Writing about a painting- a glossary of useful terms:
· Gestural- A loose, energetic application of paint which relies on the artist’s movement to make expressive marks on the canvas. This is a supposed to be a very personal and unique way of working- almost like handwriting. Look at artist like Cy Twombly or Antoni Tapies for examples.
· Glaze- (or wash)- a semi-transparent layer of thinned paint. Many traditional painters like Michelangelo made use of this technique to create the subtle tones of skin for fabric. For a modern use of the glazing techniques, look at the abstract, gestural paintings of Helen Frankenthaler.
· Impasto- a thick layer of paint, often applied in several layers with a brush or palette knife. Look at the dense, textual brushwork of paintings by artist like Gillian Ayres or Frank Auerbach.
· Plein-aire- a painting which has been made outside, often quite quickly, to cope with changing weather, light effects etc. The Impressionist were the first artists to paint outdoors, rather than in their studios. Before this, however, many artists had sketched outdoors in preparation for painting, the oil sketched of Constable are an excellent example.
· Pointillist- the use of many tiny dots of pure color which seems to ‘blend’ when seen at a distance. Georges Seurat’s work is the most famous example of this almost- scientific technique. Look at the work of Chuck Close and compare and contrast them to Seurat.
· Scumbling- a thin glaze of paint dragged over a different color, so that both layers of paint can be seen, giving a luminous, glowering effect. Abstract painters like Mark Rothko made use of this technique.
· Sfumato- literally means ‘smoked’ in Italian; the use of heavy, dark tones to suggest mystery and atmosphere. Rembrandt’s late self-portraits are a superb example of this technique in practice.
· Sketch- A quick painting, often made in preparation of the ‘final version’.
· Brushwork- the way in which the artist used the brush to apply paint. Brushwork can be loose, energetic, controlled, tight, obsessive, repetitive, random etc.
· Palette- 1. A tray used for mixing colors when painting. 2. The choice of in a painting i.e. ‘van Gogh uses a pure and vivid palette in his Arles landscapes”.
· Tone or tonal- 1. The elements of lights and shadow in an artwork i.e. ‘Kathe Kollowitz’s etchings use strong, dense tones to create an intense, sorrowful mood’. 2. The range of tones within an artwork ie ‘Rembrandt’s later portraits use a very dark tonal range’.
· Support- The surface that a painting or drawing is produced on. Support can be paper, card, wood, canvas, metal etc i.e. “Antoni Tapies’s paintings sometimes look as if they have been attacked. The support is often violently torn, ripped and stabbed into’.
Writing about Color- a glossary of useful terms:
o Primary colors: red, yellow and blue. Primary colors can be used to mix a wide range of color. These are cool and warm primary colors.
o Secondary colors: orange, green and purple. Secondary colors are mixed by combining two primary colors.
o Complementary colors: pairs of opposite colors on the color wheel: green-red, blue-orange, and yellow-purple. Complementary colors are as contrasting as possible (i.e. there is no yellow in the color purple). Painters like Andre Derain and van Gogh often made use of the contrast of complementary colors in their paintings.
o Tertiary colors: A range of natural or neutral colors. Tertiary colors are created by mixing two complementary colors together. Tertiary colors are the colors of nature: skin, plants, wood, etc.
o Tones: are created by adding black to any color (i.e. maroon is a tone of red).
o Tints: are created by adding white to any color (i.e. pink is a tint of red).
o Palette: the choice of colors an artist makes.
o Limited palette: the selection of only a few colors within an artwork; i.e. ‘In this drawing, Matisse has used a limited palette of ultramarine blues and purples to create a moody, subdued atmosphere.’
o Broad palette: the use of a wide range of different colors within an artwork; i.e. Kandinsky’s paintings are instantly recognizable for their use of geometric shapes, but also for the broad palette of colors he employs.’
o Tonal range: the range of tones in an artwork from light to dark. A wide tonal range would include all tones from white to black. A narrow tonal range would include only pale tones, only mid tones or only dark tones; i.e. “Kathe Kollowitz’s etching make a powerful use of a narrow tonal range to create oppressive, dark images.’
o Opacity: the density or thickness of a color used; if the color is strong and nothing can be seen beneath it, the color is said to be opaque. Acrylic and oil are often opaque.
o Transparency: thin, transparent color, with perhaps other colors, shapes and lines visible beneath it. Watercolor painting typically uses transparent color.
Useful adjectives you might use when describing COLOR: Saturated, bright, pure, vivid, strong, harsh, dramatic, vibrant, brilliant, intense, powerful, muted, subtle, gentle, dull, soft, watery, subdues, delicate, gloomy, tertiary, faded, limited
Writing about cultural values attached to the arts
When the arts of the past are seen in museums, they are effectively detached from the life of the culture from where they originated. If you only see these art objects in books or photographs, it is very difficult to see them as a ‘real’ part of a living culture. To begin to understand the meanings of various arts had for the societies they came from, consider the following values:
oReligious values: Arts were often essential to the belief systems of many cultures; for example: statues of gods/deities, temples, icons, altarpieces, masks, music, dances etc.
oSocial Values: Arts often symbolize group identity and pride; for example: banners, headdresses, tattooing, flags, chants, anthems etc.
oPsycho-Emotional: Arts sometimes provided assurance of the continuity of life; for example: portraits, epic poetry, mythological tales, hymns etc.
oUseful or Practical Values- Art was often an integral aspect of functional objects, both in shape and decoration; for example: knives, pottery, lamps, buildings, etc
oSensual Values- Arts provided a direct source of sensual pleasure and perhaps and intrinsically aesthetics response; for example: textiles, clothing, sculptures, music etc.
oEducational Values: Arts were frequently a means of transmitting the values, attitudes and history of a culture; for example: cave paintings, frescos, illuminated manuscripts, epic poetry, historic drama, tribal dance etc.
oDecorative Values: Arts were frequently a means of transmitting the values, attitudes and history of a culture; for example; jewelry, wall-hangings, tapestries, clothing etc.
oCommunication Values: Arts reached the illiterate for whom the written word was meaningless; for example: friezes, stained glass windows, mosaics etc.
An Example: Medieval cathedrals integrated most of the values above.
The cathedrals were the focus of the religious life of the community even as there was being built by hundreds of ordinary people and skilled craftsmen over long periods of time. The towers symbolically rose high above the town and within the walls, the sculpture and stained glass windows stirred the emotional of the faithful. Processions with banners, chants and the mass, with its music, poetry and drama, integrated the arts and values of the culture. All of this gave meaning and continuity to the otherwise impoverished lives of the common people.
