Language of Art

Art Style by Definition

Abstract

In painting and sculpture, emphasizing a derived essential character having little visual reference to objects in nature.

Cubism

An early 20th-century school of painting and sculpture in which the subject matter is portrayed by geometric forms without realistic detail, stressing abstract form at the expense of other pictorial elements largely by use of intersecting often transparent cubes and cones.

Expressionnism

Movement in fine arts 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.

Provenance

The history of ownership of the item being sold; the "chain" of owners, listed from earliest to most recent.

Figurative Art

Art in which recognizable figures or objects are portrayed.

Folk Art ( Naive; Primitive )

Traditional representations, usually bound by conventions in both form and content, of a folkloric character and usually made by persons without institutionalized training.

Impressionism

The impressionist style of painting is characterized chiefly by concentration on the general impression produced by a scene or object and the use of unmixed primary colors and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light.

Realism

In the arts, the accurate, detailed, unembellished depiction of nature or of contemporary life. Realism rejects imaginative idealization in favour of a close observation of outward appearances.

Representational Art

Art in which recognizable objects, figures, or elements in nature are depicted.

Surrealism

A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

Print Terminology

Artist proof (A.P.) A print outside of the numbered series, usually 1/10 of the edition.

Aquatint An intaglio method in which areas of color are made by dusting powdered resin on a metal plate and then letting acid eat the plate surface away from around it.

Bon-a-tirer (Fr. Good to pull"; pron. bone-ah-ti-RAY) The first impression ok a print run acceptable to the artist and used as the standard with which each subsequent impression is compared.

Dry point An intaglio technique like engraving in which the image is drawn on a metal plate with a needle, raising a ridge which prints a soft line.
Embossed Print Uninked relief print in which dampened paper is pressed into recessed areas of a plate to produce a three-dimensional impression.

Engraving An intaglio process in which lines are cut into a metal plate and then filled with ink to transfer the image onto paper.

Etching 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.

Graphic Any work printed directly on paper from a plate or block.

Hors de commerce (H.C.) (Fr. "Outside of sale"; pron. OR de com-AIRCE) A designation for prints not in the numbered series pulled for the use of the publisher, normally limited to five or six.

Intaglio (Ital. "Incision"; pron. in TAHL-yo) Any technique in which an image is incised below the surface of the plate, including dry point, etching, aquatint, en graving, and mezzotini.

Linocut A process in which an image is cut in relief on a linoleum block.

Lithograph A planographic process in which images are drawn with crayon or a greasy ink on stone or metal and then transferred to paper.

Mezzotint An intaglio process in Which the plate surface is roughened and then an image is created by smoothing the areas to be printed.

Monotype A unique print made from an inked, painted glass or metal plate.

Photomechanical Offset Printing A process in which an image is transferred to a printing plate photographically and then onto a roller which prints on paper. An offset print is not a graphic.

Planography Any process of printing from a surface level with the plate, as lithography.

Relief A technique in which the portions of a plate intended to print are raised above the Surface, as woodcut, linocut, etc.

Roman Numbered Edition A smaller edition numbered with Roman numerals, usually a deluxe edition on higher quality paper.

Serigraphy (screenprinting, silkscreen) A stenciling method in which the image is transferred to paper by forcing ink through a fine mesh in which the background has been blocked.

Signed and Numbered Authenticated with the artist's signature, the total number of impressions in the edition, and the order in which the impression is signed; -5/20" indicates that the print is the fifth signed of an edition of20 impressions.

Woodcut A process in which an image is cut in relief on a wood block.

Original vs Reproduction

Original graphic = multiple original
Reproduction = multiple copy
Provenance = The history of ownership of the item being sold; the "chain" of owners, listed from earliest to most recent.

Original graphic
The original graphic is not a copy of the artwork, but the original artwork itself. It is the print from a print-plate (lithostone/etching-plate), on which the artist produces the original artwork manually. For this the artist needs specific skills and knowledge. Multiplication of the original is inherent to this technique. Whether printing 10 or 300 originals from the print-plate, each print is an original, an original graphic. The original characteristics remain unaltered, regardless of a very large or a very small edition (size), the price however will differ. The number and the signature are customary, indicating quantity (edition size) and authenticity, nothing else.

Reproduction
The production does not require specific skills of the artist, not even his presence is necessary. What you do need, however, is an example, an original work of art. A detailed photographic or manual transfer of the original on a print-plate is a copy and the necessary preparation for reproduction. Whether producing 10.000 or 10 prints from a print-plate; the number and the signature cannot change the factual value of the reproduction, however it can change the subjective evaluation.

Hamburg, 1981
Paul Wunderlich.