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Art & Art History vocabulary · Describing & Interpreting Art

Artwork

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/ˈɑːrtwɜːrk/nounCore term

In art & art history, artwork means: A painting, sculpture, drawing, photograph, installation or any other object or piece of work that an artist makes and that is seen as art.

In Turkish: sanat eseri, eser, yapıt

How it is used

The general word museums, galleries and art writers use when they do not need to say what kind of work it is. It is countable: an artwork, two artworks. In speech, people often just say work or piece. In design and publishing, artwork can also mean the images prepared for printing.

Example sentences

  1. The museum has more than 3,000 artworks in storage and shows only about 400 of them.

  2. Please do not touch the artworks.

Common collocations

  • original artwork
  • display an artwork
  • digital artwork
  • work of art
  • masterpieceAn artwork of outstanding quality, or the best work an artist ever made; originally, the piece a craftsman made to be accepted as a master by a guild.
  • paintingA picture made by putting paint on a surface such as canvas, wood or a wall; also the art or activity of making such pictures.
  • sculptureA three-dimensional artwork made by carving, modelling, casting or assembling materials such as stone, metal, wood or clay; also the art of making such works.
  • installationAn artwork made for a particular space, often filling a whole room, which visitors walk into or around and experience with more than just their eyes.

More terms: Describing & Interpreting Art

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