Dada – A movement in art and literature, founded in Switzerland in the early twentieth century, which ridiculed contemporary culture and conventional art. The Dadaists shared an antimilitaristic and ant aesthetic attitude, generated partly by the horrors of World War I and in part by a rejection of accepted canons of morality and taste. Many Dadaists later explored Surrealism.
Diptych (dip’tik) – A painting done in two separate panels. Each part is a complete work in itself, but when presented together they form a larger fully integrated work.
Digital Print – A reproduction in which a digital file of an original painting is printed by a special inkjet printer that sprays ink directly onto the surface of a substrate, sometimes called Giclees or iris prints.
Dry Point – A free-hand drawing scratched or engraved on a metal plate with a sharp tool. The plate is inked and then wiped to remove all ink except what remains within the cut grooves. Paper is laid over the plate and the ink transferred to it using rollers under high pressure. Dry points are sometimes incorrectly referred to as ‘etchings’.
Edition – The number of printed copies made of an original work. The standard phrase “edition size” refers to the number of copies.
Encaustic – A painting medium in which pigment is suspended in a binder of hot wax.
Engraving – An intaglio printmaking process in which grooves are cut into a metal or wood surface with a sharp cutting tool called a burin or graver.
Etching – The technique of reproducing a design in which the ink-receptive indentations are not produced mechanically but chemically. This is done by coating a metal plate (zinc or copper) with an acid resistant layer (wax, mastic or asphalt) and is blackened with a fumigating candle. Then the artist draws or scores the etch resisting layer with a sharp instrument known as a stylus through the wax down to the metal. The plate is put in an acid bath, which eats away the incised lines; it is then heated to dissolve the wax and finally inked, the ink getting into the etching indentations. Afterward the plate is cleaned so that the ink remains only inside the indentations. The artist then presses a damp print sheet onto the plate. This process may be repeated several times. The resulting print is called the etching.
Fauvism – A style of painting introduced in Paris in the early twentieth century, characterized by areas of bright, contrasting color and simplified shapes.
Foreshortening – The diminishing of certain dimensions of an object or figure in order to depict it in a correct spatial relationship. In realistic depiction, foreshortening is necessary because although lines and planes that are perpendicular to the observer’s line of vision (central visual ray) and the extremities of which are equidistant from the eye, will be seen at their full size, when they are revolved away from the observer they will seem increasingly shorter. The term foreshortening is applied to the depiction of a single object, figure or part of an object or figure, whereas the term perspective refers to the depiction of the entire scene.
Gesso – A mixture of glue and either chalk or plaster of Paris applied as a ground or coating to surfaces in order to give them the correct properties to receive paint. Gesso can also be built up or molded into relief designs, or carved.
Giclée (gee-clay) - The French word "giclée" is a feminine noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt". Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. Giclee prints are created typically using professional 8-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers. These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets.
Glazing – Glass or acrylic set or made to be set in a frame that protects the art from environmental hazards. There are different levels of glazing, from lightweight acrylic and regular glass to more specialized products such as anti-glare glazing.
Gouache (gwahsh, goo-ahsh) – The technique of applying opaque watercolor to paper prepared with gum; also a work of art produced in such a way.
Ground – The surface on which a painting is done i.e. canvas, Masonite, etc.
