Dictionary Definition
canvas
Noun
1 heavy closely woven fabric (used for clothing
or chairs or sails or tents) [syn: canvass]
2 an oil painting on canvas [syn: canvass]
3 the setting for a narrative or fictional or
dramatic account; "the crowded canvas of history"; "the movie
demanded a dramatic canvas of sound" [syn: canvass]
4 a tent made of canvas [syn: canvas tent,
canvass]
5 a large piece of fabric (as canvas) by means of
which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel [syn: sail, canvass, sheet]
6 the mat that forms the floor of the ring in
which boxers or professional wrestlers compete; "the boxer picked
himself up off the canvas" [syn: canvass]
Verb
1 solicit votes from potential voters in an
electoral campaign [syn: canvass]
3 cover with canvas; "She canvassed the walls of
her living room so as to conceal the ugly cracks"
4 consider in detail and subject to an analysis
in order to discover essential features or meaning; "analyze a
sonnet by Shakespeare"; "analyze the evidence in a criminal trial";
"analyze your real motives" [syn: analyze, analyse, study, examine, canvass]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /ˈkænvəs/, /"k
Extensive Definition
this the
fabric
Canvas is an extremely
heavy-duty plain-woven
fabric used
for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions
where sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used as a
painting surface, typically stretched, and on fashion handbags and
shoes.
Etymology
The word canvas is derived from the Latin word for cannabis -- hemp was popularly used to make canvas.The online etymology
dictionary shows a more expanded etymology http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=canvas:
1260, from Anglo-Fr. canevaz,
from O.Fr. canevas, from V.L. *cannapaceus "made of hemp," from L.
cannabis, from Gk. kannabis "hemp," a Scythian or Thracian word.
PGT
Physical characteristics
Modern canvas is usually made of cotton. It differs from other heavy cotton fabrics, such as denim, in being plain weave rather than twill weave. Canvas comes in two basic types: plain and duck. The threads in duck canvas are more tightly woven. In the USA, canvas is graded two ways: by weight (ounces per square yard) and by number. The numbers run in reverse of the weight; so, number 10 canvas is lighter than number 4.Canvas for painting
Canvas has become the most common support medium for oil painting, replacing wooden panels. One of the earliest surviving oils on canvas is a French Madonna with angels of about 1410 in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, which is very early indeed for oil painting also. However panel remained much more common until the 16th century in Italy and the 17th century in Northern Europe. Mantegna and Venetian artists were among those leading the change; Venetian sail canvas was readily available and regarded as the best quality.Canvas is usually stretched
across a wooden frame called a stretcher,
and may be coated with gesso before it is to be used;
this is to prevent oil paint from coming into direct contact with
the canvas fibers, which will eventually cause the canvas to decay.
A traditional and flexible chalk gesso is composed of lead
carbonate and linseed oil, applied over a rabbit skin glue ground;
a variation using titanium white pigment and calcium carbonate is
rather brittle and susceptible to cracking. (Of course lead-based
paint is also poisonous so care has to be taken in using it.)
Various alternative and more flexible canvas primers are
commercially available, the most popular being a synthetic latex
paint composed of titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate, bound
with a thermo-plastic emulsion. Notwithstanding the concern for
deterioration of materials, many modern artists, such as Jackson
Pollock, Kenneth
Noland, Francis
Bacon, Helen
Frankenthaler, Dan
Christensen, Larry Zox,
Ronnie
Landfield, Color Field
painters, Lyrical
Abstractionists, and others sometimes paint onto the unprimed,
or "raw canvas".
Early canvas was made of
linen, a sturdy brownish
fabric of considerable strength. Linen is particularly
suitable for the use of oil paint. In
the early 20th
century, cotton
canvas, often referred to as "cotton duck", came into use. Linen is
composed of higher quality material, and remains popular with many
professional artists, especially those who work with oil paint.
Cotton duck, which stretches more fully and has an even, mechanical
weave, offers a more economical alternative. The advent of acrylic
paint has greatly increased the popularity and use of cotton
duck canvas. Linen and cotton derive from two entirely different
plants, the flax plant and
the cotton
plant.
One can also buy small,
prepared canvases which are glued to a cardboard
backing in the factory, called "canvas board". However, these are
only available in certain sizes, and are not acid-free, so their lifespan is
extremely limited. They are usually used for quick studies.
Gessoed canvases on stretchers are also available. These
pre-stretched, pre-primed canvases are suitable for all but the
most exacting professional standards. They are available in a
variety of weights: light-weight is about 4 oz. or 5 oz.;
medium-weight is about 7 oz. or 8 oz.; heavy-weight is about 10 oz.
or 12 oz. They are prepared with two or three coats of gesso and
are ready for use right out of the package. Artists desiring
greater control of their painting surface often add a coat or two
of their preferred gesso. Professional artists who wish to work on
canvas may prepare their own canvas in the traditional
manner.
One of the most outstanding
differences between modern painting techniques and those of the
Flemish
and Dutch Masters
is in the preparation of the canvas. "Modern" techniques take
advantage of both the canvas texture
as well as those of the paint itself. A novice artist
often finds it nearly impossible to approach the realism of such
classic art, despite skill in applying the paint. In fact, Renaissance
masters took extreme measures to ensure that none of the texture of
the canvas came through. This required a painstaking, months-long
process of layering the raw canvas with (usually) lead-white paint,
then polishing the surface, and then repeating. The final product
had little resemblance to fabric, but instead had a glossy,
enamel-like finish. Though this may seem an extreme measure to the
modern painter, it is crucial if photographic
realism is the end goal.
With a properly prepared
canvas, the painter will find that each subsequent layer of color
glides on in a "buttery" manner, and that with the proper
consistency of application (fat over lean technique), a painting
entirely devoid of brushstrokes can be readily
achieved.
To un-wrinkle the material,
use a warm iron (not a hot iron) over a piece of wet cotton to
flatten the wrinkles, although hot water on the back works just as
well.
Canvas can also be printed on
digitally to create canvas
prints. After printing, the canvas can be wrapped around a
stretcher
and displayed.
Splined canvas, stapled stretched canvas and canvas boards
Splined canvases offer
advantages that the traditional side-stapled canvas does not. The
most obvious is that the edges of the stretched canvas are
staple-free. This allows the painter to incorporate painted edges
into the artwork itself. It also allows the artwork to be displayed
without a frame. Splined canvas is easier to restretch. It's far
easier to remove from the stretcher bars (just pull the spline out)
and is easier to attach to another support since there is more
fabric at the back to work with. Additionally, there are no
unsightly staple holes to deal with.
Stapled canvases stay
stretched tighter over a longer period of time, but are more
difficult to re-stretch when the need arises.
Canvas boards are made of
cardboard with canvas stretched over and sealed on the backside.
The canvas is typically linen primed for a certain type of
paint.
Non-traditional uses for stretched canvas
It has become popular to use the myriad of stretched canvas's sizes and shapes for unconventional creative expression. Artists create miniature works on business card sized stretched canvas and use them as trading cards to make connections with other artists. Many artists use canvas for altered art pieces as well as for scrapbook pages—because stretched canvas is available in many sizes, from miniatures to wall size, it is used for decoupage and needlework projects, made into lamps, or painted simply for home decor.See also
canvas in German:
Leinwand
canvas in Estonian:
Lõuend
canvas in Spanish:
Lienzo
canvas in French: Toile
(peinture)
canvas in Indonesian:
Kanvas
canvas in Italian:
Interfodera
canvas in Dutch:
Schildersdoek
canvas in Japanese:
キャンバス
canvas in Norwegian:
Kanvas
canvas in Polish:
Płótno
canvas in Portuguese:
Lona
canvas in Russian:
Канва
canvas in Simple English:
Canvas
canvas in Swedish:
Kanvas
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
agora, air brush, amphitheater, aquarelle, arena, art paper, athletic field,
auditorium, background, bear garden, big
top, boltrope, bowl, boxing ring, brush, bull ring, camera lucida,
camera obscura, campus,
chalk, charcoal, circus, clew, cloth, cockpit, coliseum, colosseum, course, crayon, cringle, crowd of sail, drawing
paper, drawing pencil, drier, earing, easel, easel-picture, field, finger painting, fixative, floor, foot, fore-and-aft sail, forum, gouache, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall, head, hippodrome, lay figure,
leech, lists, locale, luff, marketplace, mat, maulstick, medium, milieu, muslin, oil, oil painting, open forum,
paint, paintbrush, painting, palaestra, palette, palette knife, parade
ground, pastel, pencil, pigments, pit, place, plain sail, platform, precinct, press of sail, prize
ring, public square, purlieu, rag, range, reduced sail, reef point,
reefed sail, ring, round
top, sail, scene, scene of action, scenery, scratchboard, setting, siccative, site, sketchbook, sketchpad, spatula, sphere, spray gun, square sail,
squared circle, stadium,
stage, stage set, stage
setting, stump, tempera, tent, tentage, terrain, theater, tilting ground,
tiltyard, top, varnish, walk, wash, wash drawing, water, whitetop, wrestling
ring