Art Terms Glossary

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Rapier
A sword originally worn with civilian dress, distinguished by its long straight blade and complex guard. With the development of fencing techniques, the rapier became a fashionable thrusting weapon.

Recto
In a bound open manuscript, the right side of a leaf.

Recto/verso
The recto of a photograph is the side on which the image is printed. The verso is the back of the photograph or of the support on which it has been mounted. Occasionally another photograph will be attached to the verso side of a mount.

Red Chalk
A naturally occurring clay that gets its red color from iron oxide (hematite). Like black chalk, it is cut into sticks and sharpened to a point for use as a drawing instrument. It has been popular since the Renaissance and can produce both sharp contours and delicate, smooth modeling, as in this drawing by Jusepe de Ribera.

Red ocher
Iron oxides, in hydrated and anhydrous forms, produce a wide variety of red shades ranging from light, bright red to a deep purplish red. They are natural, earth pigments- all are stable, permanent pigments with good tinting strength. Iron oxides generally provide the color in red ochers and siennas.

Relic
An object venerated because of its association with a saint or martyr.

Relief
The image is printed from the raised portions of a carved, etched, or cast block or other rigid material. The printing surface stands in relief above the rest of the block.

Reliquary
A container or shrine in which sacred relics are kept.

Rennen
A German term for a form of joust in which sharpened or pointed lances were used to unhorse one‘s opponent. Points could also be scored for the splintering of lances.

Rephotographed
A photograph of a photograph, referring to the original image and its transmutation by way of reproduction. This technique of appropriation raises questions such as the value of artwork as a commodity, artistic originality, and individuality of an original work.

Rerebrace
Armor for protection of the upper arm.

Retouching
The manual manipulation of details of a print or negative. Retouching is customarily used in portraiture to soften outlines or wrinkles and remove highlights. Through this technique, compositions and backgrounds can be changed, elements added, and values intensified or weakened. Common tools and materials are scalpels, pointed brushes, airbrushes, pencils, watercolors, inks, dyes, and bleaching agents.

Retouching
To alter a painting or sculpture in order to produce a more desirable appearance.

Ricasso
The rectangular part of a sword blade nearest the hilt but above the edge, usually thickened and blunted to permit the fingers to grip it securely.

Roulette
A tool with a spiked wheel used to create lines of even dots on intaglio plates.

Rubric
Heading and explanatory note written in red ink (from the Latin rubrum meaning red).

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