Art Collector's Glossary

This guide may be useful to better understand terminology that has been used to describe Fine Art for generations.

 

Acid-Free Paper and Canvas

Acrylic Paint

After

Alla Prima

Artist's Proof or (French."epruve d' artist") ("E. A.", or "AP")

Aquatint

Arabesque

Attribution

Beidermeier

Bitumen

Blind

Block Book

Bottega

Calligraphy

Cameo

Camera Obscura

Cancellation Proof

Canvas Transfer

Cartoon

Chiaroscuro

Cinquecento

Collage

Collagraph

Color- Variant Suite

Delineavit (Latin. "Del")

Drypoint

Escudit

Etching

Engraving

Fresco

Genre

Giclee (Iris print)

Gouache

Grotesque

Ground

History Painting

Hor D' Commerce Proof ("H. C.")

Image Transfers

Impasto

Impression

Impressit

Intaglio

Invent (Latin Invenit)

Limited Edition

Lithography

Lithography (Off- Set)

Local Color

Maesta

Mandorla

Mezzotint

Monoprint

Monotype

Montage

Multiple Original

Multiple Reproduction

Open Edition

Original Print

Painterly

Pastel

Picture Plane

Pinx (Latin, Pinxit)

Planographic

Polyptych

Priming

Printer's Proof ("PP")

Putto

Relief

Remarque

Representational

Restrike

Scumbling

Second State ("2nd st")

Serigraphy

Sfumato

Sketch

Silk Screening

Still-Life

Tempera

Trial Proof ("TP")

Watercolor

Wood Cut