Art Terms and Definitions — B

art vocabulary terms and definitions

A list of art vocabulary, terms and definitions that begin with the letter “B”. The list below begins with BACKGROUND and ends with BUST. In it, you’ll find over 30 art-related terms that will give you a better understanding of art concepts.

Quick links to more art vocabulary, terms and definitions are located at the end of the list.

Background

The area in a painting that visually appears far away in the distance at or near the horizon. It is usually located on a higher plane of the canvas.

Balance (in art)

A basic principle of design. Balance in art is the sense of equilibrium created when the visual weight, attention, or attraction of all objects within a composition is distributed evenly and no single aspect of the design may dominate or appear heavier than another section of the same composition.

Barbizon School

(Visual arts: painting. Art movement: France, 1830-1870.)
An art movement formed by a group of French landscape painters who sought to promote a more realistic and informal approach in their nature paintings. This movement is named after Barbizon, a hamlet in France near the Forest of Fontainebleau, where many of the artists affiliated with this school came to paint and draw inspiration. Their works frequently featured tranquil nature vistas, rural life, and farmworkers. Barbizon School artists are often considered to have sown the seeds of Modernism with their individualism, and were the forerunners of the Impressionists, who took a similar philosophical approach to their art.

Baroque Art

(Pronounced buh-rohk. Visual arts: architecture, painting, and sculpture. Art movement: Western Europe, 17th and early 18th centuries. French term “barroque,” meaning “irregularly shaped.” Also known as Baroque period.)
An art movement characterized by exaggerated ornate detail. An extravagant style of art characterized by curving lines, gilding, and gold. The Baroque art style was sometimes considered excessively decorated and overly complicated. Baroque art emerged as a response to the simplicity of Protestant art and was popular with and supported by the Catholic Church.

Bauhaus School

(Pronounced bou-hous. Visual arts: design, architecture, and applied arts. Art movement: Germany, 1919-1933. A German word meaning “house of building.” Also known as Staatliches Bauhaus.)
A German art school established in Weimar, Germany in 1919. It aimed to unify crafts and fine arts by emphasizing function and mass production in design. Its design was characterized by clean lines, geometric shapes, and minimum ornamentation, as well as bright splashes of primary colors, with the goal of achieving elegance through simplicity. However, the school was closed by the Nazis in 1933, leading many artists to emigrate to the United States for intellectual freedom.

Basic Art Elements

See “Elements of Art.”

Byzantine Art

(Visual arts: architecture, mosaics, and painting. Art movement: Byzantine Empire, 4th-5th Century A.D.)
An art style rooted in Christianity and classical Greek mythology that was a significant artistic movement during the Middle Ages in the Byzantine Empire and surrounding areas. It focused on the Orthodox church, focusing on the painting of icons and decorating churches with frescoes and mosaics. The art was known for its intricate mosaics, often depicting flat figures against a golden background, aiming to convey spiritual and symbolic meaning. Stylized imagery was preferred over naturalistic depictions, using graceful figures and golden tesserae to create a sense of wonder and admiration for the church. The style ended with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 during the European Renaissance, but its influence continued in Russia and other Orthodox countries where the church held sway.

Ben-Day Dots

art vocabulary terms and definitions

Tiny colored dots (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) used in the commercial printing industry to create shading and secondary colors in images. Benjamin Henry Day, an illustrator and printer, invented this method in 1879.

Binder

A component in paint, such as linseed oil or acrylic polymer, that holds pigment particles together ensuring consistent uniformity or cohesiveness.

Biomorphic Art

An abstract art style first introduced in the mid-1930s that evokes the form and shape of natural and living organisms. It focuses on the power of natural life and uses shapeless, vaguely spherical hints of biology. Drawing inspiration from patterns and forms found in the natural world and living organisms, biomorphic art creates aesthetically pleasing and harmonious designs, blending Surrealism and Cubism. Also called “biomorphism” or “biomorphist” art.

Birds-Eye View

Seeing from the point of view from an altitude or a distance; a comprehensive view in a downward direction; also called an “aerial view.”

Bitmap Image

A pixel-based image (.BMP) with one bit of color information per pixel, also known as a bitmapped image. The only colors displayed in a bitmapped image are black and white. Its quality decreases when the image is enlarged.

Black

An achromatic color, without hue, results from the absence or complete absorption of any visible light. The darkest of all colors and the opposite or complement of white. It is often argued that black is not a color because it lacks any hue or wavelength of light. However, since color is the result of human perception, many commonly perceive black as a color. One of four primary ink colors used in the printing industry (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black).

Blending

A technique used in painting to soften lines and create a gradual transition between two or more colors or tones. Blending ensures that most surfaces appear smooth and have fewer hard edges.

Blending Brush

A type of paintbrush used for smoothing out brushstrokes and spreading and blending colors smoothly. Blending brushes are very soft and are not used for applying paint. Use them to gently stroke the wet paint that you have already applied to the canvas to remove brushstrokes and blend paint. These art brushes are usually the most expensive in your paintbox, so you will want to take good care of them to make them last a long time.

Blue

art vocabulary terms and definitions

One of the three primary colors of pigments used in painting, and the complement or opposite of the color orange. In painting, blue is used to create a multitude of colors when mixed with other hues.

Body Art

A type of contemporary art that uses the human body as the “canvas.” The most common forms of body art are tattoos and body piercings.

Botanical Art

poppy pods botanical art
Poppy Pods by Teresa Bernard

A scientifically accurate portrayal of a plant, fungi, or lichen, but may not be a comprehensive scientific record. It encompasses a variety of genres, including scientific illustration, realistic drawing, and painting of botanical subjects. The goal of botanical painters is to comprehend plant structure and visually express this information to their audience. For more on botanicals, click here.

Botanical Artist

A skilled artist who creates precise illustrations of plants, often used in scientific records and printed alongside descriptions in books and media. Their goal is to accurately document the shapes, structures, colors, life cycle, and habits of unique plant species while providing a visually appealing image.

Bright Art Brush

bright oil painting art brush

A brush with a flat ferrule and short-length hairs set in a long handle. The hairs curve inward at the tip and are virtually the same breadth and length as the brush head. This brush works well for applying heavy color in short, controlled strokes; however, if overworked, a Bright will remove as much paint as it applies. Use this brush when you want the brush strokes to show. These brush types are better for working up close rather than holding the brush at a distance from the canvas.

Bristle Brushes

bristle hair brush

A natural hair paintbrush used by artists. Bristle brushes are stiff and springy brushes made from the hairs from the back of a pig. They have natural “split ends,” which make them ideal for oil painting because they can withstand heavy oil paint, textured canvas, and harsh solvents like turpentine. The stiff bristles will leave a strong mark on the canvas. In addition, Bristle brushes are easy to clean.

Bristle brushes are best in sizes of a half-inch wide or larger. They are best when used on large areas of canvas, to begin a painting, or for very large paintings. Entire paintings may be painted using only bristle brushes. However, for finer detail in smaller areas, sable brushes should be used.

Bristles

Sometimes referred to as hairs or filaments, bristles make up the head of the brush, called the “brush head.” This is the part of the brush that holds the paint. They are made from natural hair, synthetic fibers, or a combination of both. Natural bristles are animal hair, while synthetic bristles are nylon or polyester.

Bristles are formed into different shapes, which dictate the type of brush: bright, fan, filbert, flat, and round. The quality of the bristles determines the cost of the brush. The tip of the bristles is called the toe, while the heel is where the strands go into the ferrule at the tip of the handle. The belly is the fattest part of the bristle head.

Bristol Board

A high-quality heavyweight drawing paper, sometimes made with cotton fiber prepared or glued together, usually with a caliper thickness of 0.006″ and up, used for many types of two-dimensional artwork, including lettering.

Brush Anatomy

art vocabulary terms and definitions

The anatomy of an artist’s paintbrush consists of three main components: the head, the ferrule, and the handle.

Brush Head: The hairs or bristles of the brush. The strands are made from either natural or synthetic fibers. This is what an artist uses to apply and push paint around on the canvas. The head has three parts: the very tip of the head is called the toe. The fattest part is called the belly, and the point where the head meets the ferrule is called the heel.

Ferrule: The metal cylinder or band that attaches the head to the handle and helps hold the hairs in shape. Ferrules can be made from tin, aluminum, brass, copper alloys, nickel, or chrome plated. High-quality brushes have a brass or copper alloy ferrule that won’t rust or come loose. These types have the best adhesion to the handle and a double or triple crimp. The crimp is the part of the ferrule that secures it to the handle. This is important because if the ferrule does not fit properly, the bristles will fall out, or the ferrule could come off the handle.

Handle: The long stem of the brush that is held when in use. It is usually made of wood, acrylic, or bone. Most are made of hardwoods, like beech. They can be either short or long; however, lengths do differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Short handles fit into the palm, allowing different paint applications and movement. Oil painting brushes are made with longer handles, which provide better balance. The paintbrush’s size is typically indicated by a number printed on the handle, starting from 000 (triple ought) the smallest size), then 0, 1, 2, up to #12 or larger. A quality brush will balance on your finger, regardless of its size.

See “paintbrush” for more information about brushes.

Brush Drawing

A technique in visual arts that uses a round and pointed brush to produce linear images using India ink or watercolor. This style is very useful for illustrating nature objects since it produces a linear feel rather than a painterly finish. Brush drawing is ideal for generating delicate and detailed images.

Brushstroke

The mark left by a loaded (filled) brush on a surface. Brushstrokes can be distinguished by their direction, thickness, texture, and quality. Some artists purposefully obscure individual brushstrokes to achieve a smooth surface. Other artists make their brushstrokes obvious to reveal the process of painting or to express movement or emotion.

Brushwork

A technique where paint is applied to a surface using a brush, characterized by its size, texture, and accuracy. It is a fundamental element in oil painting, allowing artists to convey textures, emotions, and visual interest. Every painter has a different brush technique that adds to an artist’s style and distinguishes their work.

Built Environment

Man-made surroundings created to fulfill human desires and needs. Structures, features, and facilities viewed collectively as a setting for human activity in which people live, work, and play.

Bust

In sculpture, a representation of the upper part of the human figure, including the head, neck, and part of the shoulders and breast. The bust is a portrait intended to record the appearance of an individual and is usually (but not always) mounted on a base or column.

You May Also Like

This glossary of art terms is provided as a valuable resource for art enthusiasts. If you like the information here and find it helpful, please consider purchasing a painting. Your support helps to cover the cost of keeping this art vocabulary, terms and definitions lexicon online. Simply click or tap the thumbnail link of any Teresa Bernard oil painting to view additional details.

blue shutters landscape painting
Blue Shutters
 (2022)
12″ w x 9″ h
nautical artwork
Bow of The Boat
(2021)
18″ w x 18″ h
still life art
Still Life with Black Jars (2022)
12″ w x 9″ h

Art Glossary Quick Links

A     |     B     |     C     |     D     |     E     |     F     |     G

H     |     I       |     J     |     K     |     L     |     M     |     N

O     |     P     |     Q     |     R     |     S     |     T     |     U

V     |     W     |     X     |     Y     |     Z

Contributing to The Art Dictionary

The art vocabulary terms and definitions dictionary is a work in progress. New terms and definitions are added on a regular basis. If you know of an art term and definition that isn’t already listed in it, but you believe it should be, send it to us and we’ll consider adding it. We’ll let you know if we do. Thanks!

Thanks for reading this!