Representational: A work that represents a recognizable idea, story, concept, etc. A work of art that resembles or closely forms in the natural world in appearance. Does not have to appear as it does in nature, can be close to.

Naturalistic: The realistic representation of figures and objects without idealization, stylization, or distortion, appears as it does in the natural world.

Illusionistic: Representation of an object so that it’s naturalistic appearance deceives the spectator’s eyes, it seems real although the spectator knows that it is not.

(describes any painting that looks real).

Trompe-l’oiel: fool the eye (size, scale, color is exact or the illusion is so great you believe the illusion is possible). Can also be something that you know is not real but the artist creates it in a way that makes you believe it can actually happen.

Abstract: Natural forms are not rendered in a naturalistic or representational way, but instead are simplified or distorted to some extent.

Stylized: Descriptive of works based on forms in the natural world, but simplified or distorted for design purposes. Not based on content or meaning just going for a look.

Non-Representational: (non-objective) No reference to the natural world of images. Composed of lines, shapes, and sometimes colors, chosen and arranged for their own expressive potential.

*NOTE: These terms are used to describe a work of art, they are not styles but used to describe a style (there are exceptions, for example Abstract Expressionism is abstract or non-representational.

Formal Elements: (Form) The way the work of art looks – types of lines, colors, shapes, mass, texture, etc. Also known as formal or visual elements.

Subject Matter: Describing the objects within the painting. (dog, cat, woman, man, bike, etc.) Does not go beyond purely describing what is contained within the painting.

Content: The story or meaning behind a work of art represented by its subject matter and visual elements.

Style: A characteristic or group of characteristics that we can recognize as constant, recurring or coherent. (Example: Pop Art (images from popular culture), Cubism (geometric shapes), High Renaissance, Baroque, Greek, etc.

(Icon)ography: “Describing images/symbols”, meaning or story attached to the images used by artist. These symbols have cultural and historical meaning in relation to a particular culture. (Virgin Mary, Christ, Christian cross, McDonald’s Arches, Nike swoosh, etc.) Differs from content in that iconography describes the meaning of a particular symbol/icon.

Composition: The organization of all the visual elements. A summary of the entire work of art; unity, variety, symmetry through the use of visual elements.

Note: These terms are used to describe the elements within the work of art.