture (qv). The tondo derives
from classical medallions and was used in the Renaissance as a compositional
device for creating an ideal visual harmony. It was particularly popular in
Florence and was often used for depictions of the Madonna and Child. (From
Italian: round).
Tone(s) - Tonality
The lightness or darkness of an area in terms of black to white, also called value
(qv), i.e. a light or dark red or light or dark grey. (From Greek: tonos
= tone).
Tooth
Small, grained but even texture which provides for the attachment of succeeding
layers of paint (qv).
Translucent
Permitting light to pass through a material but diffusing it so that a
person or object on the other side is not clearly visible, a quality between transparent
(qv) and opaque (qv). Frosted window glass, for example, is
translucent but not transparent. (From Latin: translucere = to shine
through).
Transparent - Transparency
Permitting light to pass through a material so that a person or object
can clearly be seen on the other side, the opposite of opaque (qv). Window
glass, cellophane and watercolours (qv) are usually transparent.
(From Latin: transparens = shine through).
Travertine
A limestone of almost pure calcium carbonate found in the Tiber Valley
near Rome which varies in colour from a pale buff to an orange pink. It
was primarily and extensively used in Roman architecture, notably the Colosseum
and the colonnade of the Basilica of St Peter's and, to a lesser extent,
for outdoor sculpture (qv) that did not require a smooth finish,
such as Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini’s (Italian, 1598-1680) Triton Fountain
in the Piazza Barberini, Rome. (From Italian: travertine).
Triangulation
See Proportion.
Trompe l’Oeil
A type of painting (qv) or mural (qv) whose extraordinary
precision and realism aims to deceive the viewer into believing that he is
looking at an actual object rather than a representation. Dating from classical
times, tromp l'oeil was revived in the 15thC and became a distinctive
feature of 17thC Dutch painting. (From French: deceives the eye).
Triptych
A work of art, especially a painting (qv), in three sections, consisting
of a central panel and two outer panels or wings, usually intended as an altarpiece.
Early triptychs were often portable. In many medieval triptychs the two outer
wings were hinged so that could be closed over the central panel. (From Greek: tryptychos
= threefold).
Turpentine
Turpentine, also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine,
wood turpentine, or gum turpentine, is used as a solvent
for thinning oil-based paints (qv) and for producing varnishes
(qv). Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation
of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees, one of the earliest
of which was the terebinth or turpentine tree, a Mediterranean
tree related to the pistachio. It is often referred to as ‘turps’ although
this more usually refers to turpentine substitute or mineral
turpentine. (From Greek: terebinthinos = of the terebinth).
Tusche
A thick, viscous black ink (qv).
