Although ‘acrylic’ has become a generic term for any synthetic paint medium, acrylics are a specific type of manmade polymer that has become standard in the commercial paint industry as well as widely used by artists from the mid-20th century; most synthetic paint media in contemporary artistic use are based on acrylic emulsions. Acrylics are thermoplastic, have great optical clarity and excellent light stability, good adhesion and elasticity and resist ultraviolet and chemical degradation. Their unique surface properties, transparency and brilliance of colour, together with the possibilities they offer for indeterminacy, immediacy, randomness and the ability to rework immediately and to achieve extremely thin or thick surfaces, are qualities that have been exploited fully by such painting movements as Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s, and, subsequently, colour field painting, hard-edge painting and Pop art.

• painting... (cont.)
  • types... (cont.)
    • religious... (cont.)
      • Spain: Hispano-Flemish style
        • Diego de la Cruz
      • Spain: Mannerism
        • Christianity, §III, 3(ii)(a): Iconography: Western Church, 1500 and after: Roman Catholic
        • Greco, El, §1(ii): Rome, late 1570–1577
        • Pacheco, Francisco, §1: Paintings
        • Tristán de Escamilla, Luis
      • Spain: Renaissance
        • Maçip: (2) Juan de Juanes
      • Spain: 14th cent.
        • Dress, §V, 1(i): Southern Europe, 14th century
      • Spain: 15th cent.
        • Dress, §V, 1(ii): Southern Europe, 15th century
        • Marçal de Sas, Andrés
        • Spain, §V, 1: Interior decoration, before 1490
      • Spain: 16th cent.
        • Carducho: (1) Bartolomé Carducho
      • Spain: 17th cent.
        • Ayala, Josefa de
        • Carducho: (2) Vicente Carducho, §2: Career at court
        • Céspedes, Pablo de
        • Espinosa, Jerónimo Jacinto
        • Herrera: (1) Francisco de Herrera (i)
        • Herrera: (2) Francisco de Herrera (ii), §3: Seville, 1655–60
        • Martínez, Jusepe
        • Orrente, Pedro
        • Ribalta: (1) Francisco Ribalta, §2: Valencia, 1599–1620
        • Ribalta: (1) Francisco Ribalta, §3: 1620–28
      • Switzerland
        • Fries, Hans
        • Menn, Barthélemy
      • see also ALTARPIECES; ICONS; PREDELLAS; sacra conversazione
    • rose see ROSEMALING
    • sacra conversazione
      • Bellini: (3) Giovanni Bellini, §II, 2: Style and development, c 1470–c 1500
      • Domenico Veneziano, §1(i): Early works, to mid-1440s
      • Sacra conversazione
      • Belgium
        • Blondeel, Lanceloot
        • Oost, Jacob van, I
      • Italy: Mannerism
        • Correggio, §1(i): Training and early work, before 1520
        • Giorgione, §I, 1(iii)(e): Early sources: Ridolfi
      • Italy: Renaissance
        • Bartolommeo, Fra, §1(i)(a): Paintings, c 1495–1503
        • Bartolommeo, Fra, §1(i)(c): Paintings, 1509–13
        • Biagio d’Antonio
        • Butinone, Bernardino
        • Costa: (1) Lorenzo Costa (i)
        • Gozzoli, Benozzo, §1: Life and work
        • Libri, dai: (2) Girolamo dai Libri
        • Lorenzo di Credi, §1: 1457–c 1480
        • Lotto, Lorenzo, §1(ii): Bergamo, 1513–25
        • Mantegna, Andrea, §I, 1(iv)(c): Mantua, c 1490–1506: Altarpieces
        • Pitati, Bonifazio de’
        • Sodoma, §3: Last period, after 1529
      • Italy: 15th cent.
        • Matteo di Giovanni
    • seascapes see marine
    • still-lifes
      • Illusionism, §2(ii): Small-scale works, c 1450–c 1800
      • Still-life
      • Vanitas, §1: Origins
      • Belgium
        • Snyders, Frans, §1(i): Early years, 1593–1618
        • Ykens , Frans
      • Czech Republic
        • Filla, Emil
      • France: 17th cent.
        • Monnoyer, Jean-Baptiste
      • France: 18th cent.
        • Chardin, Jean-Siméon, §1: Training and early still-lifes, to early 1730s
        • Chardin, Jean-Siméon, §3: Late still-lifes, late 1740s–1766
        • Desportes: (1) François Desportes, §2: Royal patronage, 1700–43
      • France: 19th cent.
        • Monticelli, Adolphe
      • Italy
        • Galizia, Fede
      • Italy: Baroque
        • Baschenis, Evaristo
      • Italy: 16th cent.
        • Barbari, Jacopo de’
      • Italy: 20th cent.
        • Morandi, Giorgio
      • Netherlands, the: 17th cent.
        • Aelst, Willem van
        • Ast, Balthasar van der
        • Beyeren, Abraham van
        • Claesz, Pieter
        • Coorte, Adriaen
        • Dyck, Floris van
        • Habsburg, §I: (10) Rudolf II, §2: Patronage
        • Heda, Willem
        • Heem, de: (3) Jan Jansz. de Heem
        • Kalf, Willem
        • Weenix: (2) Jan Weenix
      • Netherlands, the: 18th cent.
        • Ruysch, Rachel
      • Spain: 16th cent.
        • Prado, Blas de
        • Sánchez Cotán, Juan
      • Spain: 17th cent.
        • Hamen y León, Juan van der
      • Spain: 18th cent.
        • Meléndez: (3) Luis Meléndez
      • see also flower; vanitas
    • Theorem see POONAH PAINTING
    • topographical
      • Panorama
      • Vicenza, §1: History and urban development
      • England
        • Scott, Samuel
        • Topography, §2(ii)(b): Descriptive art, after c 1650: Great Britain
      • France
        • Saint-Germain-en-Laye
        • Topography, §2(ii)(c): Descriptive art, after c 1650: France
      • Italy
        • Florence, §IV, 9(iii): Palazzo Pitti: Boboli Gardens
        • Grand Tour, §IV: The climax, 1763–97
      • Netherlands, the
        • Album amicorum
      • Spain
        • Greco, El, §1(iii)(b): Toledo, 1577–1614: Portraits, mythological and landscape paintings
        • Madrid, §IV, 1: Buen Retiro
      • see also BIRD'S-EYE VIEWS; TOWNSCAPE; vedute
    • townscapes see TOWNSCAPES
    • vanitas
      • Bailly, David
      • Decadence and decline, §1: Fleshly decadence: medieval and early Renaissance
      • King, Charles Bird
      • Vanitas
      • Vanitas, §3: Elsewhere in Europe
      • Belgium
        • Bruegel: (5) Ambrosius Breughel
      • Netherlands, the
        • Vanitas, §2: The Netherlands
      • Spain
        • Valdés Leal: (1) Juan de Valdés Leal, §2: From 1670
      • see also MEMENTO MORI; still-lifes
    • vedute
      • Caffi, Ippolito
      • Veduta
      • England
        • Canaletto, §1(iv): England, 1746–55
      • Germany
        • Brand: (2) Johann Christian Brand
      • Italy
        • Topography, §2(ii)(a): Descriptive art, after c 1650: The Netherlands and Italy
      • Italy: 16th cent.
        • Dosio, Giovanni Antonio
      • Italy: 17th cent.
        • Codazzi, Viviano
      • Italy: 18th cent.
        • Canaletto, §1(i)(b): c 1716–30: Early Venetian townscapes
        • Canaletto, §1(ii): Views of Venice and the patronage of Joseph Smith, 1730–39
        • Guardi: (2) Francesco Guardi, §1: Life and work
        • Veduta, §1(i): Venice
      • Netherlands, the
        • Wittel, Gaspar van
    • vedute ideate
      • Baur, Johann Wilhelm
      • Greco, Gennaro
      • see also CAPRICCIOS
  • uses
    • altarpieces
      • Diptych
    • architecture
      • Indian subcontinent, §VI, 1(ii)(a): Wall painting materials and techniques
    • book covers
      • Bookbinding, §II, 1(ii): Cover decoration, c 1400–c 1700
      • Tibet, §V, 1: Books
    • cabinets (i) (rooms)
      • Cabinet (i), §3: Decoration
    • ceramics
      • Cycladic, §III, 1: Early Cycladic pottery
    • cloisters
      • Cloister, §3: Painting
    • crucifixes
      • Crucifix, §2: Painted
    • cult statues
      • Cult statue
    • earthenwares
      • China, §VII, 2(iv): Ceramics: Other decoration
    • enamel see under ENAMEL -> techniques
    • façade decoration
      • Façade decoration, §I: Painting
      • Façade decoration, §I, 1: Painting: History and development
      • Façade decoration, §I, 4: Painting: Documentation and designs
    • faience (ii) (ceramics)
      • Hausmaler
    • fans
      • Japan, §VI, 3(iii)(e): Early Yamatoe painting: Fans and decorated scriptures
    • furniture
      • Patina
    • glass
      • Glass, §III, 4: Decorative techniques: Painting
      • Venice, §III, 3(ii): Centre of glass production, 1500–99
    • gold leaf
      • Gilding, §I, 1(ii): Leaf decoration
    • lacquer
      • Japan, §X, 2(ii): Lacquer: Early historic period
      • Lacquer, §I, 2(ii)(b): Insect techniques: Painted
    • leather
      • Native North American art, §XIII: Hide
    • marble
      • Byrd, William
    • masks
      • Africa, §V, 3(iii): Painted decoration of vehicles, textiles, masks & other objects
    • porcelain
      • England, §VII, 3(ii): Ceramics, 1701–1830: Porcelain
    • portraits see under PORTRAITS -> media
    • pottery
      • South America, Pre-Columbian, §III, 5(i): Central Andean pottery: Materials and techniques
    • rock art see under ROCK ART -> techniques
    • rock crystal
      • Rock crystal, §2: Uses
    • screens (ii) (furniture) see under forms -> screen
    • scrolls see under forms -> scroll
    • sculpture
      • China, §III, 3(i): Funerary and secular sculpture: Materials, techniques and symbolic associations
      • Helladic, §V, 2(i): Late Helladic sculpture in the round
      • Polychromy, §2(iii): Sculpture: Paint
    • ships
      • Camouflage
      • Encaustic painting, §2(i): Pre-Renaisssance
      • Ship-decoration
    • stained glass
      • Stained glass, §I, 4: Painting
    • textiles
      • Central Asia, §II, 4(ii)(b): Eastern: Painting, late 6th century A–mid-7th
      • Japan, §XI, 2(ii): Textiles: Asuka–Hakuho and Nara periods
      • Japan, §XI, 2(v): Textiles: Muromachi period
    • tiles
      • Tile, §I, 2: Glazed
    • wallpaper
      • Wallpaper, §I, 1: Painted
    • wood
      • Wood (i), §III, 5: Surface finish
  • see also MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATION; OIL SKETCHES; see also under MANUALS -> types; TREATISES -> types