compiled by Liana Dottor

The Aesthetic Movement of the 1870's and 1880's represented a return to secular interests. This developed into the use of stained glass in houses as decoration rather than only in churches for religious contemplation. In the 1870's, there was further development in decorative stained glass with L.C. Tiffany's work and experiments with a variety of streaky and opalescent glass which resulted in some remarkable windows. These developments went even further with the advent of Art Nouveau in the 1890's.

Art Nouveau was a movement that occurred in the late 19th Century to the early 20th Century. It was primarily concerned with architecture, design and the applied arts. It fused its many sources of inspiration into an entirely original mode of expression. The resulting object or design has a sense of organic growth, often with erotic overtones or fantastic in conception. Art Nouveau is primarily a new style of decoration based on sinuous curves, impaired by Rococo forms that often suggest organic shapes.

Bas-relief - sculpture in low relief. The figures project only slightly and no part is entirely detached from the background.

Decorated style - the second phase of English Gothic architecture following the Early English style. It is recognized by geometric or flowing tracery designs.

Decorative arts - collective term for such art forms as ceramics, enamels, furniture, glass, ivory, metalwork and textiles, especially when they take forms used as interior decoration.

Decorative stained glass - aesthetic design of shape and colour in stained glass, in contrast to traditional depictions of religious and biblical scenes predominant in churches around the world. In the 19th century, there was a surge of decorative stained glass, most notably with William Morris in Britain.

Fresco - mural painted on fresh plaster so the finished picture is chemically and physically integrated into the fabric of the wall or ceiling.

Marouflage - the process of gluing painted canvas onto a wall or panel. The adhesive used is traditionally commercial white lead in oil spread evenly with a wide brush and then flattened with the palm of the hand and a rubber-surfaced roller.

Metalwork - encompasses many kinds of different decoration using various metals including silver, gold, bronze, copper, iron and others. Techniques include hammering, embossing (or repoussé), chasing, inlaying , gilding, molding and casting (pushing or pouring melted metal into a mold).

Mosaic - design arrangement of inlaid work composed of bits of stone or glass forming a pattern or picture.

Mural - large painting executed on or permanently affixed to a wall or ceiling.

Oil painting - method of executing a two-dimensional work on a support of canvas or linen using paint composed of colour pigment ground into a vehicle or medium such as linseed oil or nut oil. There is a wide range of techniques used to apply the paint to the surface. Oil painting was known before the 14th century but did not become widely used until the 15th century.

Painting - two-dimensional representation where a picture is executed by applying colouring matter to various surfaces as decoration. Surfaces may include canvas, paper and wood. (For paint applied to wet plaster walls, see Fresco).

Relief - sculpture in which the figures project from a background plane. Reliefs are classified by the degree of projection.

Sculpture in the round - free-standing three-dimensional sculpture. As opposed to relief, sculpture in the round has form on all sides and may be viewed from any angle.

Tempera Painting - technique that utilizes pigment ground in water and mixed with a water-miscible emulsion obtained from the yolk of eggs.