If you're a little mystified about art terms, don't feel alone! This art glossary will help you with some of the common art terms out here. And since you are interested in some art knowledge, we also provide you with a way to buy art. You'll probably just want to browse, so you can apply your new-found knowledge about art. Well, that's OK, too.

This is just a sampling of some terms you might want to know. It'll get you started, and it sure beats wading through a massive reference text. Ugh.

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Art Glossary: A

Absidiole. This is a form of abstract art. It may represent nothing at all, or it may represent something--but without reference to the original source. You're supposed to read patterns as independent relationships.

Abstract Expressionism. This art style was prominent for about one generation. With its roots in New York, it started in World War II times and ended in the Korean War times. You may have heard of surrealism? The leaders of that movement lived in the U.S. (in exile) during World War II. AE was a mix of surrealism and some other concepts--notably expressionism. The influence of American culture is heavy in this form of art. The two main categories of AE are iconic and calligraphic. 

Academic art. In the 17th through 19th centuries, academies of painting and sculpture had official status in Europe. They also had a high degree of control over what was "acceptable art." So, art in compliance with the standards set by these academic institutions is academic art.

Academy of art. We figured you'd want to know this if you read the previous definition! AAs were institutions that sprang from the many associations artists formed during the Renaissance. These institutions were, effectively, part of a revolt against the medieval Guild system--which artists felt oppressed them and their work. Under the Guild system, they weren't painters or sculptors, but just artisans--a term that conferred about much status as blacksmith. The academies were a way for artists to show they were highly educated professionals with a comprehensive theory of art and technical skill. The academies provided standards and status--both of which the artists of the time found very attractive.

Academy figure. This a drawing or painting the female or male nude, done as an exercise by a student of one of the academies. Now that you know this, you won't overpay for one of these, based on the idea they must be very good if they have that "academy" label attached. Think of your barber school haircut.

-B-

Baldachin. This was originally a cloth canopy, or baldachino, supported by four poles--one at each corner. That's a simple configuration, and the definition grew to include any architectural canopy in one of several forms--including suspended from above.

-C-

Camera lucida. An art tool that uses a prism to concentrate and project light onto paper (or some other surface) so you can trace the resulting image.

-D-

Desco da parto. You may see these in medieval paintings. The literal translation is "birth plate," and the desco da parto is simply a decorated tray. Medieval Italians used these trays to bring small gifts--such as pastries--to new mothers.

-E-

Earth colors. These are really "Earth pigments," because the phrase refers to the pigments themselves, not their colors. The pigments exist naturally in earthen soil, and are often metallic oxides. Chemically, these are the most stable of all pigments--least likely to change with age. The colors are usually brown or yellow.

-F-

Fanlight. A fan-shaped window over a door--it lets light in. The window is fan-shaped because of both its semicircular shape and the glazing bars that resemble the spokes of a fan.

-G-

Gadrooning. Lobed decoration consisting of convex curves. You'll usually see gadrooning on a surface curved in more than one plane--such as embossed bronze.

Galilee. A one-story porch or chapel at the entrance of a church house.

-H-

Hamam (or hammam). The Arabic word for "bath." A real hamam, or Turkish bath, is generally large and heated from underneath. It has three sections: the camekan (dressing room), hararet (steam room), and sogukluk (antechamber).

-I-

Iconoclast art. A type of art--without religious figures--created during the reigns of Leo III and a string of his successors (AD 730-843). These rulers banned religious figures.

Iconography. The systematic investigation of subject matter, rather than style.

-J-

Jacobethan. A mix of Jacobean and Elizabethan art styles. Imitations were popular in the 19th Century.

-K-

Kalathos. A basket made of some material other than wicker, but representing a wicker basket nonetheless.

-L-

Lampas. A special, heavy cloth. In the 18th Century, lampas appeared in high-quality silk upholstery.

-M-

Magot. Cheap, ugly wares from China or Japan.

MahIstick. A long stick a painter uses to support his/her brush-holding hand.

-N-

Naive art. A condescending reference to untrained 20th Century painters.

-O-

Objet d'art. French for "art object." The phrase usually refers to small, exquisite, and decorative art.

Objet trouve. French for "found object." An artist finds something, hardly does a thing to it, and presents it as either part of a work of art or a piece of art in its own right.

-P-

Palimpsest. A writing (parchment, slab, or brass sheet) with the original text removed or hidden to allow a new text to be placed on it.

-Q-

Quarry. A small square glass pane.

-R-

Raising. Making a cup or container shape from a metal sheet by hammering it into shape over a wooden block.

-S-

Saddle bar. A horizontal bar that holds a pane in a window.

-T-

Tachisme. The French art critic Charles Estiennie, in the early 1950s, started using this word to characterize abstract painting where the artist applied the color in blots or stains.

-U-

Uncial. This is a type of calligraphy, introduced in the 4th century AD. The letters look much like Roman capitals, but with rounded--instead of sharp--angles.

-V-

Vanitas. From the Latin for "'vanity."' These are still-life paintings--often featuring a skull--that try to remind the viewer of how temporary human life really is. In the 17th Century, these paintings were very popular in Holland.

-W-

Waldglas. Utilitarian glass (usually pale green) made in the late Middle Ages in Bohemia and Germany.

Wall plate. A beam running along the top of a wall to support the roof joists.

-X-

Xylography. Wood engraving.

Xystus. An open colonade.

-Y-

Yantra. A geometric diagram Buddhist mystics use for focusing during meditation.

-Z-

Zwischengoldglas. This is German for "gold and glass sandwich." The art is glass formed of two layers that sandwich a decoration in gold leaf.