Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| anamorphic | relating to anamorphosis. |
| anamorphosis | a distorted projection or drawing of anything, which appears normal when viewed from a particular point or by means of a suitable mirror. |
| anamorphous | relating to anamorphosis. |
| aniconic | symbolizing without aiming at resemblance. |
| aquarelle | (Fr.) a method of painting in transparent watercolour; such a painting. |
| aquarellist | an artist painting aquarelles. |
| aquatint | a print made by a method of etching having the effect of watercolour drawing; (verb) to make an aquatint. |
| aquatinta | a print made by a method of etching having the effect of watercolour drawing. |
| aquatinter | one who works with aquatints. |
| aquatintist | one who works with aquatints. |
| artmaker | one that produces art. |
| artmaking | the process of making art. |
| artwork | illustrative or decorative work in printed matter. |
| barocco | (Ital.) a bold, vigorous, exuberant artistic style. |
| barock | a bold, vigorous, exuberant artistic style. |
| baroque | (Fr.) a bold, vigorous, exuberant artistic style (adj.) in baroque style |
| baroquely | (Adv.) BAROQUE, in a bold, vigorous, exuberant artistic style. |
| battlepiece | a painting, relief, mosaic, etc., depicting a battle, usually commemorating an actual event. |
| bepaint | (Arch.) to paint over, to colour. |
| blottesque | characterized by blots or heavy touches; coarsely depicted; (noun) a daub. |
| brushwork | work done with a brush; a painter's individual manner of using the brush. |
| brutalism | a style of art, architecture, etc. characterized by a deliberate crudity of design. |
| brutalist | an exponent of brutalism, esp in art, architecture, or literature. |
| calligramme | a design using the letters of a word. |
| caricatura | (Ital.) a caricature. |
| caricatural | like a caricature. |
| caricature | to make or draw a caricature of. |
| caricaturist | one who draws caricatures. |
| cartoon | a comic or satirical drawing (verb) to draw a cartoon |
| cartoonish | like a cartoon. |
| cartoonishly | (Adv.) CARTOONISH, like a cartoon. |
| cartoonist | one who draws cartoons. |
| cartoonlike | like a cartoon. |
| cartoony | resembling a cartoon. |
| chiaroscurism | the practice of chiaroscuro. |
| chiaroscuro | (Ital.) the quality of being veiled or partly in shadow. |
| claircolle | a priming coat consisting of size or glue with whiting. |
| clearcole | a priming coat consisting of size or glue with whiting; (verb) to coat with this. |
| cloudscape | a view or pictorial representation of a cloud formation. |
| collage | (Fr.) a picture made from scraps of paper and other odds and ends pasted up; (verb) to arrange materials in a collage. |
| collagist | one who makes collages. |
| coloration | the act of coloring; the state of being colored. |
| colorist | a person who colours or paints; an artist who excels in the use of colour. |
| colourist | a person who colours or paints; an artist who excels in the use of colour. |
| colouristic | relating to a colourist. |
| colouristically | (Adv.) COLOURISTIC, relating to a colourist. |
| colourwash | a cheap form of distemper; (verb) to paint with this. |
| contorno | (Ital.) a contour, an outline of a figure. |
| contrapposto | a pose of the human body with hips, shoulders and head in different planes. |
| counterdraw | to trace on oiled paper or other transparent material. |
| craquelure | (Fr.) fine cracking that appears in old paintings. |
| crayon | a pencil made of chalk, wax or pipeclay, variously coloured, used for drawing; (verb) to use a drawing implement. |
| crayonist | one who draws in crayon. |
| croquis | (Fr.) an outline or rough sketch. |
| cubism | an artistic movement. |
| cubist | relating to cubism, a modern movement in painting; (noun) a practitioner of cubism. |
| cubistic | of or like cubism, a modern movement in painting. |
| cubistically | (Adv.) CUBISTIC, of or like cubism. |
| dada | an artistic movement. |
| dadaism | an artistic movement. |
| dadaist | an adherent of dadaism, an artistic movement. |
| dadaistic | relating to the art movement Dadaism. |
| decal | a specially prepared paper bearing a picture or design for transfer to wood, metal, glass, etc; (verb) to transfer by this means. |
| decalcomania | the art of transferring a design from paper to another surface. |
| delineavit | (Lat.) he or she drew this, added to an artist's signature. |
| depaint | (Spenser) to paint. |
| depeinct | (Spenser) to paint. |
| depict | to portray. |
| depicter | one who depicts. |
| depictive | relating to depiction. |
| depictor | one who depicts. |
| depicture | (Arch.) to depict. |
| destemper | (Obs.) to distemper, in the paint sense. |
| diagraph | an instrument for enlarging or projecting drawings. |
| diagraphic | pertaining to a diagraph, an instrument for enlarging or projecting drawings. |
| diorama | (Greek) an exhibition of translucent pictures seen through an opening with lighting effects. |
| dioramic | pertaining to a diorama, an exhibition of translucent pictures seen through an opening with lighting effects. |
| diptyca | a pair of pictures on hinged panels. |
| diptych | a pair of pictures on hinged panels. |
| distemper | a kind of paint; (verb) to paint or colour with distemper. |
| divisionism | pointillism. |
| divisionist | a practitioner of divisionism. |
| doodle | a scribble; (verb) to draw or scribble aimlessly. |
| duotone | a drawing etc. done in two tones or colours. |
| ebauche | (Fr.) a rough draught or sketch. |
| eglomise | (Fr.) made of glass with a picture painted on the back; (noun) the technique of gilding the back of a sheet of glass. |
| encaustic | having the colours burned in (noun) an ancient method of painting in melted wax; a piece of pottery or other article decorated in this way |
| encaustically | (Adv.) ENCAUSTIC. |
| engraver | one that engraves. |
| engravery | (Obs.) the trade or work of an engraver. |
| facture | the quality of the execution of a painting; an artist's characteristic handling of the paint. |
| fauve | (Fr.) an exponent of the art movement fauvism. |
| fauvism | (Fr.) a school of art noted for bold, often distorted forms and vivid colors. |
| fauvist | one who paints in the style of fauvism. |
| fresco | (Ital.) painting on fresh, moist plaster with earth colors dissolved in water; (verb) to paint on fresh moist plaster. |
| frescoer | one who paints frescos. |
| frescoist | one who paints frescos. |
| fumetto | (Ital.) a cartoon or comic strip. |
| fusain | (Fr.) fine charcoal used in drawing. |
| futurism | an artistic movement. |
| futurist | a proponent of futurism. |
| futuristic | of or relating to futurism, an artistic movement. |
| futuristically | (Adv.) FUTURISTIC, of or relating to futurism, an artistic movement. |
| gesso | (Ital.) plaster of Paris used in painting. |
| gessoed | coated with gesso. |
| glair | egg-white used as medium for binding paint (verb) to coat with egg-white |
| gouache | (Fr.) painting with gum-based opaque water colors. |
| gradate | to grade or arrange. |
| graffiti | to inscribe with graffiti. |
| graffito | (Ital.) a mural scribbling or drawing. |
| graphic | of or pertaining to the arts of painting and drawing. |
| graphical | of or pertaining to the arts of painting and drawing. |
| graphically | (Adv.) GRAPHICAL, of or pertaining to the arts of painting and drawing. |
| graphicly | (Adv.) GRAPHIC, of or pertaining to the arts of painting and drawing. |
| grisaille | (Fr.) a painting in tones of a single color, esp gray, to represent objects in relief. |
| guilloche | (Fr.) to decorate with intersecting curved lines. |
| hardedge | in art, the use of bright areas of colour with sharp defined edges. |
| helicograph | an instrument for drawing spirals on a plane. |
| ichnographic | relating to the ichnography, the making of ground plans. |
| ichnography | the art of drawing ground plans. |
| imagism | an early 20C school of poetry aiming at concentration, clear and simple language, and freedom of form and subject. |
| imagistic | relating to imagism, the artistic doctrine of the use of precise images with unrestricted subject matter. |
| imagistically | (Adv.) IMAGISTIC, relating to imagism. |
| impaint | (Shakesp.) to paint or depict. |
| impastation | the act of impasting. |
| impaste | to lay paint or colours thickly on. |
| impasto | (Ital.) the application of pigment thickly, in painting. |
| impastoed | with impasto applied. |
| impictured | (Spenser) painted. |
| impressionism | a 19th century movement in painting. |
| intimism | a genre of French impressionist painting of the early 20th century. |
| intimist | a painter of the school of intimism, a genre of French impressionist painting of the early 20th century. |
| intimiste | (Fr.) a painter of the school of intimism, a genre of French impressionist painting of the early 20th century. |
| intonaco | (Ital.) in fresco painting, the finishing coat of lime plaster on which the paint is applied. |
| kinetoscope | an instrument for producing curves by the combination of circular movements. |
| kowhaiwhai | (Maori) a type of pattern in Maori decorative art. |
| landscapist | an artist who does landscapes. |
| letterform | the shape of a letter of the alphabet from the point of view of design. |
| limn | (Arch.) to portray, paint or delineate. |
| limner | a painter of portraits. |
| lithochromatic | relating to lithochromatics. |
| lithochromatics | the art or process of painting in oil on stone and taking impressions from the result. |
| lithochromy | painting upon stone. |
| luminarism | painting that shows great mastery of light and shade. |
| luminarist | a painter who shows great mastery of light and shade. |
| luminism | realist landscape painting. |
| luminist | an artist who uses the effects of light; an impressionist. |
| magilp | a medium used in oil-painting, consisting of linseed-oil and mastic varnish. |
| mahlstick | (Dutch) a stick used by painters to steady the hand. |
| malstick | (Dutch) a stick used by painters to steady the hand. |
| mandala | (Sanskrit) an Oriental design symbolic of the universe. |
| mandalic | of or like a mandala, an Oriental design symbolic of the universe. |
| mandorla | (Ital.) any almond-shaped object or ornament, esp (in painting, sculpture) area of light surrounding the risen Christ. |
| maulstick | (Dutch) a stick used by painters to steady the hand. |
| megilp | a medium used in oil-painting, consisting of linseed-oil and mastic varnish. |
| megilph | a medium used in oil-painting, consisting of linseed-oil and mastic varnish. |
| mezzotint | a method of copper engraving with even gradation of tones; (verb) to engrave in this fashion. |
| mezzotinter | one who works in mezzotint. |
| mezzotinto | (Ital.) a mezzotint. |
| miniate | to decorate with rubrics; to illuminate a manuscript. |
| miniation | the act of painting with minium. |
| miniaturist | one who paints miniatures. |
| mispaint | to paint ill, or wrongly. |
| monochrome | of one colour only; (noun) a painting or drawing in a single color. |
| monochromy | the art of painting or drawing in monochrome. |
| monotint | a drawing or painting in a single tint. |
| morbidezza | (Ital.) an extreme delicacy and softness eg in painting or music. |
| mural | a large painting or picture on a wall. |
| muraled | decorated with murals. |
| muralist | a person who paints and designs murals. |
| muralled | decorated with murals. |
| myriorama | a picture consisting of many interchangeable parts. |
| nabis | (Fr.) a group of late 19th-cent. French post-impressionists following the artistic theories of the French painter Paul Gauguin. |
| neoplasticism | a style of abstract painting in which geometrical patterns are formed of patches of flat colour enclosed by intersecting vertical and horizontal lines. |
| neoplasticist | an exponent of neoplasticism. |
| nightpiece | a work of art describing a night scene. |
| nihonga | (Japanese) a Japanese style of painting, using bright colours and traditional images. |
| nonart | something that is not art. |
| oeuvre | (Fr.) the sum of an artist's life work. |
| oleo | (Short for) oleograph, a lithographic reproduction of an oil painting. |
| oleograph | a lithographic reproduction of an oil painting. |
| oleographic | like an oleograph. |
| oleography | the art of lithographic reproduction of oil painting. |
| oligochrome | a work of art using few colours. |
| orant | a representation of a praying figure in early art. |
| orphism | a style of abstract art. |
| outpaint | to surpass in painting. |
| overgrain | in painting, to grain over a surface already grained. |
| overgrainer | a brush for overgraining. |
| paillette | (Fr.) a piece of foil used in enamel painting; a spangle. |
| paintable | able to be painted. |
| paintbrush | a brush for applying paint. |
| painterliness | the state of being painterly. |
| paintiness | the state of being painty. |
| painture | the art of painting. |
| painty | overloaded with paint, with the colours too glaringly used. |
| palette | (Fr.) a little board, usually with a thumbhole, on which a painter mixes colours. |
| pastel | a chalklike crayon made from powdered pigments bound together with gum. |
| pastelist | an artist who works in pastel. |
| pastellist | an artist who works in pastel. |
| paysage | (Fr.) a rural scene or landscape, or representation of this. |
| paysagist | a painter of landscapes. |
| peinct | (Obs.) to paint. |
| pencil | a writing or drawing instrument that leaves a streak of graphite, chalk, slate, or other solid matter; (verb) to draw with a pencil. |
| pentimento | (Ital.) a painting or drawing that has been painted over and shows through it. |
| petrogram | a picture on stone. |
| photorealism | an esp detailed, precise painting style, giving an effect of (often exaggerated) realism. |
| photorealist | an exponent of photorealism. |
| photorealistic | relating to photorealism. |
| pictural | relating to pictures; (noun, Spenser) a picture. |
| pieta | (Ital.) a representation of the dead Christ held and mourned by the Virgin Mary. |
| pigment | any substance used for colouring; that which gives colour to animal and vegetable tissues; (verb) to colour by pigment. |
| pinacotheca | a picture-gallery. |
| pinakothek | (Ger.) a picture gallery. |
| pinxit | (Lat.) a word appended to the artist's name or initials on a painting, or engraved copy of a painting: 'he painted (this)'. |
| planigraph | an instrument for copying drawings at a different scale. |
| planometric | denoting a type of pictorial drawing. |
| planometrically | (Adv.) PLANOMETRIC, denoting a type of pictorial drawing. |
| pleinairism | painting in the open air. |
| pleinairist | one who practises pleinairism, painting in the open air. |
| pochoir | (Fr.) a manual colour stencilling onto a printed illustration. |
| pointillism | a painting technique using separate dots of pure colour rather than blends. |
| pointillisme | a painting technique using separate dots of pure colour rather than blends. |
| pointillist | one who practises pointillism. |
| pointilliste | one who practises pointillisme. |
| polychromy | the art or practice of combining different colors, esp brilliant ones, in an artistic way. |
| polyptych | a decorated altarpiece or panel with 3 or more hinged sections that can be folded together. |
| portrait | a painting, photograph or other likeness of a real person; (verb) to make a portrait of. |
| portraitist | a maker of portraits. |
| portraiture | the making of portraits. |
| portray | to paint or draw the likeness of; as, to portray a king on horseback. |
| pourtraict | (Obs.) a portrait. |
| putois | (Fr.) a brush for painting pottery. |
| putto | (Ital.) an artistic representation of a cherub. |
| repoussoir | (Fr.) a figure or object in the foreground of a painted etc. composition intended to draw the viewer's eye in. |
| retro | recreating the past, esp for artistic effect; (noun) a style recreating the past. |
| rhyparography | genre or still-life pictures of sordid subjects. |
| riverscape | a view of a river. |
| rosemaling | (Norwegian) the art of painting (wooden objects) with flower motifs; flower motifs, esp painted on wood. |
| sandpainting | a painting made with sand. |
| scenographic | related to scenography, the representation of an object in perspective. |
| scenographical | related to scenography, the representation of an object in perspective. |
| scenography | the representation of an object in perspective. |
| scraperboard | a clay-surface board on which drawings can be made by scraping tints off as well as applying them. |
| scratchboard | a scraperboard. |
| scumble | to make (a color or a painting) less brilliant by covering with a thin coat of opaque or semiopaque color; (broadly) to soften or subdue. |
| seapiece | a picture representing a scene at sea; a marine picture. |
| seascape | a picture representing a scene at sea. |
| secco | (Ital.) painting on dry plaster. |
| sfumato | (Ital.) a painting having vague outlines, and colors and shades so mingled as to give a misty appearance. |
| silex | (Lat.) finely ground tripoli used as a paint filler. |
| silverpoint | the process or product of drawing with a silver-tipped pencil. |
| sinopia | (Lat.) a reddish-brown pigment used for one of the preparatory drawings of a fresco, obtained from sinopite, an iron ore. |
| sinopis | (Lat.) a reddish-brown pigment used for one of the preparatory drawings of a fresco, obtained from sinopite, an iron ore. |
| sketch | a rough drawing (verb) to make a rough, hasty drawing of |
| sketchpad | a pad of paper for sketching. |
| smoosh | to paint to give a softened look. |
| spatterwork | reproduction of designs by covering the surface with the pattern and spattering colour on the parts exposed. |
| stencil | a plate perforated with a design, lettering, etc from which copies are made by applying paint, etc through it; (verb) to mark or paint with an inscription or design by means of a stencil. |
| stenciling | the process of making a stencil. |
| stereochrome | a mural painting fixed with waterglass; (verb) to paint a mural fixed with waterglass. |
| stereochromy | colourful wall painting. |
| stereography | the representation of solid bodies on a plane surface. |
| suprematism | an early 20th century art movement in Russia producing abstract works featuring flat geometric forms. |
| suprematist | a practitioner in suprematism. |
| synthetism | the symbolism of Gauguin and the Nabis, who reacted against the impressionists and realists by seeking to produce brightly coloured abstractions of their inner experience. |
| tableau | (Fr.) a picture or vivid pictorial impression. |
| tachism | (Fr.) painting by smearing or splattering. |
| tachisme | (Fr.) painting by smearing or splattering. |
| tachist | (Fr.) one who paints by smearing and splattering. |
| tachiste | (Fr.) one who paints by smearing and splattering. |
| tactilist | a painter who aims at tactile effects. |
| tempera | (Ital.) an emulsion, esp made with egg yolk, used as a medium for powdering pigments. |
| tenebrism | a style of painting, associated with the Italian painter Caravaggio, in which most of the figures are engulfed in shadow but some are dramatically illuminated by concentrated light. |
| tenebrist | a painter in the style of tenebrism. |
| theriomorph | an animal form in art. |
| toleware | articles made of tole, painted lacquer. |
| tondino | (Ital.) a small tondo, a circular painting or relief carving. |
| tondo | (Ital.) a circular painting or relief carving. |
| topcoat | a final coat eg of paint. |
| tortillon | a short sharply-pointed stick of cork or rolled leather, used in drawing and shading. |
| triptyca | a painting in three parts, esp altar piece with one central and two hinged side panels. |
| triptych | a painting in three parts, esp an altar piece with one central and two hinged side panels. |
| underglaze | in pottery, a glaze put on before the main glaze. |
| unpaint | to remove the paint from. |
| vanitas | (Lat.) a 17th century Dutch still life painting featuring a memento mori etc. |
| vectograph | a picture giving a special effect when viewed through three-dimensional spectacles. |
| vedutista | (Ital.) a painter of vedute, panoramic views of towns > VEDUTISTI or VEDUTISTE or VEDUTISTAS. |
| velatura | (Ital.) a method of glazing a painting by rubbing with the hand. |
| vernissage | (Fr.) a private showing or preview of an art collection. |
| vignette | (Fr.) a small, ornamental illustration without frame or with background shaded off; a slight portrait or character sketch; (verb) to make a vignette of. |
| vignetter | one who makes vignettes. |
| vignettist | one who paints vignettes. |
| vorticism | a British movement in the arts, deriving from futurism. |
| vorticist | a painter who expresses complexity of machinery through art. |
| watercolor | a pigment diluted with water and gum (or other substance) instead of oil; a painting done in this. |
| watercolorist | an artist who paints in watercolour. |
| watercolour | a pigment diluted with water and gum (or other substance) instead of oil; a painting done in this. |
| watercolourist | an artist who works with watercolour. |
| waterscape | a sea view. |
| zoographic | relating to zoography, the painting or description of animals. |
| zoographical | relating to zoography, the painting or description of animals. |
| zoography | the painting or description of animals. |