Arts: English Vocabulary List

a literary or artistic style that gives a lifelike representation of people, events, and objects

"Realism shows life as it is."

"The novel's vivid descriptions and believable characters captured the essence of everyday life."

(of a form of art) showing forms, colors, or shapes that do not represent real-world objects, focusing on ideas or emotions instead

"Abstract art uses shapes."

"The abstract painting did not look like anything real and was hard to understand."

a piece of cloth that artists paint on, especially with oil paints

"The artist painted the canvas."

"She stretched a fresh canvas, ready to begin her latest oil painting."

a basic version of something, often created to outline or test ideas before the final version

"The architect made a quick sketch of the proposed building."

"She drew a quick sketch of the landscape before painting it."

a style and movement of art, music, and literature in the early 20th century that expresses extreme feelings and emotions instead of showing events or objects in a realistic manner

"Expressionism uses strong colors and feelings."

"The artist's bold brushstrokes and distorted figures conveyed intense emotional expressionism."

a 20th-century style of art and literature in which unrelated events or images are combined in an unusual way to represent the experiences of the mind

"Surrealism explores strange."

"The painting was a perfect example of surrealism, blending dreams with reality beautifully."