The Baroque is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts. Derived from the Portuguese barroco, or “oddly shaped pearl,” the term “baroque” has been widely used since the 19th century to describe the style in Western European art that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1740s. The work … Read more
Still life is a depiction of inanimate objects for the sake of their qualities of form, colour, texture, and composition. Although decorative fresco murals and mosaics with still-life subjects occasionally appeared in antiquity, it was not until the Renaissance that still life emerged as an independent painting genre, rather than existing primarily as a subsidiary … Read more
Post-Impressionism was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction against Impressionists’ concern for the naturalistic depiction of light and colour. Its broad emphasis on abstract qualities or symbolic content means Post-Impressionism encompasses Les Nabis, Neo-Impressionism, … Read more
Sunflowers is the title of two series of still life paintings by Vincent van Gogh. They are among his most famous paintings. The Sunflower paintings were meant to symbolize happiness. The yellow flowers were a metaphor for loyalty and devotion in Dutch literature. Moreover, Van Gogh considered them symbols of gratitude. The first series, executed … Read more
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the “matrix” or “support”). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. The elements of this language—its shapes, lines, colours, tones, and textures—are … Read more
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. Firstly, Figurative Art refers to artworks which retain aspects of the real world. Directly and explicitly representational, it can refer to works which are based on objects, subjects, figures … Read more
Acrylic paint is a paint executed in the medium of synthetic acrylic resins. Acrylics dry rapidly, serve as a vehicle for any kind of pigment, and are capable of giving both the transparent brilliance of watercolour and the density of oil paint. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how … Read more
Surrealism, movement in visual art and literature, flourishing in Europe between World Wars I and II. Surrealists, inspired by Sigmund Freud’s theories of dreams and the unconscious—believed insanity was the breaking of the chains of logic, and they represented this idea in their art by creating imagery that was impossible in reality, juxtaposing unlikely forms … Read more
Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags, electronic device cases, and shoes. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, … Read more