art
The making of objects, images, music, etc. that are beautiful or that express feelings
هنر
I enjoyed the ballet, but it wasn't really great art.
از رقص باله لذت بردم اما یک کار هنری خوب نبود.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
art
noun
1 (no plural) making beautiful things, like paintings and drawings:
He's studying art at college.
2 (no plural) beautiful things like paintings and drawings that somebody has made:
modern art
an art gallery
3 the arts (plural) things like films, plays and literature:
How much money does the government spend on the arts?
4 (no plural) a skill, or something that needs skill:
the art of letter writing
5 arts (plural) the subjects you can study at school or university which are not science subjects, for example history or languages:
She has an arts degree.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
art
I. art1 S1 W1 /ɑːt $ ɑːrt/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: noun: ↑art, ↑artist, ↑artistry; adjective: ↑artistic, ↑arty; adverb: ↑artistically]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin ars]
1. [uncountable] the use of painting, drawing, ↑sculpture etc to represent things or express ideas:
the Museum of Modern Art in New York
an example of early Indian art
2. [plural, uncountable] objects that are produced by art, such as paintings, drawings etc:
an art exhibition
an art critic
an arts and crafts fair
The exhibition features works of art by Picasso and Matisse.
3. [uncountable] the skill of drawing or painting:
He’s very good at art.
an art teacher
art college
4. the arts [plural] art, music, theatre, film, literature etc all considered together:
Government funding for the arts has been reduced.
5. arts (also the arts) [plural] subjects you can study that are not scientific, for example history, languages etc ⇨ humanities
6. [uncountable and countable] the ability or skill involved in doing or making something:
Television is ruining the art of conversation.
Writing advertisements is quite an art (=it is difficult to do).
have/get something down to a fine art (=do something very well)
I’ve got the early morning routine down to a fine art.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ types of art
▪ modern art art from the late 19th century until now: I’m not very keen on modern art.
▪ contemporary art art that is being created now: an exhibition of contemporary art
▪ Western art art in Europe and North America: Velasquez was one of the greatest figures in the history of Western art.
▪ fine art art, especially painting, which is made to be beautiful or affect your emotions, rather than to be useful: She wants to study fine art at college. | the Royal Academy of Fine Arts
▪ abstract art paintings or images that consist of shapes or lines which do not look like people, places, or objects: it’s almost impossible for any artist not to be influenced by Picasso’s abstract art.
▪ figurative art art that shows pictures of people, places, or objects: In this country, we always feel more comfortable with figurative art.
▪ conceptual art a type of modern art, which shows ideas about the world: In conceptual art, the idea behind the work of art holds as much importance as the artwork itself.
▪ applied art the use of artistic principles in the design of objects and images for people to use. This includes subjects such as fashion, jewellery design, architecture, and photography: Van de Velde taught at the new school of applied art.
▪ primitive art art by people who live in societies where there is a very simple way of life and no modern technology or industry: The interest in primitive art came about largely through the work of Gauguin.
▪ pop art art that shows ordinary objects that you find in people’s homes, which was made popular in the1960s by artists such as Andy Warhol: The relationship of advertising to art was part of the pop art phenomenon in the 1960s.
▪ the visual arts painting, sculpture, and other art forms that you look at, not literature or music: The approach to the visual arts has changed in the last two decades.
▪ the decorative arts the design and production of beautiful things for the home, such as furniture, pottery, and cloth: The exhibition will also cover the decorative arts.
▪ the performing arts dance, music, or drama, done to entertain people: San Diego’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts
▪ the plastic arts art that involves producing objects such as sculpures or pots: the decline of the plastic arts in the fifth century
▪ performance art a type of art that can combine acting, dance, and other actions to express an idea: It will be a mixture of live performance art, music and poetry in an informal club setting.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
art
art [art arts] noun, verb [ɑːt] [ɑːrt]
noun
1. uncountable the use of the imagination to express ideas or feelings, particularly in painting, drawing or sculpture
• modern/contemporary/American art
• an art critic/historian/lover
• Can we call television art?
• stolen works of art
• Her performance displayed great art.
see also clip art, fine art
2. uncountable examples of objects such as paintings, drawings or sculptures
• an art gallery/exhibition
• a collection of art and antiques
3. uncountable the skill of creating objects such as paintings and drawings, especially when you study it
• She's good at art and design.
• an art teacher/student/college/class
4. the arts plural art, music, theatre, literature, etc. when you think of them as a group
• lottery funding for the arts
see also performing arts
5. countable a type of visual or performing art
• Dance is a very theatrical art.
6. countable, usually plural the subjects you can study at school or university that are not scientific, such as languages, history or literature
• an arts degree
compare science
7. countable, uncountable an ability or a skill that you can develop with training and practice
• a therapist trained in the art of healing
• Letter-writing is a lost art nowadays.
• Appearing confident at interviews is quite an art (= rather difficult).
see get sth down to a fine art at fine adj.
Word Origin:
n. Middle English: via Old French from Latin ars, art-.
Culture:
art galleries and museums of art
In Britain, works of art are displayed in art galleries and, especially outside London, in museums. Shops that sell paintings are also called galleries. In the US public art collections are displayed in art museums, and a gallery is a place where people go to buy works of art.
Many galleries and museums in Britain and the US receive limited financial support from national or local government. Other money is raised through admission fees, although admission to many British museums is free, and the sale of postcards, calendars, etc. Some galleries obtain money through sponsorship. Many works of art are expensive and galleries can rarely buy them without organizing a public appeal or, in Britain, asking for money from the National Art Collections Fund.
Visiting an art gallery is a popular leisure activity. Galleries and museums are friendlier places than they used to be. Many try to encourage children’s interest in art by arranging school visits and many people make their first trip to an art museum with their school class.
The most popular galleries in Britain, all in London, are the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern. The Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition of paintings sent in by the general public also receives a lot of visitors. Sculpture attracts less attention, and though the names of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth are known to many people, few could describe any of their works. Well-known galleries outside London include the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
Important art museums in the US include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum, all in New York, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Most US cities and many smaller towns have art museums.
Galleries sometimes mount exhibitions of the paintings of one artist, e.g. Turner, that are brought together from all over the world. People are prepared to queue for a long time to see them. Many people admire old masters, famous works by great artists of the past, but have little interest in modern art. New works receive publicity in the media only when they are unusual or likely to shock people. Galleries and museums try to encourage a more positive attitude to modern art but many people remain doubtful. When the Tate displayed half a cow and its calf rotting in formaldehyde (= a chemical used to preserve it), the public criticized the artist, Damien Hirst. There is usually controversy about the winners of the Turner Prize
Some exhibitions bring together all kinds of art, not only paintings, from a particular time or country so that people can learn about it. Exhibitions on subjects such as the Aztecs, art nouveau and the art of Turkey attract large crowds.
Collocations:
Fine arts
Creating art
make a work of art/a drawing/a sketch/a sculpture/a statue/engravings/etchings/prints
do an oil painting/a self-portrait/a line drawing/a rough sketch
create a work of art/an artwork/paintings and sculptures
produce paintings/portraits/oil sketches/his most celebrated work/a series of prints
paint a picture/landscape/portrait/mural/in oils/in watercolours/(especially US) in watercolors/on canvas
draw a picture/a portrait/a cartoon/a sketch/a line/a figure/the human form/in charcoal/in ink
sketch a preliminary drawing/a figure/a shape
carve a figure/an image/a sculpture/an altarpiece/reliefs/a block of wood
sculpt a portrait bust/a statue/an abstract figure
etch a line/a pattern/a design/a name into the glass
mix colours/(especially US) colors/pigments/paints
add/apply thin/thick layers of paint/colour/(especially US) color/pigment
use oil pastels/charcoal/acrylic paint/a can of spray paint
work in bronze/ceramics/stone/oils/pastels/watercolour/a wide variety of media
Describing art
paint/depict a female figure/a biblical scene/a pastoral landscape/a domestic interior
depict/illustrate a traditional/mythological/historical/religious theme
create an abstract composition/a richly textured surface/a distorted perspective
paint dark/rich/skin/flesh tones
use broad brush strokes/loose brushwork/vibrant colours/a limited palette/simple geometric forms
develop/adopt/paint in a stylized manner/an abstract style
Showing and selling art
commission an altarpiece/a bronze bust of sb/a portrait/a religious work/an artist to paint sth
frame a painting/portrait
hang art/a picture/a painting
display/exhibit modern art/sb's work/a collection/original artwork/ drawings/sculptures/a piece
be displayed/hung in a gallery/museum
install/place a sculpture in/at/on sth
erect/unveil a bronze/marble/life-size statue
hold/host/mount/open/curate/see (especially BrE) an exhibition/(NAmE usually) exhibit
be/go on (BrE) exhibition/(NAmE) exhibit
feature/promote/showcase a conceptual artist/contemporary works
collect African art/modern British paintings/Japanese prints
restore/preserve a fresco/great works of art
Example Bank:
• Cinema became accepted as an art form.
• He created cover art and illustrations for the magazine.
• He was a noted art collector.
• His art style was less radical than his contemporaries.
• I've never mastered the art of making bread.
• Many people from the art world attended the funeral.
• Michelangelo's Pietà is a magnificent work of art.
• She has the business of buying presents down to a fine art.
• Social interaction is increasingly becoming a lost art.
• Television has ruined the art of conversation.
• The castle houses one of the finest art collections in Britain.
• The museum normally showcases Western art.
• The open art exhibition will allow new artists to exhibit their work.
• Will real life ever imitate art the way Hollywood wishes it would?
• a liberal arts degree
• an exhibition of Peruvian arts and crafts
• one of the greatest works of art ever produced
• the Impressionist art movement
• the New York art scene
• Appearing confident at interviews is quite an art.
• Painting is the art of reaching the soul through the eyes.
• Teach your teenager the art of compromise.
• the art of conversation/communication/persuasion/negotiation/compromise/healing/listening/love
• the art of fiction/poetry/painting/film
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
art / ɑːt / / ɑːrt / noun (EXPRESSION)
A2 [ U ] the making of objects, images, music, etc. that are beautiful or that express feelings:
Can television and pop music really be considered art?
I enjoyed the ballet, but it wasn't really great art.
A2 [ U ] the activity of painting, drawing, and making sculpture:
Art and English were my best subjects at school.
an art teacher
A2 [ U ] paintings, drawings, and sculptures:
The gallery has an excellent collection of modern art.
an exhibition of Native American art
Peggy Guggenheim was one of the 20th century's great art collectors.
The Frick is an art gallery in New York.
B2 [ C ] an activity through which people express particular ideas:
Drama is an art that is traditionally performed in a theatre.
Do you regard film as entertainment or as an art?
She is doing a course in the performing arts.
the arts the making or showing or performance of painting, acting, dancing, and music:
More government money is needed for the arts.
public interest in the arts
art / ɑːt / / ɑːrt / noun (NOT SCIENCE)
arts C1 [ plural ] subjects, such as history, languages, and literature, that are not scientific subjects:
At school I was quite good at arts, but hopeless at science.
Children should be given a well-balanced education in both the arts and the sciences.
arts graduates/degrees
art / ɑːt / / ɑːrt / noun [ C ] (SKILL)
C1 a skill or special ability:
the art of conversation
Getting him to go out is quite an art (= needs special skill) .
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
art
/ɑ:(r)t/
(arts)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Art consists of paintings, sculpture, and other pictures or objects which are created for people to look at and admire or think deeply about.
...the first exhibition of such art in the West.
...contemporary and modern American art.
...Whitechapel Art Gallery.
N-UNCOUNT
2.
Art is the activity or educational subject that consists of creating paintings, sculptures, and other pictures or objects for people to look at and admire or think deeply about.
...a painter, content to be left alone with her all-absorbing art.
...Farnham College of Art and Design.
...art lessons.
N-UNCOUNT
3.
The arts are activities such as music, painting, literature, cinema, and dance, which people can take part in for enjoyment, or to create works which express serious meanings or ideas of beauty.
Catherine the Great was a patron of the arts and sciences.
...the art of cinema.
N-VAR: usu the N in pl
4.
At a university or college, arts are subjects such as history, literature, or languages in contrast to scientific subjects.
...arts and social science graduates.
...the Faculty of Arts.
N-PLURAL: oft N n
5.
Arts or art is used in the names of theatres or cinemas which show plays or films that are intended to make the audience think deeply about the content, and not simply to entertain them.
...the Cambridge Arts Cinema.
ADJ: ADJ n
6.
If you describe an activity as an art, you mean that it requires skill and that people learn to do it by instinct or experience, rather than by learning facts or rules.
Fishing is an art.
N-COUNT
7.
Art is an old-fashioned form of the second person singular of the present tense of the verb be.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
art
art /ˈɑɚt/ noun, pl arts
1 [noncount] : something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings
• a piece of modern/contemporary art
• It's a remarkable picture, but is it art?
- see also op-art, performance art, pop art, work of art
2 [noncount] : works created by artists : paintings, sculptures, etc., that are created to be beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings
• the art [=artwork] of Salvador Dalí
• The museum has a large collection of folk art.
• African/Japanese/Mayan art
- often used before another noun
• art history
• art objects
• an art museum/gallery
• an art collector/lover
• She prefers art films to Hollywood blockbusters.
- see also arts and crafts
3 [noncount] : the methods and skills used for painting, sculpting, drawing, etc.
• He studied art in college.
- often used before another noun
• an art teacher/program
4 a [count] : an activity that is done to create something beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings
• She studied the art of drawing/painting/dance.
• dance, drama, and other art forms
• the performing/visual/graphic arts
- see also fine art
b the arts : painting, sculpture, music, theater, literature, etc., considered as a group of activities done by people with skill and imagination
• She's a patron of the arts.
• He wants the government to increase its funding for the arts.
- see also performing arts
5 [count] : a skill that someone learns through experience or study - usually singular
• He never learned the art of making friends. [=he never learned how to make friends]
• She's a master of the art of conversation. [=she is very good at conversation]
• There's an art to cooking that comes only with practice.
• Writing letters has become something of a lost art. [=not many people write letters any more]
✦If you raise/elevate something to an art (form) you are known for doing something or having something (such as a personal quality). This phrase is often used in an ironic or joking way to describe qualities or abilities that are not admired.
• He seems to have elevated stupidity to an art form. [=he is very stupid]
6 [count] : an activity that requires special knowledge or skill
• Shipbuilding is both an art and a science.
• the art of navigation
- see also martial art
7 arts [plural] : areas of study (such as history, language, and literature) that are intended to develop the mind in a general way : liberal arts
• a bachelor of arts
• the College of Arts and Sciences
