USEFUL INFORMATION - Glossary of Fine Art Terms

 

 

 

 

Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) light is the invisible light at the violet end of the spectrum that causes paper to deteriorate and discolour, as well as causing some colour pigments (qv) to fade. UV light is a major threat to the condition of any painting (qv) and, particularly, a work on paper (qv). No picture should ever be hung in direct sunlight for this reason.

 

Under-drawing
A preparatory drawing (qv) which is subsequently covered with paint (qv). Under-drawings are often executed in graphite, charcoal (qv), paint (qv), or chalk (qv), using a pencil (qv), pen or brush.

 

Under-painting
Generally a thin, semi-opaque (qv) layer of paint (qv) of monochrome (qv) or dead colour (qv), applied to the painting (qv) surface as a base for composition. Also known as ‘laying-in’.

 

UV
See Ultraviolet.

 

 

 

 

Value
The relative lightness or darkness of a hue (qv) or of a neutral colour (qv) varying from black to white. A light red, for example, is said to have a light value and a dark red a dark value.

 

Vanishing point
In linear perspective (qv), the point on the horizon where parallel lines appear to converge.

 

Vanitas
A painting (qv), or element in a painting, which acts as a reminder of the inevitability of death, and the pointlessness of earthly ambitions and achievements.  Common vanitas symbols include skulls, guttering candles, hour-glasses and clocks, overturned vessels, and even flowers (which will soon fade).  The vanitas theme became popular during the Baroque period, with the vanitas still life flourishing in Dutch art. (From Latin: vanity).

 

Varnish(es)
A transparent (qv), protective coating applied to an oil painting (qv) on canvas (qv) after the oil has dried. This serves both to preserve the pigment (qv) - dirt etc would otherwise become embedded in the pigment itself - and prevent accidental damage to the surface. When aged, varnish can become yellow, and may then require the services of a professional picture restorer to remove and replace it, if the painting (qv) is to continue to be displayed to advantage. There are a wide variety of varnishes, made of combinations of resin, spirit, oil and wax.

 

Veduta
A topographical representation of a town or landscape depicted in such a lifelike manner that the location can be identified. (From Italian: view).

 

Vellum
A fine parchment made from the delicate, burnished skins of young animals, usually calf, kid or lamb, and characterised by its thin, smooth, and durable properties. Also refers to a manuscript written on this material. (From Old French: vélin = veal).

 

Verdaccio
Term for green under-painting (qv). (From Italian: verde = green).

 

Verso
The back or reverse side of a painting (qv), drawing (qv), print (qv), map or coin. Also the left-hand page of an open book. (From Latin: verso = turned).

 

Vignette
A portrait showing only the head and shoulders set against a background which is gradually shaded off and, hence, an image with no definite border surrounding it. Also the ornament around a capital letter. (From French: vigne).

 

Volume
The space that an object or figure fills in a drawing (qv) or painting (qv).

 

 

 

 

Wall-painting  
Picture which is painted directly onto the surface of a wall or onto another support (qv), such as canvas (qv), which is attached to the wall. Frescoes (qv) and murals (qv) are examples.

 

Wash
A thin, usually broadly-applied, layer of translucent (qv), transparent (qv) or heavily-diluted paint (qv) or ink (qv).

 

Warp & Weft
Refers to the construction of fabric and some paper. The warp runs from top to bottom and the weft from side to side to make a web.

 

Watercolour(s) - Watercolour Painting(s) - Watercolourist(s)
Pigment (qv) ground in gum, usually gum arabic, and applied with brush and water to a painting (qv) surface, usually paper (qv). The pigment is ordinarily transparent (qv) but can be made opaque (qv) by mixing with a whiting (qv), when it is termed bodycolour (qv) or gouache (qv). The main difference between transparent watercolour and all other heavy painting mediums (qv) is its transparency. The oil painter can paint one opaque colour over another until he has achieved the desired result and the whites are created with opaque white. The watercolourist's approach is the opposite: in essence, instead of building up, he leaves out, allowing the white paper to create the whites; the darkest accents may be placed on the paper with the pigment as it comes out of the tube or with very little water mixed with it, otherwise the colours are diluted with water. The more water in the mix, the more the paper affects the colours; for example, vermilion, a warm red, will gradually turn into a cool pink as it is thinned with more water. The dry-brush technique, the use of the brush containing pigment but little water, dragged over the rough surface of the paper, creates various granular effects similar to those of crayon (qv) drawing (qv). Watercolour compares in range and variety with any other painting method and makes it a most attractive medium. The term also denotes a work of art executed in this medium.

 

Watermark
A faint mark or design visible in some paper (qv) when viewed by transmitted light. Usually identifies the paper maker. Most common in paper 200 to 300 years old but is still to be found in some high-quality, modern-day papers.

 

Wedges
See Keys.

 

Wet-on-Wet
The application of fresh paint over an area on which the paint (qv) is still wet.

 

White Spirit
A thinner used with oil paint (qv) as an alternative to turpentine (qv).

 

Whiting
Chalk (qv) which is purified, ground with water, and dried to form an inert pigment (qv).

 

Wood Block
See Matrix.

 

Wood Engraving
In printmaking (qv), a print made from a finely-engraved wooden block in a style that often resembles a free-hand drawing (qv). Widely used in the 19thC for illustrations in periodicals and magasines.

 

Wood Turpentine
See Turpentine.

 

Woodcut
A decorative printmaking (qv) process and the earliest method of printing, which developed in Europe c.1400. The design is drawn in reverse onto a smooth block of wood and the area not to be printed is then cut out with a knife, chisel, or other sharp tool to leave the design standing in relief. The area in relief becomes the printing surface and, when printed, shows the image facing in the intended direction. Also a print made using this process.

 

Wooden Wedges
See Keys.

 

Work(s) on Paper
An original work of art on paper (qv) using the mediums (qv) of paint (qv), pigment (qv), watercolour (qv), pastel (qv), pencil (qv), charcoal (qv) or other medium (qv). The term excludes prints, etchings, lithographs etc.

 

 

 

 

Xylography
Term for woodblock printmaking (qv). Also the mechanical reproduction of wood grain for decorative purposes.

 

 

 

 

Yellowing - Yellow
The effect on oil paintings (qv) usually caused either by the excessive use of linseed oil (qv) or other binders (qv) or the use of any of the varnishes (qv) that are prone to yellow with age or, most frequently, an accumulation of dirt embedded into the varnish. Yellow is also one of the primary colours (qv).

 

 

 

 

Zinc
A white metallic element used as a component of brass, German silver and in printing plates. Also referred to as spelter (qv) in a non-scientific context. (From German: zink).

 

Zoomorphic Ornament
An artistic ornament, usually linear, based on the stylisation of various animal forms.