Painting and drawing Glossary

Definitions taken from the Grove Dictionary of Art and from Carr, Dawson W. and Mark Leonard. Looking at paintings : a guide to technical terms. Malibu,

Calif. : J. Paul Getty Museum in association with British Museum Press, c1992.

StipplingMaking repeated applications of paint by holding a stiff brush directly perpendicular to the

surface of the painting.

Hatching.Method of suggesting relief by shading in closely set parallel lines. It is used in linear

styles of drawing, engraving and etching, and sometimes in painting. In egg tempera, the paint was sometimes applied in hatched single strokes so that it did not blend with the

layer below.

Crosshatching consists of two layers of parallel lines, crossing at an angle

UnderdrawingA preparatory drawing directly on ground, which is subsequently covered with paint.

Infrared reflectology has made it possible to view some underdrawings though the paint layer.

Squaring

Squaring up.System of transferring a drawing or repeating the composition of an existing painting that

also allows for its enlargement or reduction. An image is divided up into a number of squares by overlaying on it a grid of regularly spaced intersected lines. It may then be repeated by copying the image within each division on to the corresponding square of

another grid pattern containing the same number of segments.

Squaring up is usually employed for altering the size of the design as it is repeated; tracing or pouncing can be more suitable methods of transferring a design in the same

size.

Cartoon.Drawing, sometimes colored, made specifically as a pattern for a painting, textile or

stained-glass panel. It is produced on the same scale as the final work and is usually fairly detailed. The transfer of the image works best if the drawing in the cartoon is of a

linear nature and if the composition has crisp, clear outlines.

Pouncing [Fr.: poncer; It.: spolvero].Transfer process in which powder or dust is rubbed through a pricked design, creating a

dotted underdrawing on the surface beneath. Though primarily known as an Italian Renaissance technique for translating designs from a Cartoon to the moist plaster in Fresco painting, pouncing had a wide application in the work of artists, craftsmen and

amateurs. The drawing to be reproduced was placed over the working surface (paper, cloth, wall or panel), and the outlines of the design were pricked with a pointed implement such as a

needle or stylus and rubbed with pounce (powder or dust of black chalk, charcoal or pumice if the support was light; of white chalk, gesso or light pumice powder if the

support was dark) contained in a pouncing bag (a small cloth pouch with its end tied). The advantages of pouncing compensated for the laboriousness of the task: precise

correspondence between drawing and final work was assured; a painter could delegate the task to an assistant; and once a drawing was pricked it could be reused to repeat designs or, by pouncing the verso, to create symmetrical patterns and complementary

figures.

Linear perspectiveSystematic perspective based on mathematical principles, called linear perspective, was developed in Italy in the early 15th century. It is based on the eye’s perception that parallel lines converge as they recede from the spectator. In early one-point perspective, all lines

except those on the picture plane converge toward a single point on the horizon line called the vanishing point. Later, artists plotted more than one vanishing point to achieve

greater verisimilitude.

One-point perspective

Atmospheric perspective, or aerial perspectiveA nonlinear means of producing a sense of depth in painting. It depends on the optical

effects of moisture and dust particles in the earth’s atmosphere, which make distant objects appear muted and blue. Thus to represent distance painters learned to use a blue

haze the subtle mutes other colors toward the horizon.

Color: HUEHue is the term for the pure spectrum colors commonly referred to

by the "color names" - red, orange, yellow, blue, green violet – which appear in the hue circle or rainbow. Theoretically all hues can be

mixed from three basic hues, known as primaries. When pigment primaries are all mixed together, the theoretical result is black; Therefore pigment mixture is sometimes referred to as

subtractive mixture.

Color ValueValue is defined as the relative lightness or darkness of a color. For example, if light falls

on a green ball the part of the ball nearest the light will be lightest in value because it reflects the most light. The part of the ball opposite the light will be the deepest in the

shadow and thus darkest in value. You can change the value of a color by adding black (shade), or white (tint), or gray (tone). As white is added to a color it becomes "higher" in

value (lighter). As black is added it becomes "lower" in value (darker).

ColorSaturation (Intensity or Purity)

The saturation of a color describes how pure the color is. A color that is very pure is clear and bright.

Adding black to the color causes it to become muddied and dark, giving it a shade. Adding white causes the color to become washed out, or tinted.

       

       

       

       

       

       

       The purer the saturation the better the contrast. The

color wheel in the middle is the purest color.

Monochromatic One color. A monochromatic color scheme uses only one hue (color)

and all values (shades or tints) of it for a unifying and harmonious effect.

TondoCircular painting or relief carving

DiptichA picture comprising two panels or leaves, usually hinged together so they can be closed

like a book. Diptichs were most often made on a small scale for devotional use. The backs of the panels were often decorated. Common subject matter might be a panel

containing the owner of the diptich praying to Christ or the Virgin Mary, who would then be depicted on the other panel.

Matheron Diptych1474

Oil on wood Musée du Louvre, Paris

TriptychA picture comprising three panels, usually hinged together. Often the central panel was twice the width of the outer panels or wings, so that they could be folded over to close

and protect the image. Like the diptych, the triptych was a popular form of portable devotional object, but it was also commonly used on a large scale for altarpieces.

335-40Tempera on panel, 59,5 x 53,4 cmStaatliches Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg

DADDI, Bernardo

GildingThe technique of affixing very thing sheets of metal called leaf to a surface. Gold lead was most common, but silver, aluminum, tin and other metals were also used. Water gilding is the most common and oldest method; the surface was prepared with bole, a mixture of red clay and a water-based binder. Once set, the bole is wetted, reactivating the binder, and the gold lead adheres to it as soon as it is set in place. When the whole

surface is covered, the leaf can be burnished and polished.

Red bole showing through the gold leaf

ToolingThe ornamentation of the gold ground of a panel after gilding. Lines can be incised using

a metal stylus or compass to create rays emanating from a halo. To form patterns in borders or backgraouns, punchmarks were made by lightly tapping metal punches with a hammer. Sometimes tooling was combined with pastiglia, or gesso modeled in relief on

the surface of the panel, to enhance the simulation of precious metal.

Incised lines, visible at the top of the image,create rays emanating from the dove, and punchmarks form the halos. The Virgin’s crown is fashioned from pastiglia.