18 Art Words to Describe Any Painting
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Eighteen art words to describe any painting — chiaroscuro, impasto, verism and more — so you can talk about color, light and style.
Standing in front of a painting, most of us run out of words fast — 'nice', 'striking', 'I like the colors'. But art has a precise vocabulary for exactly what your eye is doing: the play of light, the thickness of paint, the trick of a style.
Here are 18 art words to describe any painting, covering color, light, texture, and technique. With a handful of them you can say what you actually see, and sound like you belong in the gallery.
How to talk about what you see
Start with technique. Chiaroscuro is the bold contrast of light and dark that makes a face leap out of shadow; impasto is paint laid on so thick you can see the brushstrokes stand up. A style can lean toward verism (unflinching realism) or toward eclecticism (borrowing freely from many sources).
Then reach for color and light. Deep wine-red is vinaceous; a golden glow is aureate; a surface that shimmers with shifting color has opalescence. Light that spreads and fills a scene is said to suffuse it. Many of these come straight from Latin or Italian roots, so learning one — as the MonkeyTaps app teaches — quietly unlocks its cousins.
18 art words to describe a painting
1. chiaroscuro
“The use of contrast in light and shade” — From Italian, where chiaro means 'clear, light' and oscuro means 'obscure, dark'.
2. impasto
“A thick layer of paint on canvas” — From Italian impastare.
3. numina
“Spirits that live in places or things” — From Latin numen, meaning 'divine will', related to Latin nutare ('to nod') and Greek neuein.
4. eclecticism
“The practice of borrowing ideas, styles, or techniques from diverse sources, creating a unique approach” — From Greek 'eklektikos', meaning 'selective'.
5. decalcomania
“Art of transferring designs to surfaces” — Borrowed from French décalcomanie, from décalquer meaning 'to trace', with suffix -mania derived from potichomanie and potiche.
6. vinaceous
“Having the color of red wine” — From Latin vinaceus meaning 'of wine', from vinum 'wine'.
7. aureate
“Having a golden color” — From Middle English aureat, from Medieval Latin aureatus meaning 'decorated with gold', from Latin aureus.
8. opalescence
“A shimmering, rainbow-like glow” — From 'opal' + '-escence', meaning 'quality of an opal'.
9. coruscate
“To flash or sparkle” — From Latin coruscatus, past participle of coruscare meaning 'to flash'.
10. scintillating
“Sparkling”
11. suffuse
“To spread over or fill something” — Borrowed from Latin suffūsus, past participle of suffundere ('to pour on or in'), from sub- + fundere.
12. numinous
“The powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired” — From Latin numin- and numen.
13. artifice
“Cleverness or skill in creating something” — From Anglo- and Middle French and Latin artificium, from artifex (art- + -fic- from facere).
14. cynosure
“Something that attracts everyone's attention” — Borrowed from Middle French and Latin; from Greek Kynósoura, from kýōn ('dog') + ourá ('tail').
15. transfigure
“To change something to look more beautiful or spiritual” — From Middle English via Anglo-French, from Latin transfigurare (trans- + figurare from figura).
16. kenspeckle
“Easily recognizable” — From Scandinavian origin, akin to Norwegian kjennspak meaning 'quick to recognize'.
17. efflorescence
“Blooming of flowers, state of flowering”
18. agrestic
“Related to the countryside or rural areas” — From Latin agrest combined with the English suffix -ic.
Frequently asked questions
What words describe light in a painting?
Chiaroscuro is the dramatic contrast of light and shadow; to suffuse is to spread light through a scene; aureate means golden. For sparkle, coruscate and scintillating both capture a flashing shine.
What is 'chiaroscuro'?
Chiaroscuro is the strong contrast between light and dark that gives a painting depth and drama. The word is Italian, from chiaro ('light') and oscuro ('dark').
What does 'impasto' mean?
Impasto is paint applied in thick, textured layers you can see and almost feel — think of Van Gogh's ridged brushwork. It comes from Italian impastare, 'to make into a paste'.
How can I remember art terms like these?
Group them by what they describe — light, color, or technique — and learn a few at a time. Tying each word to a painting you know, the way the MonkeyTaps app links words to images, makes them stick.
