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Art & Art History vocabulary · Painting & Drawing

Painting

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/ˈpeɪntɪŋ/nounCore term

In art & art history, painting means: A picture made by putting paint on a surface such as canvas, wood or a wall; also the art or activity of making such pictures.

In Turkish: resim, tablo, ressamlık

How it is used

Countable for a single work (a painting by Frida Kahlo) and uncountable for the art form (she studied painting in Florence). Museum labels usually give the technique too, for example oil on canvas. People hang, paint, restore, sell and attribute paintings.

Example sentences

  1. This painting was cleaned last year, and the colours are much brighter now.

  2. She switched from sculpture to painting in her second year at the academy.

Common collocations

  • oil painting
  • landscape painting
  • hang a painting
  • restore a painting
  • abstract painting
  • canvasA strong woven cloth, usually cotton or linen, stretched over a wooden frame and used as a surface for painting; also a painting made on it.
  • oil paintPaint made by mixing pigments with a drying oil, usually linseed oil; it dries slowly, so artists can blend colours and build up layers.
  • drawingA picture made mainly with lines, using a pencil, pen, charcoal or chalk; also the skill or activity of making such pictures.
  • portraitA painting, drawing, photograph or sculpture of a particular person, usually showing the face and saying something about their character or status.

More terms: Painting & Drawing

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