Glossary
|
This glossary aims to describe in general some of the key terms found in the fine art reproduction world, and specifics about the sources and artists that form the unique content of the Lordprice collection. If there are any other terms, topics or people you would like discussed or clarified, please let us know. Similarly if, Heaven Forfend, you should find an error, please drop us a line.
Aestheticism late-19th century movement, motto "Art for Art's sake"; an anti-Victorian reaction of which Oscar Wilde was the most striking literary exponent and Aubrey Beardsley its leading artist; the movement is regarded as ending with Wilde's trial in 1895 Alken, Henry (1785 - 1851) English painter and engraver who specialised in sporting and equine subjects such as hunting and steeplechasing Art Deco movement which ran from 1920 to 1939 and influenced industrial design, architecture and print media; an extension of and reaction to Art Nouveau, it was typified by functional structures, stepped forms, sweeping lines (such as streamlining) and the use of modern materials such as steel, concrete, aluminium and plastics like bakelite Art Nouveau design movement which ran from the late nineteenth century until the Great War, typified by vivid and elaborate flowing designs, often based on or including plant or flower motifs Bateman, H M (1887 - 1970) quintessentially English cartoonist (although he was born in Australia) poking fun at social rules and etiquette, often though depicting exaggerated responses to minor gaffes and faux pas, especially in his The man who.... series; a visual equivalent to P G Wodehouse. The H M stood for Henry Mayo Beardsley, Aubrey (1872 - 1898) controversial English Art Nouveau artist and illustrator whose works have clear erotic and decadent themes; strikingly influential, especially since he died aged just 25; enormous fun finding which particular organ(s) he's worked into his drawings Brunel, Isambard Kingdom (1806 - 1859) Victorian engineer of true genius. Not only did he produce solutions to engineering problems no-one else could solve, but also to those no-one else had thought of. He then put his ideas into action with an amazing degree of practicality and attention to detail. His headline achievements were as engineer to, and essentially creator of, the Great Western Railway, designer (and virtually builder) of the SS Great Eastern, and designer of the Clifton suspension Bridge. There were many, many more. And he was an interesting chap who enjoyed the company of his fellows. caption descriptive text, usually describing the subject of the picture along with the name of the artist or photographer who originally created it, and usually placed underneath the image. C B Fry's Magazine Edwardian leisure magazine, later known as Fry's Magazine, first published April 1904. As its editor was the great all-round sportsman of the age, the content and the cover illustration were mostly concerned with sporting subjects; see Fry, C B Cappiello, Leonetto (1875 - 1942) Italian artist who worked in Paris designing posters and advertisement artwork in recognisably Art Nouveau and Art Deco style; known as the father of modern advertising caricature grotesque and usually comically exaggerated representation, especially of a person (cf cartoon) cartoon humorous, often topical drawing, typically published in a magazine or newspaper (cf caricature) Chéret, Jules (1836 - 1932) French painter and lithographer, often known as the father of the modern poster because of his mastery of the medium. His distinctive flowing style is the very epitome of Art Nouveau. He is buried at the Cimetière Saint-Vincent in Montmartre commercial décor the provision of pictures, posters and other images to decorate premises (typically pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and offices) in a style or theme or to other agreed criteria to create an ambience applicable to the installation's objectives; also described as commercial interiors commercial interiors see commercial décor cricket "How can you tell your wife you are just popping out to play a match and then not come back for five days?" Rafa Benitez Crome, John (1768 - 1821) English artist, founder of the Norwich School and born in that city; worked in both oils and watercolours, painting Norfolk scenes in a Romantic style custom picture through the wonder of modern technology we can, if you wish, edit advertisements or posters to recreate the original underlying artwork; see our section on this décor furnishing and decoration of a room, pub, office, restaurant, hotel or similar Dürer, Albrecht (1471 - 1528) German artist and mathematician, best known for his prints and woodcuts Edwardian period technically of the reign of Edward VII (1901 to 1910) but generally used to describe the period from the Naughty Nineties (1890s) until the outbreak of the Great War in July 1914 engraving a print made from a plate (usually metal) on which an image is inscribed or carved ephemera literally things of only short-lived relevance or use; describes a range of historical materials such as advertisements, posters, guides, manuals, magazines and the like that were originally designed for contemporary use, but have enjoyed a life beyond their original intention and are still of artistic, social or historic interest etching print made from a metal plate on which an image is made with acid football (association) aka soccer – "A game for gentlemen played by hooligans" Rudyard Kipling frame border enclosing a picture; Lordprice supplies pictures in frames of a wide choice of materials, colours and finishes. Please see individual picture pages for the range of options; if you have a special requirement, please contact us Fry, C B Charles Burgess Fry (1872 - 1956) remarkable polymath who achieved distinction as a sportsman, politician and publisher. Captained Oxford University, Sussex and England at cricket; Oxford athletics Blue (captain); held the world long jump record; played association football for Oxford University (captain), Corinthians, Southampton, Portsmouth and England; played rugby union for Oxford University, Blackheath and the Barbarians; was offered the throne of Albania while he was a delegate for India to the League of Nations; edited an Edwardian magazine (C B Fry's Magazine). Well-known at Oxford for his party trick of standing with his back to a fireplace, then from a standing start, jumping backward up onto the mantelpiece (probably pipe in mouth); we should ask his relative Stephen Fry to try this... Went slightly bonkers towards the end of his life, as is of course the perfect right of any great Englishman. Undoubtedly one of the finest natural athletes of modern times, and is compared, without dishonour, to the likes of Carl Lewis. His achievements seem all the more remarkable when you consider that training in any form would not have been a popular activity. Where on earth did he find the time to do all that? Fry's Magazine see C B Fry's Magazine Fuller, Loie (1862-1928) American actress and dancer who was the inspiration behind the femme fleur, the woman and the flower, constant symbol of Art Nouveau. Loie Fuller's dancing captured the mood of Belle Epoque Paris and for years she was one of the most celebrated stars of the French capital, feted by society and advertised by iconic posters designed by Jules Cheret, Pal and Orazi Georgian period of British history during the reigns of Kings George I through IV (1714 to 1830) giclée the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing; it now implies the use of fade-resistant archival inks and associated high-quality papers or other media glamour tasteful but risqué pictures of scantily-clad young ladies, popular before today's penchant for taking everything to the extreme; and still a favourite with the old-fashioned roué golf "A game to be played between cricket and death" Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie. Or in the case of Lordprice, between rugby and death. graphics also gfx (phonetic abbreviation) a term used to refer to man or computer- made images that are complementary to a page or another image rather than being standalone works. Usually, but not always small, a graphic could be a button or a background, a text image or a line, a colour block or a greyscale shadow. The simplest graphics are basic lines or pieces of text; the most complex are entire page layouts. Great War (1914-1918) The terrible world-wide conflict set in motion by the chain of events started by the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on the 27th June 1914, which led to declarations of war in the first week of August. By the time the Armistice was signed on the 11th November 1918 the death toll was 1m of the British Empire, 1.7m of France, 1.5m of the Hapsburg Empire, 2m of Germany, 0.5m of italy, 1.7m of Russia and c.0.6m of Turkey (no-one counted!). It was called at the time "The War To End All Wars" - but sadly was not, as its name of World War I testifies. Hassall, John (1868 - 1948) English illustrator, born in Kent, best known for his poster work; founded an art school at which H M Bateman studied Hogarth, William (1697 - 1764) great English painter and satirist, best known for his works illustrating the decadence and moral turpitude of contemporary Georgian society, especially in London; important works include Gin Lane, Marriage å la mode and The Rake's Progress, the latter set of pictures on display in the wonderful Sir John Soane's museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields image an all-encompassing word that refers to all pictures or graphics of any type lawyer "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Shakespeare, Henry VI Part II, Act IV, Scene II, Line 76 licence noun; official permit to use an image for a specific purpose license verb; grant a licence to or authorise the use of an image for a specific purpose McGill, Donald (1875 - 1962) English illustrator of saucy seaside postcards full of double entendre and risqué drawings; prosecuted by many local councils under the Obscene Publications Act; of sufficient merit and interest for George Orwell to write an essay about him and his works Mayer-Lukas German Art Deco artist and creator of striking adverts and posters. Born in 1884 in Wurburg the son of a horse trader, he went to art school in Munich. We are unable to find out any more about him - if you can help please let us know moulding The wood section that is used to construct a picture frame. For some applications, as was always the case in the past, this is machined from timber; in others it is machined from modern wood-resin composites such as MDF. The resulting long section of profiled material is then finished with paint or other coatings. It is mitred, ie cut at a 45-degree angle, and joined to similar pieces of the correct length. mount (aka mat, USA; passe partout, France) the card surround within a picture frame that both holds the picture physically and provides a visual effect. Mucha, Alphonse (1860-1939, say: 'moocha') Czech-born artist and graphics icon of the Art Nouveau movement Napoleonic of or relating to Napoleon Bonaparte; the period of European history between Napoleon's installation as First Consul of the French Republic (1799) and his exile to St Helena (1815); the wars fought by Napoleon during this time (France against the rest of Europe, essentially); a complex of short, balding people who overcompensate for their physical shortcomings by the uncontrolled exercise of power Native American one of the indigenous peoples of the North American continent who were disposessed by British, French, Spanish, Dutch, American, German (please insert other European nations here) settlers pickelhaube German helmet with a metaphorically pointless spike on it, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries picture library services identification of appropriate images from our own archives or external sources for publication or other use under licence Plexiglass trade name for polymethyl methacrylate, aka acrylic glass; it has similar transparency properties to glass but is used for large pictures, where its lower density and higher impact strength offer significant benefits especially during shipping politician "An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. When he wriggles he mistakes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive." Ambrose Bierce prison place of captivity, especially of persons being confined for punishment. The Reggie Perrin of MPs, John Stonehouse, commented that he found prison a relaxing and peaceful place in which he was able to indulge in quiet contemplation. He wasn't in Strangeways, then. As minister for telecommunications in the UK (or more correctly Postmaster General as it was then), he was known to all in the business as Sh**house; when it all went pear-shaped, he went loopy and tried to fake his death by leaving his clothes on a beach and disappearing. Like all his efforts, it didn't work. If only more of them would do the same... Regency the period from 1811 to 1820 when George III was so off his rocker that his son (patron of Thomas Rowlandson, and later George IV) ruled in his stead as Prince Regent. It lies wholly within the Georgian era and overlaps with the Napoleonic, but is sometimes seen as a period linking the Georgian with the Victorian Rowlandson, Thomas (1756 - 1827) English caricaturist and watercolourist of genius whose work virtually defined the late Georgian period rugby union "A sport for hooligans played by gentlemen." Rudyard Kipling Salis, Rodolphe de (1851-1897) was a key figure in the development of Montmartre as the entertainment quarter of Paris in the Belle Epoque. He founded the very successful nightclub and theatre Le Chat Noir, subject of an iconic Art Nouveau poster, in 1881 and was a friend and patron of artists such as Steinlen, Willette, Grasset and de Feure Sourire, Le a risqué French illustrated humourous magazine published in the first half of the 20th century. Le Sourire was known, along with the very similar La Vie Parisienne, for its illustrations of girls in various stages of undress and compromising situations (If you can provide more information on this topic, we'd love to know about it – please contact us) Spy see Ward, Sir Leslie Steinlen, Theophile (1859-1923) Swiss-born poster artist and illustrator who came to Montmartre at the age of 21 and stayed for the rest of his life. Famous for his depictions of cats and street life in classic Belle Epoque, Art Nouveau posters Truth US magazine published in New York from 1881 to 1905. Originally it was, from 1881 to 1891, a rather dull weekly up-market social magazine but then, intially edited by Blakely Hall, it transformed into a vigourously colourful organ with splendid lithographic illustrations and cartoons. In 1899 it became a monthly publication, but folded in 1905 Vanity Fair Two unrelated titles interest us. The first, a weekly magazine published in Britain from 1868 to 1914, famous for its caricatures; the second another weekly but published in New York from 1859 to 1863. These are unrelated to the modern Condé Nast title. Vanity Fair was the title of an 1847 satirical novel by Thackeray Victorian the period of British history of Queen Victoria's reign (1837 to 1901); also used to refer to a moral attitude of strict conformity to prudish 'traditional' values of discretion, chastity and absence of fun. Ironically, of course, the opposite was often true in reality, since the concept of hypocrisy does not seem to have been widely understood. This era has the distinction of combining some of Britain's greatest and lowest achievements: the creation of the largest empire the world has ever seen or is likely to see again; and the crushing superiority of Britain's technology, engineers, navy, army and administrators; compared with the appalling social injustices and perversions tolerated at home, together with some of Britain's policies abroad, which though in places may have been benevolent, in others weren't. Ward, Sir Leslie (1851 - 1922) British portrait artist and caricaturist whose works were published by Vanity Fair under the pseudonym Spy ; knighted in 1918 woodcut printing process in which an image is carved into the surface of a wood block; the parts carved out show blank when that which is left is covered in ink and printed Our thanks to all contributors, including (in order of volume): Steve P (no relation) Lord Price Rolygate (webtech) |