Movements & Time Periods
This art period means “rebirth” and looked back to ancient Greece and Rome.
Renaissance
These are the three colors you can’t make by mixing other colors.
Primary colors
The part of a painting that feels closest to you—like the front of a stage.
Foreground
Dramatic strong contrast between light and dark to make things look 3D.
Chiaroscuro
Fast-drying paint that became popular in the mid-1900s and doesn’t yellow like oil.
Acrylic paint
This art period goes from the 1950s to today.
Contemporary
Colors opposite on the color wheel that make each other look brighter.
Complementary colors
The part of a painting between the foreground and the background.
Middleground
The feelings a painting is trying to give you.
Mood
A flat surface used to mix paint (also can mean the color range in a painting).
Palette
1600–1800 art: formal, detailed, energetic, and often strong light/dark contrast.
Baroque
Colors that feel like fire and sunshine.
Warm colors
The illusion that a flat painting has depth and distance.
Perspective
A comparison that makes differences stand out (like light vs dark or warm vs cool).
Contrast
Pigment mixed with linseed oil; dries slowly so artists can keep working.
Oil paint
1800–1950: artists moved away from realism; includes movements like Impressionism and Cubism.
Modern
Colors that feel like shade, water, and ice.
Cool colors
This part of a painting usually looks farthest away behind the main subject.
Background
Can mean the source of light (sun/lamp) OR how light/dark areas look.
Light
Paint made with egg yolk (or similar); dries quickly so artists must work fast.
Tempera
Art where shapes, colors, and forms become the “subject” instead of realistic objects.
Abstract
Calm colors like black, white, gray, tan—NOT on the color wheel.
Neutral colors
Lines like roads or rivers can get ________ as they go into the distance to show depth.
Narrower
Renaissance technique where edges look soft and “smoky” with blended transitions.
Sfumato
A print made by carving a block of wood, inking it, and pressing it onto paper.
Woodcut print