Fine Art Glossary



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E

Easel

Easel: an upright support (generally a tripod) used for displaying something. It is most often used to hold up an artist's canvas while the painter is working or to hold a completed painting for exhibition.

Economy

Economy: the deletion of non-essential details to reveal the essence of a form.

Egg tempera

Egg tempera: A medium created by mixing pure, ground pigments with egg yolk. This was a very common medium before the invention of oil paints.

Elements of design

Elements of design: those qualities of a design that can be seen and worked with independently of its figurative content. They include line, form, value, texture, color, and shape.

Emphasis

Emphasis: the stress placed on a single area of a work or a unifying visual theme.

En plein air

En plein air: French for "in open air," used to describe paintings that have been executed outdoors, rather than in the studio.

Encaustic

The process of painting by mixing dry pigments with molten wax and varying amounts of Damar varnish. Hot wax painting is easily manipulated, resulting in a variety of textures and color combinations.

Etching

Etching: an impression made from an etched plate; an intaglio process in which an image is scratched through an acid-resistant coating on a metal plate. The plate is then dipped in acid which eats into the exposed surface.

Exhibition

Exhibition - A public showing of a piece or a collection of objects. Also called an exhibit.

Expressionism

Expressionism: Post-World War I artistic movement, of German origin, that emphasized the expression of inner experience rather than solely realistic portrayal, seeking to depict not objective reality but the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in the artist.