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Art and print terms
22 art, print, colour and framing terms, each defined from two or three sources that were fetched and read on 2026-11-12, with a drawing and a table of the points the sources give.
All terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Stretcher bar | A stretcher bar frame is a wooden framework on which an artist fastens a piece of canvas. |
| Gesso | Gesso is a white paint mixture used to coat rigid surfaces such as wooden panels as a base for painting. |
| CMYK | CMYK is a subtractive colour model used in colour printing, named for its four inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). |
| Adobe RGB | Adobe RGB (1998) is a colour space developed by Adobe in 1998, designed to encompass most colours achievable on CMYK colour printers. |
| Colour gamut | A gamut is the set of colours that can be accurately represented by a device or colour space. |
| ICC colour profile | An ICC profile is a set of data that characterizes a colour input or output device. |
| Image interpolation | Interpolation is how software estimates new pixels when an image is resized; adding pixels is upsampling. |
| Rule of thirds | The rule of thirds is a rule of thumb for composing visual art: divide the image into nine parts with two vertical and two horizontal lines. |
| Salon-style hang | Salon style describes the crowded, floor-to-ceiling walls of the Paris Salon exhibitions, where paintings used every available space. |
| Dye-sublimation | Dye-sublimation is a printing technique in which heat makes dye turn to gas and embed into a specially coated surface. |
| Rabbet | A rabbet is a recess or groove cut into the edge of a piece of material, usually wood; in framing it is the channel that holds the contents. |
| Picture rail | A picture rail is a moulding fixed near the top of a wall from which framed art is hung, so no nails need to go into the wall. |
| Mitre joint | A mitre (miter) joint is made by cutting each of two parts across the main surface, usually to form a 90 degree corner. |
| Canvas | Canvas is a strong woven cloth traditionally used by artists as a support, the surface on which to paint. |
| Etching | Etching is an intaglio technique that uses chemical action to produce incised lines in a metal plate. |
| Screen print | Screen printing uses a mesh with a stencil to force ink onto paper or another surface, one colour at a time. |
| Limited edition | A limited edition is a print run capped at a stated number, typically signed and numbered in pencil by the artist. |
| Madhubani painting | Madhubani, or Mithila, painting is a style practised in the Mithila region of India and Nepal, named after the Madhubani district of Bihar. |
| Pichwai | Pichwai (pichhwai) are large devotional Hindu painted pictures, normally on cloth. |
| Tanjore painting | Tanjore (Thanjavur) painting is a classical South Indian painting style from the town of Thanjavur, done as panel paintings on wooden planks. |
| Complementary colours | Complementary colours are pairs on opposite sides of the colour wheel that create strong contrast. |
| Hue, saturation and value | Hue is the pure colour; saturation is how far it is from grey; value or lightness is how light or dark it is. |
Each term page lists its sources. Where sources disagree the page shows both, and where only one source covers a point the page says so.