3 Art Terms To Change How You Look at Paintings

Delve in the meanings of Capriccio, Impasto and Weltlandschaft

The Hunters in the Snow (1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Oil on oak wood. 117 × 162 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Image Source

Sometimes, when looking at a work of art, simply knowing the name of a technique or method can make the work easier to grasp.

Expanding my vocabulary of art terms has often helped me perceive individual pieces with greater clarity — sharpening my eye for the choices made by different artists, giving me better tools to compare works, and enriching my overall appreciation.

Here are three art terms that I hope will deepen your understanding and enjoyment of art.

Capriccio

Capriccio with the Pantheon and Other Monuments of Ancient Rome (1737) by Giovanni Paolo Panini. Oil on canvas. 98.9 × 137.5 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, U.S. Image source

From the early 1600s, artists allowed their imaginations to range freely and excitedly, particularly in the realm of monumental architecture.

They cultivated a type of image known as a capriccio, meaning architectural fantasy — usually a wild recipe of disparate references collected together into a coherent but fanciful whole. Incidentally, it is from capriccio that English derives the word “caprice”.