Autobiography: a person’s own life story, created by him or her

Background: area in a painting that appears in the distance

Foreground: area in a painting the seems closest to the viewer

Middle ground: area between the foreground and the background

Impasto: thick application of paint to a surface

Portrait: the representation of a person in a work of art

Pose: position in which the body is held in place without moving

• Frontal: with face straight forward
• Profile: turned to the side so that only half of face shows
• Three-quarter: halfway between frontal and profile, so that the face and shoulders are seen at an angle

Reflection: a thought or idea formed after focused thinking

Self-exploration: the effort to discover your own character, personality, moods, motivations, goals, likes, and dislikes

Self-portrait: the representation of oneself in a work of art

Symbol: something—often an object—that stands for or suggests something else

Texture: what something feels like; for example, the surface of a work of art if it were touched

Bourgeoisie: people of the middle class, often concerned with material interests

Indigenous: native to a place

Impasto: thick application of paint to a surface

Fascism: a political system based on the power of a dictator, on intolerance of other points of view, and on feelings of nationalism and racism

Manifesto: a public declaration or statement of intention

Mural: a large work of art applied directly to a wall. The Mexican muralists used murals to communicate with the people, the majority of whom were illiterate. The topics of art were social and revolutionary: working conditions, poverty, and agricultural reform.

Proletariat: the working or lower class in a society

Reactionary: seeking to return to former, outmoded policies or social orders

Revolutionary: seeking radical change

Socialism: a system in which property and goods are owned in common by the people or the government, and that strives to distribute wealth evenly to the population