College Art Appreciation
Abstract Art Art that depicts natural objects in simplified, distorted, or exaggerated ways
Content The meaning or message communicated by a work of art, including its emotional,
intellectual, symbolic, thematic, and narrative connotations.
Form The total effect of the combined visual qualities with a work, including such components
as materials, color, shape, line, and design.
Iconography The symbolic meanings of subjects and signs used to convey ideas important to particular
cultures or religions.
Medium A particular material along with its accompanying technique.
Nonrepresentational Art Art without reference to anything outside itself.
Representational Art Art that recognizably represents or depicts a particular subject.
Aesthetics In the art context, the philosophy of art focusing on questions regarding what art is and
how it is evaluated, the concept of beauty, and the relationship between the idea of beauty
and the concept of art.
Idealism The representation of subjects in an ideal or perfect state or form.
Analogous Colors Colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.
Atmospheric Perspective A type of perspective in which the illusion of depth is created by changing color, value,
and detail.
Complementary Colors Two hues directly opposite one another on a color wheel, that when mixed together in
proper proportions, produce a neutral gray.
Figure-ground Reversal A visual effect in which what was seen as a positive shape becomes a negative shape, and
vice versa.
Geometric Shape Any shape enclosed by square or straight or perfectly circular lines.
Hue (Color) That property of a color identifying a specific, named wavelength of light.
Intensity The relative purity or saturation of a hue (color), on a scale from bright (pure) to dull.
Linear Perspective A system of perspective in which parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the
distance, meeting at a vanishing point on the horizon.
Mass The physical bulk of a solid body of material.
Organic Shape An irregular, non-geometric shape
2/4/2026
, College Art Appreciation
Picture Plane The two-dimensional picture surface.
Value The relative lightness and darkness of surfaces.
Asymmetrical Balance The various elements of a work are balanced by not symmetrical.
Directional Forces Pathways that the artist embeds in a work for the viewer's eye to follow.
Focal Point The principal area of emphasis in a work of art; the place to which the artist directs the
most attention through composition.
Format The shape or proportions of a picture plane.
Pattern Repetitive ordering of design elements.
Scale The size relation of one thing to another.
Symmetrical Balance The near or exact matching of left and right sides of a three-dimensional form or a two-
dimensional composition.
Art Criticism The process of using formal analysis, description, and interpretation to evaluate or explain
the quality and meanings of art.
Contextual Theory A method of art criticism that focuses on the cultural systems behind works of art; these
may be economical, racial, political, or social.
Expressive Theory A method of art criticism that attempts to discern personal elements in works of art, as
opposed to formal strategies or cultural influences.
Formal Theory A method of art criticism that values stylistic innovation over personal expression or
cultural communication.
Cartoon A full-sized drawing made as a guide for a large work in another medium, particularly a
fresco painting, mosaic, or tapestry; a humorous or satirical drawing.
Conte' Crayon A drawing medium developed in the late 18th Century; similar to pencil in its graphic
content, includes clay and small amounts of wax.
Gouache An opaque water-soluble paint.
Hatching A technique in which lines are placed in parallel series to darken the value of an area.
Wash A thin, transparent layer of paint or ink.
Encaustic A type of painting in which pigment is suspended in a binder of hot wax.
2/4/2026
Abstract Art Art that depicts natural objects in simplified, distorted, or exaggerated ways
Content The meaning or message communicated by a work of art, including its emotional,
intellectual, symbolic, thematic, and narrative connotations.
Form The total effect of the combined visual qualities with a work, including such components
as materials, color, shape, line, and design.
Iconography The symbolic meanings of subjects and signs used to convey ideas important to particular
cultures or religions.
Medium A particular material along with its accompanying technique.
Nonrepresentational Art Art without reference to anything outside itself.
Representational Art Art that recognizably represents or depicts a particular subject.
Aesthetics In the art context, the philosophy of art focusing on questions regarding what art is and
how it is evaluated, the concept of beauty, and the relationship between the idea of beauty
and the concept of art.
Idealism The representation of subjects in an ideal or perfect state or form.
Analogous Colors Colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.
Atmospheric Perspective A type of perspective in which the illusion of depth is created by changing color, value,
and detail.
Complementary Colors Two hues directly opposite one another on a color wheel, that when mixed together in
proper proportions, produce a neutral gray.
Figure-ground Reversal A visual effect in which what was seen as a positive shape becomes a negative shape, and
vice versa.
Geometric Shape Any shape enclosed by square or straight or perfectly circular lines.
Hue (Color) That property of a color identifying a specific, named wavelength of light.
Intensity The relative purity or saturation of a hue (color), on a scale from bright (pure) to dull.
Linear Perspective A system of perspective in which parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the
distance, meeting at a vanishing point on the horizon.
Mass The physical bulk of a solid body of material.
Organic Shape An irregular, non-geometric shape
2/4/2026
, College Art Appreciation
Picture Plane The two-dimensional picture surface.
Value The relative lightness and darkness of surfaces.
Asymmetrical Balance The various elements of a work are balanced by not symmetrical.
Directional Forces Pathways that the artist embeds in a work for the viewer's eye to follow.
Focal Point The principal area of emphasis in a work of art; the place to which the artist directs the
most attention through composition.
Format The shape or proportions of a picture plane.
Pattern Repetitive ordering of design elements.
Scale The size relation of one thing to another.
Symmetrical Balance The near or exact matching of left and right sides of a three-dimensional form or a two-
dimensional composition.
Art Criticism The process of using formal analysis, description, and interpretation to evaluate or explain
the quality and meanings of art.
Contextual Theory A method of art criticism that focuses on the cultural systems behind works of art; these
may be economical, racial, political, or social.
Expressive Theory A method of art criticism that attempts to discern personal elements in works of art, as
opposed to formal strategies or cultural influences.
Formal Theory A method of art criticism that values stylistic innovation over personal expression or
cultural communication.
Cartoon A full-sized drawing made as a guide for a large work in another medium, particularly a
fresco painting, mosaic, or tapestry; a humorous or satirical drawing.
Conte' Crayon A drawing medium developed in the late 18th Century; similar to pencil in its graphic
content, includes clay and small amounts of wax.
Gouache An opaque water-soluble paint.
Hatching A technique in which lines are placed in parallel series to darken the value of an area.
Wash A thin, transparent layer of paint or ink.
Encaustic A type of painting in which pigment is suspended in a binder of hot wax.
2/4/2026
