TheoSaurus

Build your art vocabulary with some help from Theo's stone-age cousin.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Click on a letter above or scroll down this illustrated glossary.

abstract	Abstract (AB-strakt) art is not intended to look like something you could recognize. You could think of looking at a representational painting as looking through a window -- at something you can recognize on the other side of the glass. An abstract painting, however, wants you to look at the surface of the painting (sort of like looking at the windowpane itself) -- at the colors, shapes and patterns, and perhaps the texture of the paint on the canvas. Works of art can be more or less abstract. One can describe art that is not completely abstract, but not realistic either, as abstracted. Representational art that has been greatly simplified is often described as stylized.
amphora		An amphora (AM-fuh-ruh) is a type of large Greek vase that was used to store water, oil, grain, etc. It has an oval-shaped body, a short neck, and two handles for carrying and pouring. The ancient Greek amphora shown here also has a round base or foot. At left: Attic Black-Figure Ovoid Neck- Amphora, made about about 570 B.C., attributed to the Omaha Painter
ancient	The word ancient (AYN-shuhnt) can be used generally to describe something that is very, very old. Or it can be used in a more specific sense, referring to civilizations that existed many hundreds or thousands of years ago. Some examples of ancient civilizations include those in China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
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Art Deco	Art Deco (art DEH-ko) was a style of art, design, and architecture popular in the 1920s and 30s. It featured simplified, stylized forms and geometric designs. This style was inspired by the streamlined designs for modern industrial things like cars, factories and airplanes, and was considered cool and sophisticated.
capital		A capital is the top-most part of a column, pilaster, etc. Capitals can be plain, but are often decorative, like the Thunderbird capital on Joslyn's Memorial Building shown here. at left: Thunderbird capital, east entrance, Joslyn Art Museum
column	columns, east entrance Joslyn Art Museum	A column is a vertical pillar, often, but not always cylinder-shaped. Columns often have a slight outward bulge toward the center. This outward curve in the middle of a column is called entasis. This bulge (you can see--it is very subtle in the Joslyn entrance columns at left) makes the column appear more solid. If the column were straight up and down, it would actually appear to the eye to get thinner in the middle.
composition	Composition refers to how things are arranged in a painting. An artist makes choices about the placement of lines, shapes, color, and so on, in order to achieve a composition with a certain overall effect.
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detail	A detail is a small section of an artwork which has been enlarged in order to be able to see it more clearly.
fresco	Master of Barluenga Spanish, 13th Century St. John on Patmos, c. 1285 fresco transferred to canvas 53 x 43 inches Check out the Pilgrimage Art Pack to learn more about this work of art.	There are two main categories of fresco painting. In what is called true fresco (buon fresco in Italian), plaster is spread onto a flat wall. The artist paints directly onto this plaster while it is still wet. In order to do this, the artwork must be carefully planned out. As the plaster dries, the pigment is absorbed into it, and the painting becomes a permanent part of the wall. In dry fresco (fresco secco), paint is applied to plaster that is already dry. Sometimes the two techniques are used together on the same painting, for example, the bigger areas are painted in true fresco, and the tiny details added after the plaster has dried.
fresco	At Joslyn you can see a real medieval fresco, on view in in Gallery 1. It was made in the fresco secco technique. This fresco was once part of a larger scene decorating the walls of a small church in northern Spain. You may imagine it was quite a painstaking job to remove this fresco and attach it to canvas.
motif	A motif (mo-TEEF) is an element or theme repeated throughout a work of art, architecture, music, or literature.
netsuke		Netsukes (NET-suh-kee) or (NET-skee) are small Japanese carvings, usually of wood or ivory, often made in the shape of animals. Now collected as art objects, their original function was to anchor the cord that held an inro, a small container worn on the belt of a kimono, a traditional Japanese robe. at left: Fox Priest netsuke, signed by Shokyusai
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portrait	Greenhow Family Children painted about 1810, Artist unknown See more portraits at Joslyn Art Museum.	A portrait (POUR-truht) is an artwork that shows the likeness of a person. Portraits can portray individuals or groups of people, such as families. They can be 2-dimensional, such as a painting, or 3-dimensional, in the case of a sculpture or relief carving. Often, in addition to showing how a person looks, a portrait will reveal something about the subject's character and life story, for example, a personal quality, a favorite hobby, or a major event in their life.
quarry	A quarry is a place where a particular kind of stone (such as marble) is obtained, or quarried. Quarries are sometimes pits that are dug in the ground, or they can be on a hillside or mountainside.
realism	People use the word realism in a general sense to describe art that imitates how things look in "real life." Realism (capital "R") refers to a period of art during the 19th century (1800s) when artists attempted to paint the world exactly as they saw it. Realist painters also painted everyday subject matter, as opposed to heroic or mythic subjects.
Renaissance	The Renaissance was a period of many artistic innovations in Europe, beginning in Italy. During this time, scholars, artists, writers and other individuals were especially interested in reviving aspects of classical Greece and Rome. The Renaissance lasted approximately 200 years, from the 15th century ( 1400s) to the 16th century (1500s). Joslyn's artworks from the Renaissance are on view in Gallery 1.
representational art	Representational art (also called figurative art) is art which depicts things, places, and people -- subject matter from the visible world. It is the opposite of non-objective (also called abstract) art.
rhythm	Rhythm in music is the tempo (timing) or beat. There is also rhythm in visual art, which you can see rather than hear. Repetition of forms, patterns, lines, colors can give you a sense of visual rhythm. How elements of an artwork are placed in the artist's composition, how far apart, how often they repeat, what kinds of patterns they create, all give an artwork a sense of rhythm.
stylized	See abstract art.
symbol	A symbol is an object or mark that stands for something else. Artists frequently use symbols to communicate various messages in their artworks. By decoding the symbols in an artwork, you can reveal important layers of meaning.
tondo		A tondo (TAWN-doh) is a circular painting. It was a popular shape for paintings during the Renaissance, during which time there was increased interest in geometry. As a perfect shape, the circle was considered, during Renaissance time, a symbol of God's perfection. at left: Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John and Two Angels, painted about 1490, Lorenzo di Credi
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We intend to expand this illustrated art glossary as time permits - and as the rest of the Kid Connection website grows. Suggestions? Comments? Please email me at: theo@joslyn.org.