Glossary

commission

In art, a commission is the act of requesting the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another. Artwork may be commissioned by private individuals, by the government, or businesses.

chiaroscuro

the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting.

an effect of contrasted light and shadow.

fresco

is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall.

humanism

a rationalist outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.

patron

a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts, or endorsement anartist, writer, museum, cause, charity, institution, special event,

patronage system

Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronagerefers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists such as musicians, painters, and sculptors.

Renaissance

The term Renaissance, literally means "rebirth" and is the period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages, conventionally held to have been characterized by a surge of interest in classical learning and values. Focus was on astronomy, the decline of the feudal system, growth of commerce, and the invention or application of such potentially powerful innovations as paper, printing, the mariner's compass, and gunpowder. Time of the revival of classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation.

sfumato

(derived from the Italian word fumo, meaning "smoke") refers to the technique of oil painting which colours or tones are blended in such a subtle manner that they melt into one another without perceptible transitions, lines or edges.

tempera

a method of painting with pigments dispersed in an emulsion miscible with water, typically egg yolk. The method was used in Europe for fine painting, mainly on wood panels, from the 12th or early 13th century until the 15th, when it began to give way to oils.