Art terms
Learn about the materials, techniques, movements, and themes of modern and contemporary art from around the world.
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Showing 7 of 351 art terms
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Oeuvre
This French term, which translates to work, is often used to refer to an artist’s total body of work, encompassing all of the art they have made throughout their career. Many terms in art history remain in the language in which they were first used; see also carte-de-visite (French), impasto (Italian) and papier mâché (French), among others.
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Oil paint
A paint in which pigment is suspended in oil, which dries over time when exposed to air
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On-chain art
A term referring to NFTs that “live” on the blockchain; in other words, both the smart contract tied to the NFT and the media content of the NFT (the art) are written into the blockchain.
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Op art
An abstract style, also known as Optical Art, developed in the 1960s and featuring geometric shapes and lines in black and white or vivid colors. Based in theories of color and perception, Op Art compositions often create optical illusions of vibration or depth.
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Opaque
Impenetrable to light
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Organic
Derived from materials or forms with characteristics of a biological entity or organism, or developing in the manner of a living thing
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Orphism
A Cubist-influenced style of painting pioneered around 1912 by Robert and Sonia Delaunay and František Kupka, who turned to abstraction as a way to explore pure color and the effects of light. The term was coined by poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who related their often brightly colored, prismatic compositions to the immediate, abstract nature of music.
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