Art and Painting Иску́сство и жи́вопись
10 Russian words on the topic of art and painting — each with a picture, an audio recording and an example sentence. Colors, brushes and museums — plus the false friend арти́ст, who is a performer, never a painter.
| Picture | English | Russian · Ру́сский | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | art | иску́сство | Spelling trap: double -сс-. 🔗 Word familyиску́сственный = artificial. |
 | painting | карти́на | 🔀 Several meaningsAlso "picture" in general. 🔗 Word familyThe diminutive карти́нка is a small image or illustration. |
 | to paint · to draw | рисова́ть | 🌎 RegionPainting a picture is писа́ть карти́ну in artists' usage. |
 | paintbrush | кисть | ⚠️ GenderFeminine. 🔀 Several meaningsAlso means the hand (кисть руки́) and a bunch of grapes. |
 | canvas | холст | ⚠️ GenderEnd-stressed in declension: ма́сло на холсте́ = oil on canvas. |
 | sculpture | скульпту́ра | 🔀 Several meaningsBoth the art and a single piece. A sculptor is ску́льптор — note the stress shift. |
 | artist | худо́жник | A visual artist. 🎭 False friendарти́ст is a false friend — it means a performer or actor. ⚠️ GenderFemale: худо́жница. |
 | museum | музе́й | Prepositional: в музе́е. |
 | exhibition | вы́ставка | The prefix вы́- carries the stress. ⚠️ IrregularUse на: на вы́ставке = at the exhibition. |
 | work | произведе́ние | Set phrase: произведе́ние иску́сства = a work of art. |
See also:MusicHistory