After studying the definitions above, use these new words in the sentences below.

Part 1

Art vocabulary in use

I. Words for Discussing Art and archtecture

A. Words for Discussing Art

Unit 1

Perspective

Let's put things in perspective — a point of view that shows the relationship between one thing and another. The word is used for objects and scenes depicted so that they appear to the eye to have the appropriate relationship and proportion to everything else in the painting. If a barn is depicted in the painting, the cows and sheep grazing near it will be proportionally smaller than the barn. As they paint, artists imagine converging lines invisible to the viewer of the painting.

words in context: -In the fifteenth century, Filippo Brunelleschi led a group of artists to creating perspectivethrough manipulating vanishing points in a painting; thus, art for the first time became three-dimensional.

Chiaroscuro

The use of light and shade in a painting and the skill displayed by the painter in the management of shadows.

words in context:Rembrandt was a master of chiaroscuroin his paintings, which show figures in sunlight and shadow.

Etching

The art of engraving with acid on metal. The print taken from the metal plate is also called an etching.A needle is used to scratch a design on the metal plate; this design is filled with ink. The plate and paper are then put into a press, which transfers the pattern to the paper. There are many variants of this process, but it appears to have been developed in Germany about 1515.

words in context:The artist Albrecht Dürer made etchingson iron between 1515 and 1518, probably the earliest examples of this art. Other artists who used the process include Rembrandt, Goya, and Whistler.

Mezzotint

A method of engraving that leaves the impression of light and shadow or chiaroscuroon the final print after the artist scratches the surface of a copper or steel plate with a saw-toothed tool. The soft effect in the print can show every degree of light and shade from black to white without leaving a sharp line as in an etching.

words in context: Mezzotint, an engraving showing light and shadow, was invented by a Dutchman, Ludwig von Siegen, in 1640, but the process came into wide use in England in the early eighteenth century.

After studying the definitions above, use these new words in the sentences below.

1. The most popular work of Albrecht Dürer was a(n) of a pair of hands, palms held together in prayer.

2. Art lovers visit the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to see Rembrandt Van Rijn's The Night Watch, in which the artist uses ________________ to light the figures that appear to emerge out of shadows with a dramatic effect.

3. A method of engraving that gives the effect of light and shade is called .

4. Artists use a technique called to create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface.

Test Yourself: Write the letter next to the number to match word and meaning.

1. chiaroscuro a. creating appropriate relationships in art

2. perspective b. blending light and shade in paintings

3. etching c. an engraving showing light and shadow

4. mezzotint d. created by plate, paper, and press