Glossary
Glossary — Old Master & Modern Art Market
A short reference of terms used in the trade of Old Master paintings and drawings.
- Old Master
- A painter or draughtsman of recognised skill working in Europe before approximately 1830, whose works form the cornerstone of art-historical scholarship and connoisseurship.
- Provenance
- The documented history of ownership of a work of art, essential for authenticity, attribution and market value.
- Attribution
- The scholarly identification of the artist responsible for a work, ranging from autograph to workshop, follower or circle.
- Connoisseurship
- The trained visual judgement of quality, authorship, condition and significance of a work of art.
- Catalogue Raisonné
- A scholarly inventory listing the complete known works of an artist with descriptions, provenance and bibliography.
- Recto / Verso
- The front (recto) and back (verso) of a sheet of paper — both sides may bear drawings of significance.
- Modello
- A finished preparatory drawing or oil sketch presented to a patron for approval before execution of a final work.
- Bozzetto
- A small preliminary sketch, often in oil, used by an artist to work out composition and colour.
- Pentimento
- Visible traces of an artist's earlier compositional changes, often revealed under raking light or infrared.
- Sanguine
- A red chalk drawing medium widely used by Italian and French masters from the Renaissance onward.
- Trois Crayons
- A drawing technique combining black, red and white chalks, perfected in 17th- and 18th-century France.
- Wash
- A diluted application of ink or watercolour, used to model form and shadow in drawings.
- Watermark
- A mark embedded in paper during manufacture, used to date and locate the production of a sheet.
- Collector's Mark (Lugt)
- A stamp identifying a former owner of a drawing or print, catalogued by Frits Lugt in his reference work.
- Condition Report
- A detailed description of the physical state of a work, including conservation history and any restoration.
- TEFAF Maastricht
- The leading international fair for Old Master paintings, drawings, antiques and works of art, held annually.
- Private Sale
- A confidential transaction conducted outside of public auction, often through a dealer or advisor.
- Estimate
- A professional valuation of a work for sale, insurance, succession or division of assets.
- Ignudo
- A nude male figure, particularly the seated figures painted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
- Belle Époque
- The period in France from c. 1871 to 1914, marked by refined academic painting, society portraiture and Parisian life.