The glossary of terms has been created to support the understanding of terms used within the Pre-Raphaelite resource. Please contact us if you would like us to add or amend a term.
A depiction or portrait of a person where features, or occasionally behaviour, are exaggerated for humorous effect.
Classical Revival
The term classical is used to describe art aspiring to and influenced by the art and mythology of ancient Greece and Rome and other ancient civilisations. The 1870s and 1880s saw the high period of the Victorian classical revival.
Composition or Compositional study
A drawing in preparation for a finished art work, where the artist is working out the elements for his chosen subject. Several such studies may be undertaken before a finalised composition drawing is reached.
Cartoon
A full-scale drawing in preparation for an art work such as a painting, tapestry, or stained glass window. Cartoons are usually monochrome and show the image as an outline. Some artists such as Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) coloured cartoons, often a later date, and sold them as art works in their own right.