Glossary of Art Terms
A
AEROPINTURA: A pictorial trend developed in the second Italian Futurism. It considers the airplane the ideal observatory of the new reality, where views are rolling and dynamic, and changing perspectives are reproduced using futuristic techniques.
ALMUHADILLADO: Masonry with beveled or recessed joints.
ANVIL: A tool used by blacksmiths or silversmiths (Tas) on which metal is hammered.
AUCTION: A public sale of property to the highest bidder.
B
BALUSTRADE: A series of balusters forming a railing.
BISCUIT: White, round ceramic mate, whose pulp has not been glazed or painted, usually baked twice.
BUTTRESS: An arch or rampant tranquil discharging on a buttress outside the building, the thrust of the vaults.
C
CABOCHON: A convex gemstone, worked not by size but by polishing.
CARCOM: Powder produced by insects that attack wood.
CENTERLINE: The space between two walls.
CLICHÉ: A film plate printed by photomechanical processes to reproduce images. From the French cliché.
CRACKLE: A term used to indicate the set of cracks in porcelain, painting, etc., that give a cracked appearance.
CRUCIBLE: Glass wider above than below, made of refractory clay, porcelain, gold, or silver, used for melting materials at high temperatures.
D
DEMASQUINADO: Precious metal thread inlaid into grooves made on a thin metal plate of a less valuable metal.
DIPTYCH: A work done on two sheets that can be closed like a book.
DRILL BIT: An instrument used to pierce and open small incisions of small size to provide a chiaroscuro effect.
E
EBORARIA: The art of working with ivory.
ENAMEL: A bright, hard glass paste, capable of being polished, that is obtained by melting enamel powder in an oven. It is a colored glass made with metallic oxides.
EN SKIVE: Holding a precious stone to a mount by means of small teeth, a tail, etc., so as not to dislodge it.
F
FACET: A face of a prismatic or polyhedral shape. One side in which a diamond has been cut.
FAIENCE: China made from clay and silica, fired between 1000 and 1300 degrees, and covered with opaque lead and tin enamel.
FESTOON: Ornamentation stamped by a hot iron in the form of cords, either hollow or in relief.
FIBULA: A brooch, buckle, or pin.
FILIGREE: Delicate and fine work. A watermark on paper that can be seen in the light. A jewelry technique that works by welding wire and granules of gold and silver to the base metal.
FOTOGRABAR: A chemical or electronic photographic process to record on a sheet metal cliché.
G
GARGOYLE: An overhang of the roof drain, normally shaped to be fantastic.
GLYPTICS: The art of engraving precious stones and gems.
GRAFFITI: An anonymous inscription or drawing made with paint or spray on the walls of public spaces.
GRISAILLE: A composition based exclusively on paint, in the range of gray, white, and black, imitating bas-relief.
H
HOLOGRAPHY: An advanced technology in photography that creates three-dimensional images using a laser beam to record on a photosensitive film.
I
ICON: An image in Orthodox Christian art. A religious table painted in the Byzantine style.
INLAY: Decoration with wood carvings later filled with pieces of different materials that fit.
J
JAMBA: A vertical element that is not a column, which, with its partner, holds a lintel of a window or door.
K
KNOTWORK: A geometric decoration consisting of a series of intersecting lines alternately over each other, forming stellate and polygonal shapes.
L
LÁCAR: To cover an area with a layer of lacquer.
LASERIUM: A visual reconstruction similar to holography, but done in a vacuum.
LINTEL: A horizontal element supporting a load, supporting its ends in the jambs or posts of a vain. A horizontal element supporting a load, supporting their ends in the jamb.
LINOLEUM: An embossing technique in which, instead of wood as a plate, thick linoleum is used.
LITHOGRAPHY: A system for recording on a stone slab.
M
MACHIEMBRE: To join two pieces of wood through a slot in one piece and a tongue that fits into the other.
MACHON: A pillar of solid work. A pillar of a stone bridge. A buttress.
MAYOLICA: Common pottery to which a metallic glaze was applied.
MUSIVARIA: The art and technique of mosaic. A set of tiles.
N
NAVE: An interior space, bounded by walls or columns in a row, extending along a building.
NERVE: An element of the soffit that overhangs and runs a vault.
NIEL: Recesses carved on precious metals and filled with black enamel and silver.
NUMISMATICS: The science of coins and medals.
O
OCEOGRAPHY: A lithographic procedure that tries to reproduce the effects of oil painting.
P
PAN DE ORO: Thin gold foil that is applied to certain surfaces for coating metal.
PANTOGRAPH: An apparatus to reproduce an original.
PATINA: A kind of varnish that objects acquire softly over time or artificially.
PIROGRAPHY: The art and technique of burning wood or other surfaces with a hot metal.
PLEIN AIR: Work performed outside the studio, thus avoiding artificial lighting.
PRIMING: A background layer applied to the support before painting to give it more body, making it less absorbent and more luminous.
PRINTING: A series or set of things of the same species that are produced at once and without interruption.
R
RELINING: Changing the canvas on which a painting sits.
ROW: A series of horizontal bricks or stones in a wall or ceiling.
S
SANGUINE: A pencil drawing done with dark red (like cakes).
SCREEN PRINTING: A procedure in which impressions are obtained by filtering ink through a colored silk fabric.
SKETCH: A preliminary design of a performance or artistic work.
T
TESSELLATION: Small parallelepipeds of stone, marble, glass, or paste used in the design of a mosaic.
TÓRCULO: A press used for printing on copper, steel, and other metals.
TROMPE L’OEIL: An optical illusion that gives the illusion of three-dimensionality.
V
VAIN: A hollow at one point.
VERSSINAGE: The opening ceremony of an art exhibition.
VINYL: A type of paint that uses vinyl resins as a binder.
VIRTUAL: That which is apparent and not real.
W
WARP: A set of wires that are placed in cloth lengthwise and parallel to form a tissue.
WOODCUT: A print made from a wood engraving.
Z
ZAPATA: A short tree placed horizontally on an upright.