My name is Lauriane Dupuis. I am 23 years old and I am currently studying Visual Arts at Cégep de Sherbrooke. This is my last semester in the program.After completing my studies at CEGEP, I plan to go to university where I will complete a multidisciplinary bachelor’s degree made up of three certificates. After that, I would like to pursue a master’s degree in Art Therapy in Montreal.I want to work in this field because I want to help people, better understand them, and help them discover everything that art can bring in a positive way, both emotionally and personally. Art is a powerful tool for self-expression and well-being, and I hope to use it to support others in the future.This glossary was created as part of my Visual Arts studies to identify and define important technical terms used in the field. These concepts are essential for understanding artistic processes, visual analysis, and creative decision-making.Creating this glossary allows me to strengthen my visual art vocabulary and apply these terms when reflecting on my own work and the work of others.
Abstraction
noun
The process of simplifying or altering realistic forms to emphasize shapes, colors, or ideas.
Example: Maurice Raynal, although less extreme and volatile in his thought than Apollinaire, adopted much the same idealist view while realizing that ABSTRACTION was not the end or goal of Cubist painting.
fr: Abstraction
Chromatic Harmony
noun
The balanced and aesthetically pleasing use of colors within an artwork.
Example: However, the objective is not to produce one constant tonality, but rather to create CHROMATIC HARMONY in which brief hints of triadic harmony mingle with note - combinations of a more obscure nature.
fr: Harmonie chromatique
Composition
Noun
The arrangement of visual elements such as shapes, colors, and lines within an artwork.
Example: The undeniable and striking formal qualities of COMPOSITION in works by such masters as Hokusai and Hiroshige have had demonstrable effects on late - nineteenth - and twentieth - century European art. Nevertheless, such prints are not justly reduced even in description to mere compositional terms.
fr: Composition
Conceptual Art
noun
An art form in which the idea or concept behind the work is more important than its visual appearance.
Example: For contemporary artists (working in an era of abstract expressionism, CONCEPTUAL ART, post-modern and de-constructionist design), though there is a recognition that they are accountable to both art and memory, Albert Elsen reminds us that for them 'the needs of art, not the public memory come first.".
fr: Art conceptuel
Contrast
Noun
The difference between elements such as light and dark or different colors in an artwork.
Example: In short, those passages which rely for their effect on colour - CONTRASTS rather than on colour - blending are most suitable for wind alone.
fr: Contraste
Figurative Art
noun
Art that represents recognizable subjects from the real world.
Example: Objects collected with an antiquarian taste, offer a unique overview of figurative art, handed down to us from antiquity.
fr: Art figuratif
Foreground
noun
The part of an artwork that appears closest to the viewer.
Example: It was as if the ideological camera had lucidly snapped a scene in which the FOREGROUND harmoniously blended into the distance in a continuous perspective. Because of the harmony between FOREGROUND and distance, the photographers would perceive little need to blow up the barely perceptible shapes in the distance into ambiguous and grainy enlargements.
fr: Premier plan
Formal Analysis
noun
The examination of an artwork based on its visual elements and principles of design.
Example: Secondly, the FORMAL ANALYSIS which is second nature to a Western critic can be fruitful, even though it could be argued that this is a way of interpreting the objects of an unfamiliar culture rather than a description.
fr: Analyse formelle
Gestural Mark
noun
A visible and expressive mark that reflects the artist’s physical movement.
fr: Marque gestuelle
Linear Perspective
noun
A system of creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface.
Example: And the names are as follows: LINEAR PERSPECTIVE, the perspective of colour, the perspective of disappearance.
fr: Perspective linéaire
Materiality
noun
The physical qualities and expressive potential of the materials used in an artwork.
Example: Given the MATERIALITY and weight of the building, rendering of a drapery is not an easy task.
fr: Matérialité
Medium
Noun
The material or technique used to create an artwork, such as paint, pencil, or digital tools.
Example: Limewood is contrasted with oak, and the chapter finishes: The properties of the material made limewood sculpture a special MEDIUM. It was a MEDIUM of the grand form and of the surface, whether polychrome or monochrome; it was not a positive MEDIUM of the middle forms, like oak, or even usually of the assertive instrument, as bronze can be.
fr: Médium
Movement
noun
The way an artist guides the viewer’s eye through an artwork.
Example: Then later I paint them galloping in the fields, or in Camargue and I continue to do so as the horse remains one of the best subjects to paint movement.
fr: Mouvement
Perspective
noun
The art of drawing solid objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other when viewed from a particular point.
Example: In this, as in Western PERSPECTIVE, the horizon line is somewhere below the middle of the picture.
fr: Perspective
Proportion
noun
The relationship in size between different elements in an artwork.
Example: Look for the correct PROPORTION in the drawing of the figures and the use of creativity and imagination in the completion of the illustration.
fr: Proportion
Spatial Depth
noun
The illusion of three-dimensional space created on a two-dimensional surface.
Example: More spatial depth of the graphic elements should be generated by transitional animations in the on-air design.
fr: Profondeur spatial
Symbolism
noun
The use of visual elements to represent abstract ideas, emotions, or concepts.
The surface quality of an artwork, real or implied.
Example: Sometimes, of course, harmony, TEXTURE, colour, or percussive rhythm may be the main elements of a work, but in general melody is supreme, dominating all other factors.
fr: Texture
Value
noun
The lightness or darkness of a color.
Example: However, the VALUE of a work of art depends upon the mood of the viewer.
fr: Valeur
Visual Rhythm
noun
The repetition of visual elements to create a sense of movement or flow.
Example: You use your creativity as well as technical expertise to match action, change camera angles, and develop the visual rhythm of the story.