'E'gads, More Art Terms! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Earth Art

Earth Art, also known as Land Art or Earthworks, involves the actual manipulation of rocks, soil and other geological materials to form pieces of art work. Generally Earthworks are very large in scale, with Smithson's 'Spiral Jetty', built on the Great Salt Lake in 1970, as a prime example. Earth Art should not be confused with Environment Art, which employs manmade objects in its craft.

Answer: Offering to God

The creator of an ex-voto (Latin: from a vow) piece is hoping for a favor from God in return for the creation of this art piece which sometimes depicts the creator. I call it kissing up!

Answer: Enamel

To famous types of enamelware are Champleve Enamel and Cloisonné Enamel, both used to decorate metal and/or porcelain.

Answer: Hot wax

The term 'encaustic' is derived from the Greek for 'burnt in'. It is a terribly painstaking process, which explains why not many artists attempt to use it, but Johns has created some excellent encaustic pieces such as his 'Flag' and his 'Target' paintings.

Answer: Charles Lock Eastlake

Eastlake was an English publisher of written works on decoration in the 19th century, including his most famous volume 'Hints on Household Taste', written in 1868. Though his book had a great influence on architects and furniture makers, the term 'Eastlake furniture' may perhaps be a misnomer, as his ideas seldom had much to do with its creation...but his influence cannot be denied.

Answer: Easel

An easel is a stand that supports an artist's work...maybe a donkey would come to mind when thinking about an item of support? It did to the Dutch who termed the little stand an 'ezel', or ass!

Answer: Cornell

While certainly the term 'expressionist' is broad, and could be used to describe the works of Kollwitz, Munch and Kokoschka, it isn't broad enough to describe Cornell's work. An expressionist is one who expresses his or her emotions within their artwork, often in exaggerated and dramatic fashion. Cornell was an American sculptor, associated with the Surrealists, who created assemblages in little boxes.

Answer: Etching

All of these artists were practitioners of various etching techniques. Etching is a process that involves engraving onto a metal plate using a needle, wax and acid.

Answer: Ecorché

It may seem kind of gross (écorché means 'flayed' or 'without skin' in French), but écorché figures, both painted and sculpted, are very useful for a student of art. Even Michelangelo and Leonardo employed écorché in their drawings.

Answer: Sketch

Esquisse is a French term for a sketch. Other related terms are modello, pensiero and sprezzatura...all Italian. Thanks for playing my quiz...I hope you enjoyed it, and learned something in the process! Please stay tuned for my 'F' quiz, coming soon. Also, for further E terms, please do not be afraid to try my E-F Asian terms quiz.