The mystery of art terms

Some art terms are interesting. You hear them and cannot figure out their meaning at first. That is exactly what happened to me.

When I came across the term "kit kat" (or Kit Cat), of course I thought of the chocolate bar. But I looked it up and found out that as an art term it does not have much to do with chocolate. Here is the truth: it is a canvas, size 36x28 inches (91x71 cm) which is adapted to a portrait showing the head and one hand. The name comes from a series of paintings painted for Christopher Cat by the leading English portrait painter of the time, Sir Godfrey Kneller, between 1702 and 1717. Cat was the secretary of a Whig club, and the forty-two portraits represent the members of this club. The pictures are all a standard size (36x28 inches) and show the head and one hand. This format was generally known later as a Kit Cat.

Have you ever heard the terms Whig and Tory? Do you know what they stand for?

 

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