An allegory is the description of a subject in the guise of another subject. An allegorical painting might include figures emblematic of different emotional states of mind – for example envy or love – [..]

Distinctions have in the past been made between the fine and applied arts. Painting is usually seen as 'fine', while the making of jewellery or porcelain, for example, is seen as 'appli [..]

Pala is an Italian word used to describe an altarpiece where the composition is shown on a single unified surface. Such works can be distinguished from polyptychs.

Most surviving paintings from the 13th to the early 16th centuries are painted on wood panels. Panels can consist of single planks of wood, or multiple planks joined with glue, dowels and so on. Two w [..]

Polychrome literally means 'many coloured'. A statue or altarpiece which is described as polychrome is usually made of wood, terracotta or stone which has been painted either for decorative [..]

Putto (plural, putti) are winged infants who either play the role of angelic spirits in religious works, or act as instruments of profane love. They are often shown as associates of Cupid. They have t [..]

The topography of a place or region is the description of its physical features, both geographical and man-made. A topographical artist would attempt to render an accurate impression of the land- or t [..]

A patriarch of the Old Testament, Abraham was called by God to be the father of the people of Israel. His wife Sarah was childless until an advanced age, when she bore Abraham's heir Isaac (Genes [..]

The abstract qualities in art are those which are independent of a work's resemblance to external reality. The arrangement of lines, forms, tone and colour, even in a painting depicting an aspect [..]

Academic art refers to the art which was created in accordance with the doctrines of the official academies of painting that dominated much of the art world from the 17th to the 19th centuries. In the [..]