Glossary
Baroque
An artistic, architectural and musical style pioneered in Europe around the mid-1500s and characterized by heavy and gaudy ornamentation, and curved lines rather than straight ones.
Bas Relief
A sculpture with little depth where forms project only slightly from the background. These usually appear flat and are also known as low relief sculptures.
Bauhaus
An artistic and architectural school founded in Germany in 1919 by Walter Gropius. Bauhaus artists like Klee and Kandinsky attempted to reconcile fine art and design with the mass production culture of industrial Europe.
Bedding Plane
The surface on which a sculpture is installed. Almost always refers to an outdoor installation where the bedding plane is a natural surface like the top layer of soil.
Biennale
Italian for 'every other year'. Used most often to describe major art exhibitions that take place every two years like the Venice Biennale. The English word biennial is often substituted.
Binder
The organic or synthetic substance in paint that adheres particles of pigment to each other and to the support, including linseed oil, acrylic, egg etc.
Biodegradation
The process by which living organisms break down organic or biodegradable substances including paper, clay, etc.
Bird's Eye View
A downward perspective in a painting, giving the viewer a feeling of elevation in relation to the art work. Also known as aerial view.
Bitmap
A way in which digital images are stored by mapping their pixels in the smallest unit of memory, a bit.
Blind Stamp
A blind stamp or chop mark as it is also known, is a seal imprinted or embossed onto a print. It serves as a distinguishing mark of the artist, institution, publisher or collector.
Brass
An alloy of copper and zinc. It has a dull yellow colour, like gold and is relatively resistant to tarnishing.
Bronze
An alloy of copper and tin, often with a little zinc mixed in, that has been used extensively to cast sculptures. Bronze varies in colour from a silverish grey to a deep copper red.
Brushwork
The indivdual way in which each artist applies paint to the support with various tools like brushes.
Burin
A chisel-like engraving tool with a sharply beveled, V-shaped point.
Burnisher
A tool with a smooth, flat end used in printmaking to flatten rough surfaces and thus lighten lines and areas.
Burnishing
The act of rubbing clay and earthenware with a smooth surface in order to polish and tighten its surface.
Bust
A sculptural portrait that includes the head, neck, shoulders and part of the chest of the subject. Busts are figurative, but not necessarily realistic.