Vocabulary Related to Art Forms in French

The Cannes film festival just recently took place in France. France is known to be a place full of different art forms. In this article, we will see various art forms and words related to it. Take a look and use them while talking in French.

1. la peinture

Meaning: a picture made using paint

English: painting

Example: Sima veut apprendre la peinture professionnellement. (Sima wants to learn painting professionally.)

2. la sculpture

Meaning: the art of forming solid objects that represent a thing, person, idea, etc. out of a material such as wood, clay, metal, or stone, or an object made in this way

English: sculpture 

Example: Mon frère a étudié la sculpture dans sa jeunesse. (My brother studied sculpture in his early days.)

3. la littérature 

Meaning: written artistic works, especially those with a high and lasting artistic value

English: literature

Example: La mère de Sam apprécie la littérature grecque. (Sam’s mother appreciates Greek literature.)

4. l’architecture

Meaning: the art and practice of designing and making buildings

English: architecture 

Example: Elle voulait étudier l’architecture depuis son enfance. (She wanted to study architecture ever since her childhood.)

5. le cinéma 

Meaning: movies, or the art or business of making movies

English: cinema

Example: Les études cinématographiques peuvent parfois devenir ennuyeuses. (The study of cinéma can sometimes get boring.)

6. la musique

Meaning: the art or study of music

English: music

Example: Mon meilleur ami s’intéresse à la musique depuis son plus jeune âge. (My best friend has been interested in music since a very young age.)

7. la théâtre 

Meaning: (the writing or performance of) plays, opera, etc., written to be performed in public

English: theatre

Example: Très peu de gens s’intéressent au théâtre de nos jours. (Very few show some interest in theatre these days.)

8. une oeuvre d’art

Meaning: an object made by an artist of great skill, especially a painting, drawing, or statue

English: work of art

Example: Dans son cours d’art, elle a exposé des échantillons de diverses œuvres d’art. (In her art class, she displayed samples of various works of art.)

9. Un sculpteur 

Meaning: someone who creates sculptures.

English: sculptor

Example: Le sculpteur a transformé l’argile en une belle figure humaine. (The sculptor made the clay into a beautiful human figure.)

10. une peintre

Meaning: someone who paints pictures

English: painter 

Exemple: En tant que jeune peintre, il a étudié auprès de Picasso. (As a young painter, he studied under Picasso.)

11. néoclassique 

Meaning: a style of art and design that is based on the art and buildings of ancient Greece and Rome

English: neoclassic

Example: Elle était fascinée de voir une maison de style néoclassique.(She was fascinated to see a neoclassic style house.)

12. une exposition

Meaning: an event at which objects such as paintings are shown to the public, a situation in which someone shows a particular skill or quality to the public, or the act of showing these things

English: exhibition

Example: L’exposition couvre tous les types de styles artistiques. (The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles..) 

13. l’opéra

Meaning: a musical play in which most of the words are sung, or plays and music of this type

English: opera

Example: Tim a toujours voulu visiter le célèbre opéra Carmen.(Tim always wanted to visit the famous Carmen opera.) 

14. une pièce de théâtre 

Meaning: a piece of writing that is intended to be acted in a theatre or on radio or television

English: play

Example: Il a toujours rêvé de jouer dans une pièce de théâtre internationale. (He always dreamt of acting in an international play.)

15. un spectacle

Meaning: a type of entertainment performed for an audience

English: show

Example: Ses spectacles de stand-up sont généralement complets.(His standup comedy shows are usually housefull. ) 

We hope you enjoyed learning various words related to art in French. Which ones were you already aware of? Write the answer in French in comments. For more such vocabulary, keep reading our blog. You can easily learn French online with us. Stay tuned for more interesting blogs in different languages.