Artist's Resources∼Artist's Dictionary N
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Nabis, Les
(Hebrew, "the prophets") In the 1890's, a group of French Artists, including
Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, Roussel, and others; who were influenced by
Gauguin
and by niiave painting, mysticism and rebellion against Artistic conventions.
Nagasaki School
Japanese 18th century School of painting in a realistic style derived from traditional
Chinese painting.
Nangwa School
Japanese late 17th century to 19th century School of painting noted for graceful brush
strokes and the use of changing values throughout hte painting.
Naptha
A petroluem distillate used as a solvent for wax; toxic.
National Academy of Design
A society of conservative American painters, sculptors and engravers; headquartered
in New York City since 1826; associate members are entitled to use A.N.A. after
their name, and when elected to full membership, N.A. is used.
Nature Morte
(French, "still life") See
Still Life.
Nazarenes
Mocking name given to the Lukasbruder, Order of St. Luke, a group of Artists and
Writers founded in Vienna in 1809; and dedicated to encouraging Art as a religious
devotion; members included Friedrich Overbeck, Peter von Cornelius, Karl Begas,
Julius Schnorr and Franz Pforr.
Negative space
The space in an Art Work not occupied by subject matter but utilized by the
Artists as part of the design.
Negative tint
White dots or pattern against a dark background.
Negro pencils
Smooth, black, soft sketching pencils, made in sizes 1 through 5.
Neoclassical
Pertaining to a style, mainly in 18th century Europe, influenced by classical Greece
and Rome.
Neo Dada
See
Pop Art.
Neoexpressionist painting
Abstract painting stemming from the emotions or accidental happenings, as distinguished from planned,
geometric forms.
Neoimpressionism
An Art movement starting in France about 1880, also called Chromoluminarism,
Pointillism and Divisionism,
consists of applying tiny dots of pure color in such a manner that intermediate colors
are created in the eye of the observer; prominent Artists were Seraut and Signac, although
the princible had been practiced by earlier Artists including Watteau, DeCaerech, Turner
and others.
Neoplasticism
See
De Stijl.
Net lines
In textile design, the "visible or not visible" lines of the network.
Neuter figure
A mannekin or comic figure that can be either male or female.
Neutralization
In lithography, the process that removes the hygroscopic film from the stone so
that the surface again becomes receptive to grease.
New English Art Club
New English Art Club
A group including Augustus John, Walter Sickert and James Whistler, established in
1886 in opposition to what they considered the sterile aesthetics of the Royal Academy.
New Objectivity or Neue Sachlichkeit
Painting that was a reaction to expressionism that developed in Germany in the 1920's; it was
representational and exact in detail to the point of unreality; prominent Artists
were George Grosz and Otto Dix.
Newsboard
See
Chipboard.
Newsprint
A cheap paper used for sketching, not durable, turns yellow with age and tears
easily.
Newton's Color Wheel
The first color wheel circle, developed by Sir Issac Newton about 1666, using seven
colors to correspond with the seven notes on the diatonic scale annd the seven known planets;
based upon refracted light, they were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
New York School
A group of painters working in and around the New York City after WWII; most are associated with
abstract expressionism; among them were DeKooning, Gottlieb and
Pollock.
Nib
The metal point of a pen.
Nihilism
A philosphy denying the existence of any basis for truth. In Art a revolt against
established values and smugness. See also
Dada.
Nimbus
See Aureole.
Nitric acid
A mineral acid used as an oxidizing agent in etching.
Noboyka
16th to 18th century Russian designs, crafted from wood blocks and printed on fabric,
using florals and geometrics as repeat patterns.
No-crawl
A trade name for a medium used with watercolors and retouch colors on plastic or
glossy surfaces to prvent it from beading and crawling.
Nocturne
A painting of a night scene.
Nondirectional
In textile design, a pattern in which direction is not conspicuous.
Nonfigurative
Without figures; sometimes not representational.
Nonobjective Art
Art arrived at without the influence of real or natural forms.
Nonrepresentational Art
Art that does not represent any real or natural things in any manner.
Nooding
An Artist's term for rendering intricate details, usually derogatory, implying
over-done, over involved.
Norwich School
A regional School founded in 1803 in England, devoted to landscape painting, Crome
and Cotman were two leading Artists.
Nouveau realism
(French, "new realism") Equivalent of American Pop Art.