Earth Colors
Pigments that exist naturally in the earth in form of clays, rocks or earths, for example the ochres and umbers.

Earthenware*
Ceramic ware, usually coarse and reddish in color, fired in the lowest temperature ranges. Used for domestic ware, glazed, or unglazed.

Easel Picture
Any small painting executed at an easel; usually intended to be framed, although it may be displayed on the easel. Also called a CABINET PICTURE.

Eclectic
A term used in art history and criticism to describe the process whereby an artist borrows features and ideas from a variety of respected sources and combine them in his art.

Ecorche
Any painted, sculpted, or drawn figure depicting the muscles of the human body without skin. Practiced by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472, Italian), a theorist and Renaissance architect.

Edition*
In bronze sculpture and printmaking, the number of pieces/images made from a single mold/plate and authorized by the artist.

Egg Tempera
The original type of TEMPERA, for which the BINDER is egg yolk. The process dates back to the Egyptians where there are examples of sarcophagi being decorated with egg tempera that is still intact today. It is capable of great detail as well as many other effects. It is very fast drying so does not lend itself to blending very well. Egg tempera was the primary form of painting until the introduction of oils. At first, and in some cases still today, oils were painted over the tempera painting to enhance the darker colors. Some of the most famous painters to use the medium in this century have been Andrew Weyeth, Robert Vickery, and Paul Cadmus.

Eight, The
An influential and innovative American group of eight artists: Arthur B. Davies; Maurice Prendergast; Ernest Lawson; Robert Henri (the unofficial leader); George Luks; William J. Glackens; John Sloan and Everett Shinn (later, George Wesley Bellows became an associate). Officially formed in 1907, the group had been associated since the 1880s.At a time when America was torn between economic extremes, great fortunes were amassed while massive immigration led to great poverty in the cities. This handful of artists rebelled equally against the sentimental products of the popular American painters and the rigid academic tradition imported from Europe. They determined to portray realistically the city life around them and the unrelieved accuracy of their paintings of New York slums led to the nickname the 'Ashcan School'. The high proportion of members who earned their living illustrating newspaper articles undoubtedly influenced their style. The Eight was a compassionate and nationalistic group; Henri and Sloan in particular were active in their efforts to improve art education. The Eight held only one exhibition as a group, at the Macbeth gallery in New York in 1908. In 1913 they organized the famous ARMORY SHOW

Emulsion
A painting MEDIUM, containing materials which will not mix (i.e. oil and water, or water and resin), unless combined by the addition of an emulsifying agent. Emulsifying agents can be 'natural' (e.g. egg-yolk, milk of figs), 'artificial' (e.g. gums and
varnishes) or 'saponified' (e.g. fatty oil, wax). TEMPERA is an example of an emulsion.

En Camaieu
A painting in a single color. (See also GRISAILLE)

En Plein Air
French term meaning �in the open air�. Refers to paintings that have been composed outdoors, not in a studio. Practiced by the Barbizon School in France; central theme of Impressionism. �Alfresco� is a similar Italian term. (See PLEIN AIR)

Encaustic Painting
An ancient technique, in which pigments are mixed with molten wax and painted onto a surface to which they are fused by the application of heat. The encaustic method was used for Greek mural painting and for Egyptian mummy portraits; today it is more commonly an EASEL PAINTING technique. The important characteristic of encaustic painting is that once heat is applied, all signs of application disappear, leaving an even surface that can be polished to a low sheen.
Engraving*
Printmaking method in which a sharp tool (burin) is used to scratch lines into a hard surface such as metal or wood.

Entasis
Slight swelling in the shaft of a column, invented by the ancient Greeks to overcome the illusion of concavity when parallel-sided or regularly tapered columns were used together.

Environmental Art*
1. Art that is large enough for viewers to enter and move about it. 2. Art designed for display in the outdoor environment. 3. Art that actually transforms the natural landscape.

Epreuve d�artiste
French term for an ARTIST�S PROOF, the artist�s set of prints used for copyright purposes. Sometimes abbreviated �E.A�.

Etching
An ENGRAVING method where the design is cut or bitten into the metal plate with a sharp needle to scratch a layer of soft wax or resin that temporarily coats the metal printing plate for the purpose of allowing the artist to draw his or her work. Once the drawing with the needle is complete, the etcher uses controlled acid immersion to burn the drawing into the plate where the artist's needle has scratched away the waxy substance. 

Ex-voto
(Lat., out of thankfulness). A painted or sculptured image dedicated to God in thanksgiving for favors and blessings. Occasionally the donor is depicted in the work.

Expressionism
Art in which the emotions of an artist are paramount and take precedence over a rational and faithful-to-life rendering of subject matter. Expressionist compositions and forms therefore tend toward distortion and exaggeration, as in the art of El Greco. In
modern art, expressionism is associated with German movements of the early 20th century, especially Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter, which are sometimes referred to as German Expressionism.

Eye-level
The sensed line that runs across a painting, level with the artist's eye, and allows the viewer to understand where the artist was in relation to his subject. See PERSPECTIVE.