|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
canvas
canvas. A woven cloth used as a support for painting. The best-quality canvas is made of linen; other materials used are cotton, hemp, and jute. It is now so familiar a material that the word ‘canvas’ has become almost a synonym for an oil painting, but it was not until around 1500 that it began to rival the wooden panel as the standard support for movable paintings. Canvas had the advantages over panel of being cheaper, easier to produce, and more portable (it can be rolled for transport), as well as providing an attractive surface ‘tooth’ that encouraged the textural possibilities of oil paint. The transition to canvas took place first in Italy, with panels remaining popular in northern Europe well into the 17th century. Canvas is not suitable for painting on until it has been coated with a ground, which isolates the fabric from the paint; otherwise it will absorb too much paint, only very rough effects will be obtainable, and parts of the fabric may be rotted by the pigments. It must also be made taut on a stretcher or by some other means.
|
|
|
Cite this article
IAN CHILVERS. "canvas." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "canvas." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-canvas.html IAN CHILVERS. "canvas." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-canvas.html |
|
canvas
canvas A woven cloth used as a support for painting. The best-quality canvas is made of linen; other materials used are cotton, hemp, and jute. It is now so familiar a material that the word ‘canvas’ has become almost a synonym for an oil painting, but it was not until around 1500 that it began to rival the wooden panel as the standard support for movable paintings. Canvas had the advantages over panel of being cheaper, easier to produce, and more portable (it can be rolled for transport), as well as providing an attractive surface ‘tooth’ that encouraged the textural possibilities of oil paint. The transition to canvas took place first in Italy, with panels remaining popular in northern Europe well into the 17th century. Canvas is not suitable for painting on until it has been coated with a ground, which isolates the fabric from the paint; otherwise it will absorb too much paint, only very rough effects will be obtainable, and parts of the fabric may be rotted by the pigments. It must also be made taut on a stretcher or by some other means.
|
|
|
Cite this article
IAN CHILVERS. "canvas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "canvas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-canvas.html IAN CHILVERS. "canvas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-canvas.html |
|
canvas
can·vas / ˈkanvəs/ • n. a strong, coarse unbleached cloth made from hemp, flax, cotton, or a similar yarn, used to make items such as sails and tents and as a surface for oil painting: [as adj.] a canvas bag. ∎ a piece of such cloth prepared for use as the surface for an oil painting. ∎ an oil painting. ∎ a variety of canvas with an open weave, used as a basis for tapestry and embroidery. ∎ (the canvas) the floor of a boxing or wrestling ring, having a canvas covering. ∎ either of a racing boat's tapering ends, originally covered with canvas. • v. (-vased, -vas·ing) [tr.] (usu. be canvased) cover with canvas: the door had been canvased over. |
|
|
Cite this article
"canvas." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "canvas." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-canvas.html "canvas." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-canvas.html |
|
canvas
canvas strong, coarse cloth of cotton, flax, hemp, or other fibers, early used as sailcloth. Left in its natural color, bleached, or dyed, it has a wide variety of uses, as for game, duffel, sport, mail, and nose bags, tennis shoes, covers, tents, and awnings. Waterproofed with tar, paint, or the like, it is called tarpaulin and used to protect boats, hatches, and machinery. Duck is a fine light quality used for summer clothing, awnings, and sails. Artists' canvas is a light, smooth, single-warp texture, specially treated to receive paint. Art or embroidery canvas is an open-mesh type, usually linen, for working in crewels and for needlepoint. |
|
|
Cite this article
"canvas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "canvas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-canvas.html "canvas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-canvas.html |
|
canvas
canvas.
1. A cloth properly woven from hemp, the word deriving from kannabis, the Greek word for hemp. In the days of the square-rigger it was used in sailors' dress and is still occasionally used at sea, mainly for awnings and coverings. Before the days of synthetic fibre, sails were also made from it and a ship's sail was generically known as its canvas. It is numbered according to the thickness and weave, the lowest number being the coarsest and strongest. 2. It is also a synonym for a ship being under sail, it being said to be under canvas. See also tarpaulin. |
|
|
Cite this article
"canvas." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "canvas." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-canvas.html "canvas." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-canvas.html |
|
Canvas
Canvaspaintings collectively; sails collectively; tents collectively; also used figuratively to mean ‘a wide range, a large expanse.’ Example: canvas of fancy, 1822. |
|
|
Cite this article
"Canvas." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Canvas." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505300225.html "Canvas." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505300225.html |
|
canvas
canvas strong hemp or flax cloth. XIV. ME. canevas — ONF. (and mod.) canevas, var. of OF. chanevaz :- Rom. *cannapāceum, f. *cannapum, for L. cannabis HEMP.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "canvas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "canvas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-canvas.html T. F. HOAD. "canvas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-canvas.html |
|
canvas
canvas
•Malthus
•acanthus, agapanthus, clianthus, dianthus, helianthus, polyanthus
•Hyacinthus • Aegisthus • traverse
•canvas, canvass
•Selvas • grievous • mischievous
•redivivus • fulvous • nervous
•Peleus, rebellious
•Kansas • Jesus
|
|
|
Cite this article
"canvas." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "canvas." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-canvas.html "canvas." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-canvas.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
