International studio (80.1925)

irrceRriAOonAL

smm®

'ART and OTHER THlNCjS

ADVERTISEMENT

The Complete Dictionary of Modern Art Terms, for the use of Aspiring Amateurs,
the publication of which begins in this issue, is a work which has been long and eagerly awaited by
our readers. Conscious as we have been oj the crying need for such an opus, made doubly conscious
by the daily inquiries we have received jrom our subscribers and by our own private doubts as to the exactitude
oj the modern science oj criticism, we had almost despaired oj finding a philologist who would be at once
eminent in his own field and sufficiently au courant with the latest slang oj Fijty-seventh Street to undertake
so herculean a task. It is therefore with justifiable pride that we present the present compilation, the work
of a committee of critics of international reputation. We trust that it may prove of inestimable service not
only to those amateurs for whom it was composed, but also to dealers, collectors, U. S. Senators, Chatauqua
lecturers and cross-word puzzle experts. To this distinguished public we have the honor to dedicate our
classic work.—The Publishers.

PREFACE

efore giving credit to my distinguished
colleagues for their valuable help in this
monumental compilation, it would be well
to make clear the exact nature of our collabora-
tion. They, it is true, supplied the vast majority
of the words; neglected, however, in most cases to
give more than a passing hint of what they
intended them to mean. It has therefore fallen
to my lot to supply the definitions, for the exacti-
tude of which I can under the circumstances accept
only limited responsibility. Since, however, even
an inaccurate definition is better than none at all,
it is with reasonably equanimity that I acknowl-
edge their sterling assistance. Among many others
I am especially indebted to the following authori-
ties:

Miss Ackerman; Messrs. Bach, Bell, Berenson, Brinton,
Burroughs, Conway, Cortissoz, Dodgson, Eglinglon, Fry,
Hine, Ivens, Mather, McBride, Meir-Graefe, Offner, Pach,
Pope, Riefstabl, Toch, Valentiner, Van Dyke, von Bode,
Vollard, Watson, Weitenkampf, Wright; and, also, to the
publishers of the following magazines: Arts and Decoration,
Burlington, Colour, International Studio, Studio, The Arts.

These are, as all the world knows, Olympians.
It was therefore hopeless to look to them for any-
thing but Olympian expressions. It has been
necessary to look elsewhere for a stock of suitable
phrases for minor occasions. To this end the
Dictionary of Medical Terms, especially those
applying to the digestive organs, proved of the
greatest possible assistance and I can confidently
recommend it to the up-to-date critic.

—The Editor

A

Abstract—Formerly the big stick of the modern
critic. Implies that a person has the power of
considering the forms and colors of an object

without reference to the object itself. Before
this austere conception fashionable painters
were wont to quail. Going out of style in up-to-
date criticism. The bright young man will do
well to use Absolute in its place.

--ion—The kind of picture that one tries so

hard to like.

Academy—A quaint, old-time institution surviv-
ing by virtue of its picturesque ceremonies.
Once the jealous upholder of craftsmanship, the
only prerequisite of membership is now a whole-
hearted devotion to the styles of the past,
meaning thereby nothing less than fifty years
old, nor more than three hundred. Members
may be distinguished by their gold medals.
Functions as trades union to protect retarda-
taires and distribute prizes. Since the invasion
of the H ispamc and Slavonic forces its hold on
fashionable society has been sadly weakened.

--ic—Work done in response to and in the

manner of, another artist, preferably dead.
See also under Emasculate.

Anatomy The one-time battle-cry of academies,
now—alas—obsolete. Seems to have had refer-
ence to the internal arrangements of ladies in
deshabille. One still hears it used occasionally
by commercial artists (q. v.) who do their best
to maintain what they conceive to be the tradi-
tion of craftsmanship. Otherwise the term has
become almost purely medical.

Antique—A label indicating that the price must
not be considered in relation to the cost of pro-
duction. See also under Authentic, Expert.

Archaic—Vulgarly applied to men who aspire to
be primitive, this rare quality is more properly

MARCH I925

Jour ninety-five