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Nabis, Les   (Hebrew, "the prophets") In the 1890's, a group of French Artists, including Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, Roussel, and others; who were influenced by Gauguin and by niiave painting, mysticism and rebellion against Artistic conventions.
Nagasaki School   Japanese 18th century School of painting in a realistic style derived from traditional Chinese painting.
Nangwa School   Japanese late 17th century to 19th century School of painting noted for graceful brush strokes and the use of changing values throughout hte painting.
Naptha   A petroluem distillate used as a solvent for wax; toxic.
National Academy of Design   A society of conservative American painters, sculptors and engravers; headquartered in New York City since 1826; associate members are entitled to use A.N.A. after their name, and when elected to full membership, N.A. is used.
Nature Morte   (French, "still life") See Still Life.
Nazarenes   Mocking name given to the Lukasbruder, Order of St. Luke, a group of Artists and Writers founded in Vienna in 1809; and dedicated to encouraging Art as a religious devotion; members included Friedrich Overbeck, Peter von Cornelius, Karl Begas, Julius Schnorr and Franz Pforr.
Negative space   The space in an Art Work not occupied by subject matter but utilized by the Artists as part of the design.
Negative tint   White dots or pattern against a dark background.
Negro pencils   Smooth, black, soft sketching pencils, made in sizes 1 through 5.
Neoclassical   Pertaining to a style, mainly in 18th century Europe, influenced by classical Greece and Rome.
Neo Dada   See Pop Art.
Neoexpressionist painting   Abstract painting stemming from the emotions or accidental happenings, as distinguished from planned, geometric forms.
Neoimpressionism   An Art movement starting in France about 1880, also called Chromoluminarism, Pointillism and Divisionism, consists of applying tiny dots of pure color in such a manner that intermediate colors are created in the eye of the observer; prominent Artists were Seraut and Signac, although the princible had been practiced by earlier Artists including Watteau, DeCaerech, Turner and others.
Neoplasticism   See De Stijl.
Net lines   In textile design, the "visible or not visible" lines of the network.
Neuter figure   A mannekin or comic figure that can be either male or female.
Neutralization   In lithography, the process that removes the hygroscopic film from the stone so that the surface again becomes receptive to grease.
New English Art Club New English Art Club   A group including Augustus John, Walter Sickert and James Whistler, established in 1886 in opposition to what they considered the sterile aesthetics of the Royal Academy.
New Objectivity or Neue Sachlichkeit   Painting that was a reaction to expressionism that developed in Germany in the 1920's; it was representational and exact in detail to the point of unreality; prominent Artists were George Grosz and Otto Dix.
Newsboard   See Chipboard.
Newsprint   A cheap paper used for sketching, not durable, turns yellow with age and tears easily.
Newton's Color Wheel   The first color wheel circle, developed by Sir Issac Newton about 1666, using seven colors to correspond with the seven notes on the diatonic scale annd the seven known planets; based upon refracted light, they were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
New York School   A group of painters working in and around the New York City after WWII; most are associated with abstract expressionism; among them were DeKooning, Gottlieb and Pollock.
Nib   The metal point of a pen.
Nihilism   A philosphy denying the existence of any basis for truth. In Art a revolt against established values and smugness. See also Dada.
Nimbus   See Aureole.
Nitric acid   A mineral acid used as an oxidizing agent in etching.
Noboyka   16th to 18th century Russian designs, crafted from wood blocks and printed on fabric, using florals and geometrics as repeat patterns.
No-crawl   A trade name for a medium used with watercolors and retouch colors on plastic or glossy surfaces to prvent it from beading and crawling.
Nocturne   A painting of a night scene.
Nondirectional   In textile design, a pattern in which direction is not conspicuous.
Nonfigurative   Without figures; sometimes not representational.
Nonobjective Art   Art arrived at without the influence of real or natural forms.
Nonrepresentational Art   Art that does not represent any real or natural things in any manner.
Nooding   An Artist's term for rendering intricate details, usually derogatory, implying over-done, over involved.
Norwich School   A regional School founded in 1803 in England, devoted to landscape painting, Crome and Cotman were two leading Artists.
Nouveau realism   (French, "new realism") Equivalent of American Pop Art.