In this second part of two online exercises on painting vocabulary, you will continue to learn vocabulary about paintings. In this part you will specifically learn by reading a conversation the vocabulary used for describing the different types and styles of paintings, plus some other vocabulary which you can use when describing a painting.

Do the quiz at the end of the reading exercise to both ensure you correctly understand the vocabulary and to help you to remember it in the future.

If you haven't already done the first part of this exercise, I would recommend that you do it. In it, you will learn the vocabulary used in English for describing the different physical features of and in a painting.

Exercise: Describing painitings

Read the following conversation between two friends, Peter and Juan, where Peter continues to explain to Juan vocabulary used in English to describe paintings.

The words in bold are terms used for describing paintings. From the context, try to guess what they are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

Peter:'Now we are going to talk about the different types of paintings which there are.'

Juan:'That sounds very useful to know.'

Peter:'There are two main types of painting. There are paintings which contain scenes or objects which look exactly like or very similar to those in the real world, and there are those which don't.'

Juan:'Paintings which don't clearly reflect objects in real life and normally use lines, shapes and colours instead are called abstract paintings, aren't they?'

Peter:'Exactly. A lot of the work of the artists Jackson Pollock and Mondrian, are abstract. A lot of abstract art is visceral, it has been painted to affect your emotions directly.'

Juan:'I understand what you mean, it's like music. It makes you feel sad or angry or happy and it is difficult to understand why it does.'

Peter:'Exactly. And paintings which reflect scenes and objects from real life, even though they may not be exact representations of them, are called figurative.'

Juan:'Paintings from artists like Monet, Turner, Da Vinci for example, are figurative.'

Peter:'Yes, they are. And with figurative paintings they are grouped together into different types.'

Juan:'Are they divided on the style they are painted in or what the topic of the painting is?'

Peter:'Both. But we'll talk about the different types depending on the subject matter first.'

Juan:'What does subject matter mean?'

Peter:'Basically, the subject matter in figurative painting are the things or the scene which the artist has painted. The subject matter could be a man crying after losing a battle, a cold winter's day in the mountains or people buying food in a market.'

Juan:'Ok. So tell me what the different topics are.'

Peter:'The first type is called a portrait painting. It is where the focus of the painting is on a person or a group of people, like a family or a couple. Whereas if a painting captures a wide scene from either nature (e.g mountains and valleys) or from a city or town, it is called a landscape painting.'

Juan:'And can landscape paintings include people in them?'

Peter:'Yes, they can. But the people painted in it are incidental, it is the landscape and the view which is the subject matter and focus of the painting.'

Juan:'And what about a painting where the subject matter is a scene from life, like a family playing in a park or people shopping in a market. Is that a portrait or a landscape?'

Peter:'It is neither. That type of painting which captures a scene or an event out of life with people in it, is generally called a genre painting.'

Juan:'And what about paintings where the focus is on some fruit or flowers on a table?'

Peter:'If the focus of a painting is on some type of inanimate object like flowers, fruit, books etc..., the type of painting is called a still life.'

Juan:'Knowing all that will help me to describe what I can see when I am at the art gallery.'

Peter:'And the last thing to know is the different styles which painters use.'

Juan:'That would be very useful. Because the same subject matter can be painted very differently by different painters.'

Peter:'Normally, you can group together the styles which artists use into different art movements, each with its own specific name. So painters who use a similar technique/way to paint objects or light, or are expressing a similar philosophy of art, can be grouped together into a particular art movement.'

Juan:'So artists like Manet and Monet are part of the art movement called "impressionism". Whereas some of the paintings of Picasso and Braque are part of the art movement called "cubism".'

Peter:'Exactly. Well, you should have something to say about the paintings when you are on the date at the art gallery now.'

Juan:'Yes, I will have. Thanks for your help.'

Peter:'My pleasure.'



Quiz:

Match the words/phrases in bold from the above text to each of the definitions/descriptions below. Click on the "Check" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the answer. The icon contains extra information on the word/phrase. In the icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.


1. A type of painting where the focus of it is on a wide scene of nature or a city, is called a/an

         

Landscape:
(noun) One of the five main types of paintings and drawings (the others being portrait, historical, genre painting and still life). A landscape captures a wide scene. Normally, it would be a scene out of nature (e.g. a forest and a lake, mountains and valleys). However, you can have urban landscape painting as well (painting buildings, streets etc...). In both types, the sky is an important part of the composition, whereas the people, if they are included, are of secondary importance.

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Landscape:
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2. A type of art which reflects reality and the objects which are in it, is called

         

Figurative:
(noun) A style of painting in which the objects which are painted look very similar to how they do in the real world or can be easily identifiable. Most paintings are of the figurative type.

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Figurative:
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3. A particular style which is used by a group of artists to paint paintings (like expressionism, surrealism etc...), is called a/an

         

Art movement:
(noun) It is a particular style of painting followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time (e.g. cubism, baroque, impressionism etc...). When people use the term, they are often referring to shared techniques (how things are painted) which a group of artists use in their paintings, although it can also be used to talk about a particular choice of subject matter or philosophy of art as well. Normally when talking about paintings, people don't say "art movement", they just say the name of the particular "art movement" which they like or which the painting is an example of. For example, "I love impressionism" or "This painting is an example of expressionism".

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Art movement:
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4. The main things or scene which an artist paints about in a painting, is called the

         

Subject matter:
(noun) In a painting, the "subject matter" has two uses. The first and the most commonly used meaning of "subject matter", is to describe the topic (the main objects which are in) of the painting. Like a person in a portrait or people shopping in a market or Jesus healing a cripple. Secondly, it is used to say (especially in abstract art) what idea the artist is trying to express. Like the "subject matter" of a painting of a mother with her child could be maternal love, or the subject matter of an abstract painting could be the confusion of modern life.

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Subject matter:
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5. A type of painting where the focus of it is on an inanimate object (like a plate of food), is called a

         

Still life:
(noun) One of the five main types of paintings and drawings (the others being landscape, historical, genre painting and portrait). It is where the focus is on an inanimate object(s) like fruit, plants, flowers, books, jewellery, a dead animal etc... Although people can form part of the composition of a still life painting, if they are included, they are of secondary importance to the painting.

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Still life:
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6. When a piece of art affects your emotions directly, the experience you feel is called

         

Visceral:
(adjective) When talking about art, if you describe something as "visceral" you are saying that the piece of art directly affects your emotions (i.e. just looking at it makes you feel sad or excited or happy or scared etc...). You can appreciate it without having to think about it or use reason to analyse it.

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Visceral:
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7. A type of painting where the focus of it is on an event of life (like people eating in a restaurant), is called a/an

         

Genre painting:
(noun) (One of the five main types of paintings and drawings (the others being portrait, historical, landscape and still life). The subject matter of "genre paintings" are scenes from everyday life (like people drinking in a cafe or bar, people cooking in a kitchen etc...). In some ways it is similar to a landscape painting, but the scope is less wide and the people and their behaviour are the focus of the painting.

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Genre painting:
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8. A type of art which doesn't really reflect reality (or really distorts it) or objects which are in reality, is called

         

Abstract:
(adjective) A style of painting in which lines, shapes, patterns, and colours are used which do not reflect objects or scenes which can be seen in the real world (or they are very distorted forms of them). Islamic art is a classic example of abstract art.

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Abstract:
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9. A type of painting where the focus of it is on a person or on a small group of people, is called a

         

Portrait:
(noun) Also known as "portraiture". It is one of the five main types of paintings and drawings (the others being landscape, historical, genre painting and still life). It is where the focus is on a person (often, but not always showing only the head and shoulders) or people (couples or families or groups). Although normally about people, you can even have portraits of pets and other animals.

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Portrait:
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If you haven't done it already, do the first part of this exercise to learn more vocabulary for describing paintings.



Practice

Now that you understand the meaning of the words/phrases and when to use them, practise using them by creating your own sentences with them in English. Also click on the icon next to each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.