Processes, techniques, editions, and movements organized for quick scanning and deeper reading.
The process of incising a design beneath the surface of a metal or stone. Plates are inked only in the etched depressions on the plates, and then the plate surface is wiped clean. The ink is then transferred onto the paper through an etching press. The reverse of this process is known as relief printing.
The process to print impressions from a smooth surface rather than creating incised or relief areas on the plate. The term was devised to describe lithography.
All printing processes in which the non-printing areas of the block or plate are carved, engraved, or etched away. Inks are applied onto the projected surface and transferred onto the paper. The reverse process is known as intaglio printing.
A printing technique capable of producing unlimited tonal gradations to re-create the broad flat tints of ink wash or watercolor drawings. This is achieved by etching microscopic cracks and pits into the image on a master plate, typically made of copper or zinc. Spanish artist Goya used this technique.
Printing using an uninked plate to produce the subtle embossed texture of a white-on-white image, highlighted by the shadow of the relief image on the uninked paper. This technique is used in many Japanese prints.
A printing technique in which proofs are pulled from a block on which the artwork or design is built up like a collage, creating relief.
Printing technique of intaglio engraving in which a hard, steel needle incises lines on a metal plate, creating a burr that yields a characteristically soft and velvety line in the final print.
A printing technique in which an intaglio image is produced by cutting a metal plate or box directly with a sharp engraving tool. The incised lines are inked and printed with heavy pressure.
A printing technique in which a metal plate is first covered with an acid-resistant material, then worked with an etching needle to create an intaglio image. The exposed metal is eaten away in an acid bath, creating depressed lines that are later inked for printing.
A computerized reproduction technique in which the image and topography are generated from a digital file and printed by a special ink jet printer, using ink, acrylic, or oil paints. Giclée printing offers one of the highest degrees of accuracy and richness of color available in any reproduction technique.
Printing technique using a planographic process in which prints are pulled on a special press from a flat stone or metal surface that has been chemically sensitized so that ink sticks only to the design areas and is repelled by the non-image areas. Lithography was invented in 1798 by Alois Senefelder in Germany.
A reverse engraving process used on a copper or steel plate to produce illustrations in relief with effects of light and shadow. The surface of a master plate is roughened with a tool called a rocker so that if inked, it will print solid black. The areas to be white or gray in the print are rubbed down so as not to take ink. It was widely used in the 18th and 19th centuries to reproduce portraits and other paintings, but became obsolete with the introduction of photo-engraving.
One-of-a-kind print made by painting on a sheet of metal or glass and transferring the still-wet painting onto a sheet of paper by hand or with an etching press. If enough paint remains on the master plate, additional prints can be made; however, the reprint will have substantial variations from the original image. Monotype printing is not a multiple-replica process since each print is unique.
A special photo-mechanical technique in which the image to be printed is transferred to the negative plates and printed onto paper. Offset lithography is very well adapted to color printing.
A printing technique that makes use of a squeegee to force ink directly onto a piece of paper or canvas through a stencil, creating an image on a screen of silk or other fine fabric with an impermeable substance. Serigraphy differs from most other printing in that its color areas are paint films rather than printing ink stains.
A printing technique in which the printing surface has been carved from a block of wood. The traditional wood block is seasoned hardwood such as apple, beech, or sycamore. Woodcut is one of the oldest forms of printing, dating back to the 12th century.
Paper or canvas treated to neutralize its natural acidity to protect fine art and photographic prints from discoloration and deterioration.
Art reproduction on canvas, which is created by a process such as serigraphy, photomechanical, or giclée printing. Some processes can even recreate the texture, brush strokes, and aged appearance of the original work.
A set of identical prints in different color schemes.
Fine art made by any printing or stamping process.
A limited number of identical prints numbered in succession and signed and supervised by the artist. Any additional prints have been destroyed.
One-of-a-kind print conceived and printed by the artist and/or under the artist's supervision.
An artwork comprising portions of various existing images, such as from photographs or prints, and arranged so that they join, overlap or blend to create a new image.
A set of identical fine prints in which the artist personally conceived the image, created the master plates, and executed or supervised the entire printing process. Example: etching.
A set of identical fine prints reproducing the image of an original artwork created by a non-printing process. Example: serigraph of an oil on canvas.
A series of prints or objects in an art edition that has an unlimited number of copies.
Record of ownership for a work of art, ideally from the time it left the artist's studio to its present location, thus creating an unbroken ownership history.
Additional enhancements by the artist on some or all of the final prints within an edition.
Additional prints made from a master plate, block, lithograph stone, etc., after the original edition has been exhausted.
Proofs are prints authorized by the artist in addition to the limited signed and numbered edition. The total size of an art edition consists of the signed and numbered prints plus all outstanding proofs. If a set of proofs consists of more than one print, numbers are inscribed to indicate the number of the prints within the total number of the particular type of proof, e.g., AP 5/20 means the fifth print in a set of twenty identical prints authorized as artist proofs. Proofs are generally signed by the artist as validation of the prints.
Print intended for the artist's personal use. It is common practice to reserve approximately ten percent of an edition as artist's proofs, although this figure can be higher. The artist's proof is sometimes referred to by its French épreuve d'artiste (abbreviation E.A.). Artist's proofs can be distinguished by the abbreviation AP or E.A., commonly on the lower left of the work.
Final print made once an edition series has been finished to show that the plate has been marred/mutilated by the artist, and will never be used again to make more prints of the edition.
Hors De Commerce prints, or HCs as they are called in the industry, are very similar to Artist Proofs except they are only available through the artist directly. Usually, there are only 25 made per edition. The artist gives these away as gifts or sells them. They are valued as Artist Proofs, or higher, since they are even more rare. The term "Hors De Commerce" means "Out of Trade" in English.
Print retained by the printer as a reference. Artists often sign these prints as a gesture of appreciation.
Pre-cursor to a limited edition series, these initial prints are pulled so that the artist may examine, refine, and perfect the prints to the desired final state. Trial proofs are generally not signed.
A 20th-century style of painting in which nonrepresentational lines, colors, shapes, and forms replace accurate visual depiction of objects, landscape, and figures. The subjects are then stylized, blurred, repetitive, or broken down into basic forms so that they become unrecognizable. Intangible subjects such as thoughts, emotions, and time are often expressed in abstract art form.
1940s New York painting movement based on Abstract Art. This type of painting is often referred to as action painting.
A fast-drying paint which is easy to remove with mineral spirits; a plastic substance commonly used as a binder for paints.
Any painting style calling for vigorous physical activity; specifically, Abstract Expressionism. Examples include the New York School art movement and the work of Jackson Pollock.
A painting, printmaking, decorative design, and architectural style developed in England in the 1880s. Art Nouveau, primarily an ornamental style, was not only a protest against the sterile Realism, but against the whole drift toward industrialization and mechanization, and the unnatural artifacts they produced. The style is characterized by the usage of sinuous, graceful, cursive lines, interlaced patterns, flowers, plants, insects, and other motifs inspired by nature.
A design school founded by Walter Gropius in 1919 in Germany. The Bauhaus attempted to achieve reconciliation between the aesthetics of design and the more commercial demands of industrial mass production.
In drawing, painting, and the graphic arts, chiaroscuro concerns the rendering of forms through a balanced contrast between light and dark areas. Introduced during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt excelled at this technique.
In Greek art, the style of the 5th century B.C. Loosely, the term “classical” is often applied to all the art of ancient Greece and Rome as well as to any art based on logical, rational principles and deliberate composition.
An art style developed in 1908 by Picasso and Braque, whereby the artist breaks down the natural forms of the subjects into geometric shapes and creates a new kind of pictorial space. In contrast to traditional painting style, where the perspective of subjects is fixed and complete, cubist work can portray the subject from multiple perspectives.
An art style founded in Zurich after WWI, which challenged established canons of art and society by creating “non-art.”
An early 20th-century movement prioritizing emotional expression over realism; often abstract, with distorted color and form.
Early 20th-century French style with bold, arbitrary colors. Henri Matisse is the best-known practitioner. “Fauve” means “wild beast.”
Art created primarily as an aesthetic expression to be enjoyed for its own sake.
Italian movement (1909–) focusing on speed and movement of modern technological life.
Opaque watercolor used for illustrations.
Contemporary style with precise, geometric edges and flat color areas.
Unity of visual elements via repetition of characteristics.
Modeling tone with closely spaced parallel lines in drawing or painting.
The “story” in a work—people, places, events, and symbols within cultural conventions.
Thick, textured application of paint on a surface.
Late 19th-century French movement centered on light effects, using short brush strokes and bright colors.
Late 16th–early 17th-century European style; dramatic space/light and elongated figures.
A small preliminary model in sculpture (Italian: bozzetto).
Art from ca. 500–14th century, preceding the Renaissance.
Material used to create art; also a binder for paint (e.g., oil).
Mid-20th-century style using minimal lines, shapes, and often restricted color.
Art that employs more than one medium in a single work.
Having one hue (with value/intensity variations).
A unique print made from a painted glass/metal surface transferred to paper.
Picture composed from existing images; a collage.
Images made from small pieces of tile, glass, or stone embedded in a background.
Large-scale wall decoration (painting, fresco, mosaic, etc.).
Institution dedicated to acquiring, conserving, studying, and exhibiting valuable objects.
Painting where a storyline is a dominant feature.
Closely resembling forms in the natural world (representational).
Space around depicted objects.
19th-century style referencing Greek/Roman classics; sharp outlines, cool colors, deliberate composition.
Post-WWII (and 1980s USA) works with intense emotions, symbolism, and turbulent compositions.
Black, white, gray; or tannish color from mixing complements.
1960s style using optical principles and illusions; vibrating color/line interactions.
Spatial depth by placing one object before another (rear object is partly obscured).
Forms defined by color areas, visible brushwork.
Blend of Pop Art and energy painting, pioneered by David Willardson.
Rendering 3D on a flat surface; includes linear and atmospheric perspective.
Mid-20th-century style with naturalism resembling photographs.
Illusory depth in two-dimensional works.
Imaginary flat surface identical to the painting’s surface; foreground association.
French Impressionism branch using tiny dots; Seurat and Signac as key figures.
Having many colors (vs. monochromatic).
Style inspired by mass culture and commercial imagery; 1950s NYC origins.
ca. 1885–1900 artists rejecting Impressionism’s lack of form, stressing structure and subject significance.
Art predating recorded history (Stone Ages).
Art created in the Americas by native peoples before European contact.
Hues not created by mixing others; in pigment: red, yellow, blue.
Image from a master block/stone/plate/screen; editions often signed and numbered.
Works outside Western traditions or with naïve style (little formal training).
Highly representational art; mid-19th-century movement valuing everyday subjects.
14th–16th-century European revival of Classical arts; linked to Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael.
Art closely resembling natural forms (naturalistic).
18th-century ornate, playful style with curvilinear forms and pastels.
9th–12th-century European style emphasizing round arches and barrel vaults.
19th-century movement opposing Neoclassicism; intense colors, emotions, complex compositions.
Fashionable gathering of artists, writers, and intellectuals in a private home.
Size relative to a normal or constant size; compare with proportion.
Three-dimensional form modeled, carved, or assembled.
Hues from mixing two primaries; in pigment: orange, green, violet.
Thin glazes for hazy atmosphere; often for distant objects (Italian for “smoke”).
Complementary colors appear brighter when side by side.
Arrangement of objects—fruit, flowers, tableware—for visual contrasts.
Closely spaced dots/marks to suggest three-dimensionality, esp. in drawing/printmaking.
Detailed drawing/painting of parts of a final composition.
Characteristic sets recurring in an artist’s/group’s/culture’s work.
Early 20th-century style emphasizing dream imagery and spontaneous methods (e.g., Magritte, Dalí).
An image/sign representing something else by convention or resemblance.
Late 19th-century style incorporating spiritual/mystical symbols; decorative, flat surfaces.
Three-part work (often an altarpiece) with folding panels.
“Deception of the eye” — hyperrealistic two-dimensional rendering mimicking 3D.
Monochrome base layer in traditional oil painting (also called “lying in”).
Relative lightness/darkness of a hue or neutral from white to black.
In linear perspective, the point on the horizon where parallel lines appear to converge.
The entire liquid contents of a paint.
Broad, thin layer of diluted pigment/ink/glaze; also a drawing made with this technique.
Painting medium using gum arabic as binder; water for thinning/mixing.
Find quick clarifications on art terms and edition markings in our FAQ.
ⓘ Sources: Tate Art Terms • tate.org.uk | MoMA Glossary • moma.org | Oxford Art Online • oxfordartonline.com
