text:
PTE

PTE or Pte may refer to:

Organizations

 * Workers' Party of Ecuador, the Partido de los Trabajadores de Ecuador
 * Party of Labour of Spain, the Partido del Trabajo de España
 * Passenger transport executive, a type of local government body responsible for public transport in the United Kingdom
 * Prairie Theatre Exchange, a theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
 * Private Training Establishment, a category of tertiary education organisations in New Zealand
 * University of Pécs (Pécsi Tudományegyetem), Hungary

Science and technology

 * Periodic table of elements
 * Phosphotriesterase, an enzyme
 * PicturesToExe, slideshow software
 * Post-traumatic epilepsy, recurrent seizures that result from head trauma
 * Power Tab Editor, guitar tablature software
 * Pressure-tolerant electronics, components that operate satisfactorily under high pressure, such as in submarines
 * Page table entry, the operating system's mapping of virtual address to physical address in a page table
 * Phantom Transfer Engine, software used with the Spirit DataCine
 * CVH-PTE engine, a Ford CVH engine
 * Performance testing environment, in a performance test

Other uses

 * Pearson Test of English, several of the Pearson Language Tests
 * Portuguese escudo, the former official currency of Portugal
 * Private (rank), a military rank
 * Permission to enter
 * Proprietary company in Singapore

title: PTE


text:
Talk:Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act 2003

Untitled
Hey Angela, your redirect has precluded further info being added to the Smoking ban page (which links from Smoking page). I intended to put the following on the Smoking ban page;

 * "Many countries have introduced smoking bans in various guises over the years, citing health statistics that show smoking is bad for the smokers and those subjected to second-hand smoke.

 * "Despite the dire warnings from smokers that hospitality businesses such as hotels, restaurants and bars would suffer disastrously from smoking bans, with many of them going broke, the experiences of New York and California gave the lie to this.

 * "Most recent country to introduce a comprehensive ban is New Zealand who passed the Smokefree Environments Amendment Bill on December 3, 2003."

along with stub alert thingy, hoping someone with better knowledge than I have would produce info on the New York and California legislations, plus smoking ban legislation elsewhere in the world. Can the Smoking ban page be re-opened? And wouldn't it be better as bans plural? Cheers Moriori 02:47, Dec 4, 2003 (UTC)

Yes, you can still edit the Smoking ban page. Use this link. The redirect was created automatically when I moved the page here. It didn't mean that the redirect had to stay, just that I thought the information now at Smokefree Environments Amendment Bill was better under this title. On a redirect page, you will see (Redirected from Smoking ban). Click on the link 'smoking ban' and you will go to the smoking ban page. Then just click edit. Angela. 06:15, 5 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * Tks for advice Angela. Cheers Moriori 06:31, Dec 5, 2003 (UTC)

Since this has been passed into law shouldn't it be Smokefree Environments Amendment Act intead of Smokefree Environments Amendment Bill?

I moved it to "Act". (Alphaboi867 04:37, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC))

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
User talk:Rtw~enwiki

Hello, welcome to Wikipedia. The article you created at U-commerce appears to be copied from http://www.terry.uga.edu/people/rwatson/agder/JAMS2002.pdf. Unless you are the author of the original information and you are able to release it under the GFDL then the page will need to be deleted. Please see Copyrights for further information. Even if this is a copyright violation, we would still welcome any original contributions from you. See the instructions on how to edit a page for more info. Thanks. Angela 02:48, 4 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Thank you for confirming that you are the original author of the information that the U-commerce article derives from. I've delisted it from the possible copyright infringements page and removed the violation notice. Here are some links you might find useful:

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If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my talk page. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!

Angela. 17:25, 4 Dec 2003 (UTC)

U-commerce has been proposed for deletion. You may wish to defend the article on the votes for deletion page. Angela. 20:10, 6 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Unverified image
Thanks for uploading the image I notice it currently doesn't have an image copyright tag. Could you add one to let us know its copyright status? (You can use if you release it under the GFDL, or  if you claim fair use, etc.) If you don't know what any of this means, just let me know where you got the image and I'll tag it for you. Thanks, Kbh3rd 06:11, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)
 * Image:Uspace.png

 * Thanks for your response! I've tagged it with the Gnu Free Documentation License as that's what is implied by default when we upload our own work and don't specify otherwise.  Kbh3rd 01:28, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Image:Uspace.png listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:Uspace.png, has been listed at. Please look there to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Fritz S. (Talk) 11:37, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
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title: User talk:Rtw~enwiki


text:
Talk:Acrylic paint

proposed split
I think the article should be split into a technical part, in which the polymer coating mechanisms are explained, and another article in which the artwork is explored. 194.53.253.51 (talk) 14:27, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Links removed
I've removed some links to commercial galleries or individual artists who appear to be purely promoting their own work or websites - Self promotion or vanity publishing is against Wiki guidlelines - Otherwise anyone could just add a link to this article because they happen to paint in acylic or sell acrylic paintings - Rrose Selavy

acrylic paint is removed by turpentine or mineral spirits.

 * But not easily...

MWAK--84.27.81.59 14:45, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Is that picture the best we have to offer of Acrylic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mikeonatrike (talk • contribs) 17:51, August 30, 2007 (UTC)

My link - www.gailart.biz - is instructional as I have taught acrylic painting. Because I only sell my work locally or for illustration purposes, I'm not promoting on the internet. But there are sites where someone can view more of my and other artists' acrylic painting. If you're going to have a discussion of acrylic painting, it's important to include many perspectives and techniques, or else everyone might think that "One-Step" painting is the only method, or that you can only paint on gessoed surfaces. By the way, acrylic paint is really not removed easily unless it's immediately done. I just spilt some paint-water on my rug yesterday and have to really work to get it out. And paintings that I've done over a decade ago on fabric that has been washed repeatedly have lasted really well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.226.177.16 (talk) 16:22, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Mediums
I added the paragraph about mediums, incorporating a sentence about binding characteristics that was already there. Through the use of mediums, it is possible to achieve a vast range of effects that are not possible in oils and watercolors..

Media
The plural form of the word "medium" is "media" — not "mediums" — and I changed the entry accordingly. Also, I replaced a lot of parenthetical second-guessing with a "citation needed" tag. Buck 18:19, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

Hey Buck, I am the fellow that wrote the paragraph on mediums. I too love the Chicago Manual of Style, but you are applying a dying and archaic plural form to a modern word. The plural of "painting medium" is "painting mediums," and any painter who heard you say "painting media" would probably still understand you, but would think that your English was terribly stilted. This usage is completely established in all forms of modern English. Metzenberg April 9, 2006.

I think substituting an "a" for the end of the word is how you form some plurals in Latin. Adding an "s" or "es" is how you form plurals in English. In English, I believe e.g. stadia is incorrect and stadiums is correct.

^Where on Earth did you find your datums? Presumably in the mass mediums. That's where one usually finds strange phenomenons.

Media
Media may well be the plural of medium, however the industry commonly refers to these products as Acrylic Mediums, not Acrylic Media.

Thank you. That is correct. I am in the industry. Metzenberg April 9, 2006.

Removal by Turps
Sorry, this is incorrect. The turps won't be removing the acrylic paint, ones own elbow grease will be doing that. You see, once an acrylic paint has cured (24hrs - 2 weeks), it undergoes a chemical change as the acrylic emulsion particles bind together. Using turps or mineral spirits won't unbind these particles. The friction of rubbing them is what may be doing this. Once cured, acrylic paints are cured irriversibly(sp). Most manufacturers actually sell turps based varnishes.

This not quite 100% true, about being cured irreversibly. I have some plastic cement which uncures acrylic paint, even after 6 months. ~The Little Green Man from Mars(My Page)(Where do I live?) 21:01, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

I don't think i'd want to try plastic cement on my carpet or clothing. Another suggestion, Goo Off, i think it's called, would hard some surfaces. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.226.177.16 (talk) 16:25, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

No, I wouldn't use it either, but it does show that the paint is not irreversibly cured. For those who want to avoid dissolving the paint job of their model Corvette, the cement is from a Revell Professional Mini bottle, #39608 according to the label. ~The Little Green Man from Mars(My Page)(Where do I live?) 02:12, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

acrylic techniques and restrictions
"There are techniques which are available only to acrylic painters, as well as restrictions unique to acrylic painting"

It would be nice to have a reference or elaborate more on this sentence. Not knowing much about acrylic paints (which is why I was reading the article) I have no clue what you are referring to.

It would make more sense to write specific pages about the techniques and cross-link to the Acrylic Paint article Rawbear 22:57, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

yes, exactly, and my link - www.gailart.biz - is one that discusses many of the unique features of acrylic painting - artistically or otherwise. i've been painting with acrylics for over 20 years. more often now i use it as an underbase for an oil painting but i also use it on painted furniture. the applications are endless and the experimentation isn't over yet. i look forward to learning more about it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.226.177.16 (talk) 16:29, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Contradiction
The following two statements seem to contradict eachother.

"one of the disadvantages of this medium is that paintings can crack and be corrupted much sooner than with oil."

"Although the permanency of acrylics is sometimes debated by conservators, they appear more stable than oil paints. Whereas oil paints normally turn yellow as they age/dry(oxidize), acrylic paints, at least in the 50 years since invention, do not yellow, crack, or change."

I'd guess the second is more accurate.

I've never heard the first statement from knowlegable sources, nor scene evidence of it! Sounds very biased and unsupported, is someone talking about cheap beginner grade paint slapped on with lots of water?

There are a lot of ways to make acrylic painting 'unstable' and cause it to crack or fall off. For instance, trying to paint over any kind of oily base will not work. Nor on most metals that haven't been primed for it and protected after. Any kind of paint has its preferred methods and MEDIUMS for best results. And there are a few colors that do seem to yellow with time - according to my own work. But generally, a decent acrylic will last a very long time and doesn't seem affected by sunlight or humidity like other paints. - 20+ years painting experience —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.226.177.16 (talk) 16:34, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Acrylic paint is not plastic.
"...and the fact that acrylic paints dry to a shiny, smooth effect—not surprising since acrylic paints are, basically, plastic"

Yes and no. Paint is a combination of the pigment(s) and the binder. Acrylic paint pigments are the same pigments used in oil and watercolor paints. The acrylic binder is what defines an acrylic paint. It's more accurate to say that the binder (not the paint) is plastic.

"Another one of the disadvantages of this medium is that paintings can crack and be corrupted much sooner than with oil, however, using suitable extenders that increase the thickness of the paint but make it remain plastic-like, or by applying the paint in thinner layers removes this problem to a large extent. Most painters outside of the 20th Century have mixed their own paints to increase the longevity of the artwork, and suitable mediums and powder colours are available for producing your own acrylic paint."

Almost all this paragraph is untrue. Acrylics do not crack or become "corrupted" sooner than oil. Oils are notorious for cracking with time and tend to yellow. The purpose of extenders is not to extend the life of the acrylic. Most painters outside the 20th century (do you mean before the 20th century?) mixed their own paint because of the lack of commercial sources, not to increase the longevity of their work. It would be really useful to list the many advantages of acrylic paint (rapid drying time, relative lack of toxicity, solubility/cleanup with water, color saturation and brightness).

--the paragraph about "another one of the disadvantages of this medium..." sounded awful, so I reworded it. and there is no such thing as "powder colours" in an artist's vocabulary. there are 'pigments' which are good, and "dry tempera" which you only buy by mistake then have to use up teaching kid's classes. --Kyle Clements - BFA

Techniques Section
Formatted the article but the Techniques section needs more work doing to it.--Artypants 10:50, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Plagiarism
Does Answers.com usually plagiarize Wikipedia?

http://www.answers.com/topic/acrylic-paint-1

It's not plagiarism. but laziness, possibly, Yes, it usually  uses Wiki's entries along with other web dictionary resources and credits the source.

http://www.answers.com/topic/plagiarism?cat=biz-fin

Rrose Selavy

Does wikipedia plagiarize everyone, and everything? Of course it does! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.235.73.194 (talk) 22:12, 16 May 2013 (UTC)

Image
I added a photograph of acrylic for better illustration. Hariadhi 07:38, 29 July 2007 (UTC)
 * It's a nice image, but it seems like it could use a caption. Particularly since it's in the "Differences between acrylic and oil paint" section. Is one of those paint smears oil and one acrylic? Trilink 19:47, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Can anyone take a photo of acrylic paint being made? Erudecorp ? * 21:33, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

House paint
Am I the only one whose main experience with paint is for walls (both interior and exterior)? This article has a lot of good information on art, but what about paint as used on houses? Derekt75 (talk) 00:40, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

 * A discussion of acrylic paint on houses (walls, i presume) would largely talk about mural work or decorative arts. You're not going to paint a whole wall with acrylic paint. I'm a house painter as well as artist, so I've done both. Wall paint is latex (usually), a different subject entirely. We could start another topic here on mural or decorative painting, as the surfaces are much different to deal with than canvas/objects d'arte. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.226.177.16 (talk) 16:38, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

 * I'm confused by the fact that 'Latex Paint' diverts to this 'Acrylic Paint' article; but the contributor above says that latex [paint] is a different subject entirely. The term latex wall paint seems to be commonly used in the US, but I'm trying to find out if what we call 'Masonry Paint' in the UK is the same thing? Can anyone help out here? Andywebby (talk) 23:29, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Latex house paint is based on acrylic polymer emulsions, so the redirect is logical, but I agree this article needs expansion with regard to house paints... as well as the technical chemistry of acrylic (or acrylate) polymers and the substitution binders and fillers we commonly find in commercial house paints. If one investigates the history of acrylic paint, we find that Rohm was but one of the main contributors to the development of acrylic paints and it wasn't as simple as "invent[ing] acrylic resin, which quickly transformed into acrylic paint". Rohm and Haas were the first to commercially sell acrylic paint in something like 1953, and their motivating factor was to provide an alternative house paint during the post war housing boom. I must also point out that the first reference in this wiki-article is not a reliable source and it will be deleted. The related content should be rewritten or it too will be removed. Luminaux (talk) 22:36, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm sorry to see that not much has been changed or added since these comments were made. Since that time, the 'problem' has only grown worse. As a result of chemical innovations, new legal restrictions and consumer demand, acrylic paints have all but taken over from the older alkyd-based house paints and latex based wall paints. In fact, painting doors, furniture and walls is now the MAIN use of acrylic paints and the term itself, until a decade ago or so only used by artists, is increasingly known and used by the DIY-minded public. Personally, I know only little of these matters I can but hope that some knowledgeable person will review this article (and the other articles, notably on latex paint, wall paint, alkyd paint, etc) with these developments in mind as well as the changes in the use of the word. As it stands, it's all very unclear to me. I know that I can dilute acrylic paint with water; I know I can clean my brush with water instead of turpentine. But that's about it. I have no idea what makes the difference between the paint artists use, the paint I put on my door and the paint I put on my wall. Still less what makes these paints glossy or matte, and what are the consequences thereof. I used to know the difference between paint, lacquer and varnish - but not anymore. At the moment, wikipedia is of little practial help in this area and I, for one, made some time-consuming and costly mistakes as a result of the general confusion and lack of sound information. Mabel2 (talk) 19:02, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

I too am sorry to see that not much has been added about house paint, wheter it is oil based or water bourne. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Borgward (talk • contribs) 16:27, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

If latex-based interior house paint does get some attention, I hope it contains something about changes in shade as it dries. At least when they were first commercially available (early 1960s) there was a sigificant change in shade as it dried (becoming lighter, I believe). So midway through a job, it would look very uneven, only to be just fine when completely dry. Are artists' acrylics similar? BMJ-pdx (talk) 05:37, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

acrylic paint and varnish
Just a quick question. Do you have to varnish an acrylic painting? If so, why?

Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.12.42.112 (talk) 09:24, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

 * It is not really necessary. However, I know of two rational reasons to varnish. In some cases the surface of the painting can show differences in gloss; if this is undesired to obtain a uniform reflection you'll have to varnish. The other reason is that though dirt can easily be removed from the acrylic paint layer using water as a solvent, the water may degrade the carrier, e.g. canvas or paper. Organic solvents pose less of a threat in this respect — but they'll temporarily soften the acrylic, making it slightly susceptible to abrasion during the cleaning process. Nothing much to worry about but precious museum pieces had better be varnished, if this can be reconciled with the authenticity of the artwork.--MWAK (talk) 16:33, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

Actually, varnishing is very important for acrylic paintings. When acrylic cures, even though to the eye it seems smooth and impermeable, it is actually quite porous. This allows surface dirt, dust, smoke, etc to penetrate the surface of the painting, making it extremely hard to clean. Removable archival varnish not only smooths out the finish, it seals the surface pores so that cleaning is much easier. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.247.74.217 (talk) 04:15, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

I have removed this unreferenced section it has little value as far as I van see?  Teapot  george Talk  22:11, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

I want to leave a comment about this information: " For instance, Prussian blue is not generally available due to chemical incompatibility with the acrylic binder". Actually I paint with acrylic, and my box paint contain the Prussian Blue color. Check the Boldmere mark for acrylic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.135.22.81 (talk) 12:16, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

I use Cryla acrylic paint and can confirm they have Prussian Blue in the range. It is listed as "Normally Permanent" in their lightfastness guide, which ranges from Permanent, though Normally Permanent, Moderately Permanent, to Fugitive. SamXT (talk) 06:55, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Some popular manufacturers of artist acrylics
ColArt is a leading supplier of art materials, and has several brands which include lines of acrylic paints. The Winsor & Newton brand includes the Galeria and Artists' Acrylic lines, Liquitex consists of the Liquitex Professional Colors and Liquitex BASICS lines, Lefranc & Bourgeois includes the Flashe, FINE Acrylic, and Louvre lines, and Reeves includes a line of acrylic sets and loose colors.

Royal Talens of the Netherlands (owned by Sakura Color Products Corporation) manufactures the Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Amsterdam (Standard and Expert), and ArtCreation (Expression and Essentials) lines of acrylic paints and mediums.

Daler-Rowney (Cryla and System 3) is an English manufacturer of acrylic paint, so as Spectrum, that offer a range of acrylics for professionals and an economy line for students. A Spanish manufacturer is Acrylicos Vallejo which offers an extensive line of paints of different textures and color.

In India Camlin Ltd. makes 60 excellent shades of artist acrylic colors in addition to student grade colors and all kinds of acrylic mediums. This is a company which makes more than 2000 separate art and hobby range of products.

In the United States, manufacturers of artist acrylic paints include Golden Artist Colors, based in New Berlin, New York, Liquitex, Nova Color Artists Acrylic Paint and Daniel Smith Artists' Materials. These offer a full range of professional paints and media. M. Graham, based in Oregon, also produces a limited range of professional-quality acrylics. In 2012, Ronald Wheeler a former US producer of Politec Acrylic Artists Colors, will re-establish the distribution of these first (1953) acrylic emulsion paints with the imported product line and then later establishing again US production.

Grumbacher Academy Acrylics, also manufactured in the United States Leeds, Massachusetts, offer a 24 color collegiate grade line with matching media.

D. L. Stevenson & Son Ltd., manufacturers of professional artist quality acrylics, are located in Toronto, Canada. Stevenson Acrylics consists of a line of 64 colors as well as a variety of media.

Chroma is the Australian manufacturer of the Atelier Interactive Artists' Acrylics line of paint. Chroma also has facilities in North America. Other acrylics made by Chroma include A>2 Lightfast Heavy Body Artist Acrylics and Chroma's Jo Sonja Artists' Colours. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Painter2014 (talk • contribs) 13:01, 25 July 2013 (UTC) Established in 1964 - one of the oldest manufacturers of professional artist acrylics Matisse Derivan - artist acrylic paints based in Australia with facilities in north America and is still owned and run by some of the founding families. They produce the Matisse line of acrylics which as well as keeping with the sustainable ethics of the company also has several uniquely Australian colors

The most expensive acrylics in the market are from Old Holland (New Masters) and Golden Artist Colors and they are advertised as of the best quality.

Technical aspects need filling in
The article has practically on the technical (chemistry and physics) of acrylic paints. Even the work "acrylic" is linked to the Wikitionary instead of the proper chemistry/plastics article. --Jorge Stolfi (talk) 04:24, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Colour chart is an advert
The unexplained dumping of a colour chart in the middle of the article is (i) unnecessary (other articles about artists mediums neither include nor need such a chart - yes, paints do come in colours!), (ii) a blatant, if slightly subtle advert for one particular brand of paint, as a Google search on the product codes quickly identifies - the specific codes have nothing to do with acrylic paints per se.

Suggest removing the chart. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.160.86.109 (talk) 20:01, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

 * Everything on wikipedia is an advert. lol 79.106.203.50 (talk) 09:50, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

Agreed. Luminaux (talk) 22:04, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

"Sealing, Staining, and Filling" reference doesn't illustrate point.
In the paragraph titled "Painters and acrylic" a reference is given to support the statement, "[acrylics] use on engineered woods such as Medium-density fibreboard can be problematic because of the porous nature of those surfaces[6]." The "Sealing, Staining, and Filling" reference gives no information on "engineered woods" and in fact, the only mention of acrylics in the article makes the claim that acrylics are self sealing. It seems to me that if a fiberboard were completely painted (both sides and all edges) the acrylic paint would act as a sealant and minimize the expansion/contraction issues of wood fibers. (To investigate this, perhaps someone in this community focused on the sharing and accumulation of accurate knowledge for all could provide chemical compositions of some common "primers" or "sealers" and some common "paints". As I understand it, many commercial "primers" are heavy in acrylic binders, especially when compared to seemingly acrylic-poor commercial paints, but if this is true the artist acrylic-heavy paints shouldn't need primer... some insight please...) Furthermore, this ref is about stains, not paint, and I believe that it, as well as the above quoted statement, should be removed unless proper reference can be shown. Luminaux (talk) 22:02, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

Toxicity
Would be useful to have a section on the toxicity of acrylic paint or lack there of, and to compare it with the toxicity of oil based paints. I presume that the water binder makes exposure to acrylic non-toxic, while I know that some of the oil binders have mildly toxic effects (e.g. glycol ethers). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.235.217.217 (talk) 01:29, 18 March 2012 (UTC)

A number of years ago I researched Acrylic Latex House paint. I found that while it had less VOC's than oil base paint, it was more carcenogenic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Borgward (talk • contribs) 16:23, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

biased
This article is exhibiting a bias that treats the subject solely from a canvas/feature artists point of view. Unlike oil paint, which treats the subject also from an industrial and home applications point of view (paint as a protectant for a surface, or interior design feature). 70.49.127.65 (talk) 00:14, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

 * This article is about acrylic paint's use in the fine arts. WP:IDON'TLIKEIT is no reason for this claim of bias. See House painter and decorator for it's industrial use...Modernist (talk) 13:24, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

 * That is what is called bias. The title "acrylic paint" is a general title and should cover all acrylic paints and its uses, not a restricted topic such as acrylic paints in artwork. If you don't want to cover the entire topic, then the title should be changed to a more restricted one, such as acrylic paint in fine arts. 70.49.127.65 (talk) 21:45, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

 * Agreed. I came here looking for information about acrylic finishes used in decorating and found and article on acrylic paint that is incomplete as it deals only with acrylic artists' paints. Either it should have scope appropriate to its title or a title appropriate to its scope. Painter and decorator is a person's trade, not a type of paint. Globbet (talk) 21:40, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

 * There really needs to either be an extension to cover all types of acrylic paints or a separation into pages about Artists acrylics and other types (Hobby, automotive etc) - even the second sentence on the page "Acrylic paints are water-soluble" is incorrect talking about acrylic paints as a whole - acrylic lacquers are not soluble in water for example. It would be more accurate to say 'Artists acrylic paints are soluble in water'Davef68 (talk) 10:46, 2 June 2017 (UTC)

Grading
Hi, the previous "artist grading" included

"Highly pigmented with a focus on single pigment colors for the cleanest mixing results, they tend to have viscosity similar to oil paints and can thus hold a brush stroke for impasto applications. Acrylics can be applied to canvas, boards, paper, panels, wood, and a number of other prepared surfaces."

Viscosity and impasto applications have nothing to do with professional quality, rather they are related to types of acrylic viscosity.

Also, I don't think "scholastic acrylics should be listed on the "grading" section; scholastic falls under "student grade" acrylics.

--Artschool-reject (talk) 14:31, 23 April 2015 (UTC)
 * I agree and just removed it. I added a book reference that states there are only 2 grades. Feel free to add scholastic back into a proper section with reference if ever available. --CNMall41 (talk) 17:53, 16 November 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Acrylic paint. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20111005113656/http://www.tititudorancea.com/z/what_is_acrylic_paint.htm to http://www.tititudorancea.com/z/what_is_acrylic_paint.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20131102061836/http://www.liquitex.com/techniques/liquitexqa.cfm to http://www.liquitex.com/techniques/liquitexqa.cfm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 09:57, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

 * Dear cyberbot, I have gone to the trouble of removing the first link because it was a carbon copy of a past Wikipedia article. I changed the date of the archive file on the second link to Jan. 1, 2011 so that it wouldn't lead to a file-not-found page. Bod (talk) 18:05, 9 October 2015 (UTC)

Not all the pigments of oil paints are available in acrylics.
I would have thought the opposite is true. Any sources/examples for this?--93.214.240.122 (talk) 22:04, 29 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I have no source that explicitly states that there are more of one than another, but in my experience it is true. If you compare the number of pigments available in Schmincke's Mussini series (oil) to their PRIMAcryl for example, then you'll see that there are more oil colours (101) than there are acrylics (84). That's probably WP:OR though.Mduvekot (talk) 22:50, 29 March 2016 (UTC)
 * So that would be a statement about commercial availability. Both of the Schmincke color sets contain many mixtures of pigments, so it is hard to compare them. Here is a list from the company Kremer about the suitability of their pigments for different media: Kremer. And here a similar one from Sennelier. Examples: Kremer lists green earths as unsuited for Acrylics, Sonnelier doesn't. Sonnelier lists Cobalt pigments as unsuited, Kremer doesn't. --93.214.242.162 (talk) 22:38, 30 March 2016 (UTC)
 * You raise good points. I'm not sure whey Sennelier lists cobalt pigments as unsuited, cobalt pigments are chemically inert, but can flocculate in water, perhaps that's why. Why Kremer would say that their green earths are unsuitable for use in acrylic mediums, I have no idea. Its clay content causes it to absorb significant amounts of oil, but I can't see why that would be a problem. All I have to offer is unsourced speculation at this point. Sorry.Mduvekot (talk) 16:02, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Hard to make a statement like that for ALL brands. GOLDEN says they make 101 different colors, 30 mixed pigment, so that EQUALS 71 single-pigment colors(http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo_hevbod). WINSOR & NEWTON OILS says they have "80 single pigment colours" (http://www.winsornewton.com/na/shop/oil-colour/artists-oil-colour). Therefore, the statement holds, but only slightly. Bod (talk) 21:41, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

= Your Gesso is as good as mine... =

 * I've not followed this closely enough to know which contributor added this sentence:

"Gesso alone will not stop SID; a sizing must be applied before using a gesso."

But there is something fundamentally wrong with adding such a fine sentence about the limitations of a gesso... without any reference to what a gesso is in the first place. If someone needs to read a Wiki article about Acrylic paints they probably won't know what a gesso is and a word search shows it mentioned one other time, in a list of mediums, which is fine for all readers to try and extrapolate new knowledge from inference and context, but while that's how intuitive human learning works, that's not the way an Encyclopedia works. If it's specialized vocabulary, especially in the course of explaining a larger subject, it needs to be defined or referenced. APDEF (talk) 14:55, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

 * Ah, never mind, I now see that the first mention of Gesso links to a page that tells us all about it. All is well. APDEF (talk) 15:02, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

"Refractive index that is less clear ..." is nonsensical.
In the "Differences between acrylic and oil paint" section, the statement that "Oil provides a refractive index that is less clear than acrylic dispersions" is nonsensical. The refractive index is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. Calling one index "less clear" than another is at best quite a stretch.

So how do the refractive indexes of oil- vs. acrylic-based paints compare? If one is significantly higher than the other, surface reflectivity and internal reflections will both increase (that is what gives diamonds their "sparkle"). The statement should be reworded in terms of higher/lower, not "less clear". BMJ-pdx (talk) 05:19, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

Artistic India
Rabindranath tagore what kind of painting they are famous for 110.235.232.214 (talk) 16:10, 17 June 2022 (UTC)

Difference between acrylic and watercolor paint
This section is bad, starting with the assertion that acrylics are opaque and watercolors are translucent. Both can be anywhere in the range from transparent to opaque -- according to the very web page cited! (But that cited web page is also a poor reference, containing misleading and contradictory info.) The discussion around making lighter and darker colors for each medium is also oversimplified and misleading. Worse is that the biggest effective difference between the two isn't mentioned: acrylics are permanent once dry while watercolors are not. SmanthaGraves (talk) 17:10, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

 * n 59.103.109.136 (talk) 04:49, 13 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Acrylic paint


text:
The Monk

The Monk: A Romance is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796 across three volumes. Written early in Lewis's career, it was published before he turned twenty, and he withheld his name from the first edition. It tells the story of a virtuous monk who gives into his lustful urges, setting off a chain of events that leave him damned. It is a prime example of the type of Gothic that specializes in horror.

Upon publication, the novel proved scandalous. Readers were shocked by its sexually explicit content, and themes of rape and incest, leading it to become arguably the most controversial Gothic novel of the 18th century. Despite public outcry, the novel was massively popular. Over time, Lewis came to feel that its writing had been in poor taste. Later editions were heavily censored by the author himself.

The Monk is considered part of the gothic literary canon, a forerunner to the popular gothic novels of the 19th century, and an influence on the modern horror genre. It has been adapted or significantly inspired a number of plays, films, and writings.

Plot
The story revolves around a devoted monk, Ambrosio, who is tempted to break his sacred vows when a young man, Rosario, reveals that he is a woman, also known as "Matilda," and comes to the monastery and disguises himself as a nun to become closer to him. Caught between two strong plotlines—one being a struggle between sexual desire and religious integrity—Ambrosio soon succumbs to the temptations he has sought his entire life to shun. It is one of the most important Gothic novels of its time, often imitated and adapted for stage and the screen.

Ambrosio, the monk
Ambrosio was left at an abbey in Madrid as an infant and is now a famously celebrated monk. A beautiful and virtuous young woman, Antonia, goes to hear one of his sermons, and meets Lorenzo, who falls in love with her.

Ambrosio's closest friend among the monks, Rosario, reveals that he is a woman named Matilda, who disguised herself to be near Ambrosio. While picking a rose for her, Ambrosio is bitten by a serpent and falls deathly ill. Matilda nurses him. When he recovers, Matilda reveals that she sucked the poison from Ambrosio's wound and is now dying herself. At the point of her death, Matilda begs him to make love to her, and he agrees reluctantly. After having sex with Ambrosio, Matilda performs a ritual in the cemetery which cures her of the poison. She and Ambrosio continue to be secret lovers, but Ambrosio grows tired of her.

Ambrosio meets Antonia and is immediately attracted to her. He begins visiting Antonia's mother regularly, hoping to seduce Antonia. In the meantime, Lorenzo has secured his family's blessing for his marriage with Antonia. Matilda tells Ambrosio she can help him gain Antonia's charms, the same way she was healed of the poison: witchcraft. Ambrosio is initially horrified, but agrees. Matilda and Ambrosio return to the cemetery, where Matilda calls upon Lucifer, who appears young and handsome. He gives Matilda a magic myrtle bough, which will allow Ambrosio to open any door, as well as rape Antonia without her knowing. Ambrosio uses the magic bough to enter Antonia's bedroom. He is on the point of raping her when Antonia's mother arrives and confronts him. In panic, Ambrosio murders her and returns to the abbey, unsatisfied in his lust and horrified that he has now become a murderer.

Antonia, grief-stricken at the death of her mother, sees her mother's ghost. She faints and Ambrosio is called to help. Matilda helps Ambrosio acquire a concoction that will put Antonia in a deathlike coma. While attending to Antonia, Ambrosio administers the poison, and Antonia appears to die. He takes Antonia to the crypt beneath the convent, where, she awakens from her drugged sleep and Ambrosio rapes her. Afterward, he is as disgusted with Antonia as he was with Matilda, who arrives to warn him that the convent is burning down due to a riot (caused by the events of Raymond and Agnes's story). Antonia attempts to escape, and Ambrosio kills her.

Ambrosio and Matilda are brought before the Inquisition. Matilda confesses her guilt and is sentenced to death. Before she is executed, she sells her soul to the devil in exchange for her freedom and her life. Ambrosio insists upon his innocence and is tortured. He is visited by Matilda, who tells him to yield his soul to Satan. Ambrosio again proclaims his innocence, but when faced with torture, he admits to his sins of rape, murder, and sorcery and is condemned to burn. In despair, Ambrosio asks Lucifer to save his life, who tells him it will be at the cost of his soul. Ambrosio is reluctant to give up the hope of God's forgiveness, but Lucifer tells him that there is none. After much resistance, Ambrosio signs the contract. Lucifer transports him from his cell to the wilderness. Lucifer informs him that Antonia's mother, whom he murdered, was also his mother, making Antonia his sister, adding to his crimes the sin of incest. Ambrosio then learns that he accepted Lucifer's deal only moments before he was to be pardoned. Lucifer reveals that it has long been his plan to gain Ambrosio's soul, and Matilda was a demon helping him. Finally, Lucifer points out the loophole in the deal Ambrosio struck: Ambrosio only asked to get out of his cell. Lucifer carries Ambrosio into the sky and drops him onto rocks below. Ambrosio suffers for six days before dying alone and damned for eternity.

Raymond and Agnes
Lorenzo's sister, Agnes, is a nun at the nearby abbey who is romantically involved with Raymond, son of a Marquis. Ambrosio hears the confession of the nuns at Agnes's convent. When Agnes confesses that she is pregnant with Raymond's child, Ambrosio turns her over to the Prioress of her abbey for punishment.

Lorenzo confronts Raymond about his relationship with his sister Agnes. Raymond tells their long history. Raymond was travelling in Germany when he was nearly killed by bandits. He avoided being killed, and rescued a Baroness who was also travelling. Visiting the Baroness afterward, Raymond fell in love with her niece Agnes. However, the Baroness was in love with Raymond; when he refused her advances, she made arrangements to send Agnes to a convent. Raymond and Agnes made plans to elope before Agnes left her aunt's castle for the convent. Agnes planned to dress as the Bleeding Nun, a ghost who haunted the castle and exited its gates at midnight. Raymond accidentally eloped with the real ghost of the real Bleeding Nun. Exorcising the ghost of the Bleeding Nun required assistance from the Wandering Jew. When Raymond was free, he found Agnes in the convent. There he seduced Agnes. When she discovered that she was pregnant, she begged him to help her escape.

When Raymond finishes his story, Lorenzo agrees to help him elope with Agnes. He acquires a papal bull releasing Agnes from her vows as a nun so that she may marry Raymond. However, when he shows it to the Prioress, she tells Lorenzo that Agnes died several days before. Lorenzo does not believe it, but after two months, there is no other word concerning Agnes. Eventually, to try to find Agnes, Raymond's servant disguises himself as a beggar and goes to the convent, where Mother St. Ursula sneaks him a note that tells Raymond to have the cardinal arrest the Prioress for Agnes's murder.

During a procession honouring Saint Clare, the Prioress is arrested. Mother St. Ursula publicly describes Agnes's death at the hand of the sisters. When the procession crowd hears that the Prioress is a murderer, they turn into a rioting mob. They kill the Prioress, attack other nuns, and set the convent on fire. In the confusion, Lorenzo finds a group of nuns and a young woman named Virginia hiding in the crypt. Lorenzo discovers a passage leading down into a dungeon, where he finds Agnes, alive and holding the dead body of the baby she had given birth to while abandoned in the dungeon. With Virginia's help, Lorenzo rescues Agnes and the other nuns from the crypt.

Virginia visits Lorenzo as he is recovering from his grief and the two become closer. Agnes tells the story of her miserable experience in the dungeon. Agnes and Raymond are married, and the couple leaves Madrid for Raymond's castle, accompanied by Lorenzo and Virginia, who are also eventually married.

Characters

 * Agnes is Don Lorenzo's younger sister and Don Raymond's lover. Her mother fell ill while pregnant with Agnes and vowed to send Agnes to the convent if she delivered her safely. She is a virtuous young lady who intends to marry Don Raymond but her parents want her to become a nun, so she decides to run away with him. Their plans are foiled and, thinking Don Raymond has abandoned her forever, she enters the convent.
 * Ambrosio is an extremely devout monk about 30 years old. He was found left at the Abbey doorstep when he was too young to tell his tale. The monks consider him a present from the Virgin Mary and they educate him at the monastery.
 * Antonia is a timid and innocent girl of 15. She was brought up in an old castle in Murcia with only her mother Elvira and is therefore very sheltered. She is the object of Don Lorenzo's attentions. The novel's evil characters are considered to be better written than the virtuous ones, and Antonia's character is so virtuous that some have found her "deadly dull".
 * Elvira is the mother of Antonia and Ambrosio. She married a young nobleman in secret. His family does not approve of her and because of this she and her husband escape to the Indies, leaving her 2-year-old son behind. After 13 years, when Antonia is very young, her husband dies and she returns to Murcia where she lives on an allowance given to her by her father-in-law.
 * Leonella is Elvira's sister and Antonia's spinster aunt. She takes an immediate dislike to Ambrosio after hearing his sermon. She believes Don Christoval's polite attentions are more significant than they actually are and is hurt when he fails to call at her house. She eventually marries a younger man and lives in Cordova.
 * Don Lorenzo de Medina is Agnes's older brother and friend of Don Raymond and Don Christoval. Immediately intrigued by Antonia after meeting her at Ambrosio's sermon, Don Lorenzo resolves to marry her.
 * Matilda is first known as Rosario, the young boy who looks up to Ambrosio "with a respect approaching idolatry". Rosario is brought to the Monastery by a well dressed rich stranger but not much more is known of his past. He always hides under his cowl and later reveals that he is actually Matilda, a beautiful young lady who loves Ambrosio. Matilda 'loved' Ambrosio even before she joined the monastery (as a boy), and therefore requested a painting of herself as Madonna to be given to Ambrosio, which hangs in his room. She seduces Ambrosio and aids in his destruction of Antonia with magic. The character of Matilda was highly praised by Coleridge as Lewis's masterpiece, and is said to be "exquisitely imagined" and "superior in wickedness to the most wicked of men." Though she is considered by some critics to be the most intelligent, articulate, and interesting, she is difficult to characterise. The plot of the novel relies on her being a supernatural force with magical powers, but she begins as a human. She tells Ambrosio she loves him when she thinks he is asleep and cries "involuntary" tears when she realises he no longer cares for her. These passages, together with the haste in which the novel was written, seem to indicate "that Lewis changed his mind in the course of the narrative".
 * The Prioress, also known as Mother St. Agatha, punishes Agnes severely to uphold the honour of the convent of St. Clare. "Viciously cruel in the name of virtue", she keeps Agnes prisoner in the dungeons beneath the convent with only enough bread and water to sustain her but not nourish her. The prioress circulates the story of Agnes's death to everyone, including Agnes's own relations. She is beaten to a bloody pulp by the crowd that gathers to honour St. Clare when they realise she is responsible for Agnes's supposed death. She is also the inspiration for the Abbess of San Stephano in Radcliffe's The Italian.
 * Don Raymond is the son of a Marquis and is also known as Alphonso d'Alvarada. He takes the name Alphonso when his father, by the urging of his friend the Duke of Villa Hermosa, advises him that taking a new name will allow him to be known for his merits rather than his rank. He travels to Paris, but finds the Parisians "frivolous, unfeeling and insincere" and sets out for Germany. Near Strasbourg he is forced to seek accommodations in a cottage after his chaise supposedly breaks down. He is the target of the robber Baptiste but with help from Baptiste's wife Marguerite, Raymond is able to save himself and the Baroness Lindenberg. Grateful, the Baroness invites Don Raymond to stay with her and her husband at their castle in Bavaria.
 * Donna Rodolpha, Baroness of Lindenburg meets Don Raymond while travelling to Strasbourg. She is in love with Don Raymond and becomes jealous when she finds out Don Raymond is in love with her niece, Agnes. She asks him to leave the Castle of Lindenberg and later speaks poorly of his character.
 * Mother St. Ursula assists in Agnes's rescue. She is a witness to the Prioress's crimes and without her, Don Lorenzo would not be able to accuse the Prioress.
 * Theodore is Don Raymond's page. He enjoys writing poetry and authors the poems "Love and Age" and "The Water King". After reading "Love and Age", Don Raymond points out the flaws in the piece, which may be flaws Lewis noticed in his own work. Far from being the unwaiveringly faithful servant stock character, Theodore plays a key role in moving the plot forward by helping with Don Raymond's plans to escape with Agnes. Theodore's character also provides foreshadowing through his poems. His poems parallel the action of the story. For instance, in his poem "The Water King", the lovely maid's fate foreshadows Antonia's. In addition, Theodore also bears a striking resemblance to other characters in other of Lewis's works, including Leolyn in One O'clock (1811) and Eugene in "Mistrust" from Romantic Tales (1808).
 * Virginia de Villa Franca, introduced late in the story, is a beautiful, virtuous young relation of the Prioress who represents St. Clare in the Procession. Virginia nurses the ill Agnes back to health and thus wins Lorenzo's affections. Like Isabella in The Castle of Otranto, she is introduced as an acceptable marriage partner for Lorenzo, but plays an unessential part in the plot.

Composition
Lewis said he got his first inspiration for the novel from a short story by Richard Steele called "The History of Santon Barsisa," which was published in The Guardian in 1713. Lewis summarized the story as the tale of "a holy man led by the devil into seduction and murder and tricked at the point of death into forfeiting his soul." In one letter, Lewis claimed to have written The Monk in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he had at least started it, or something similar, a couple of years earlier.

First edition
The first edition of The Monk was published some time between 1795 and 1796. Older scholarship tended toward a 1795 publication year, but because no copies of the book so dated could be found, and because contemporary sources did not begin announcing or referencing the work until March 1796, the latter date began to be preferred. It was published anonymously, but for Lewis's initials after the preface and was highly praised by reviewers in The Monthly Mirror of June 1796 as well as the Analytical Review.

Second edition
The first edition sold well, and a second edition was published in October 1796. The good sales and reviews of the first had emboldened Lewis, and he signed the new edition with his full name, adding "M.P." to reflect his newly acquired seat in the House of Commons. The book continued to rise in popularity, but in a February 1797 review by a writer for the European Magazine, the novel was criticised for "plagiarism, immorality, and wild extravagance."

Fourth edition
Lewis wrote to his father on 23 February 1798, attempting to make reparations: the controversy caused by The Monk was a source of distress to his family. As recorded by Irwin: “twenty is not the age at which prudence is most to be expected. Inexperience prevented my distinguishing what should give offence; but as soon as I found that offence was given, I made the only reparation in my power: I carefully revised the work, and expunged every syllable on which could be grounded the slightest construction of immorality. This, indeed, was no difficult task, for the objection rested entirely on expressions too strong, and words carelessly chosen; not on the sentiments, characters, or general tendency of the work".

The fourth edition of the novel was published in 1798, and, according to Peck, "contains nothing which could endanger the most fragile virtue... He expunged every remotely offensive word in his three volumes, with meticulous attention to lust. Ambrosio, formerly a ravisher, becomes an intruder or betrayer; his incontinence changes to weakness or infamy, his lust to desire, his desires to emotions. Having indulged in excesses for three editions, he committed an error in the fourth". Lewis wrote an apology for The Monk in the preface of another work, as recorded by Peck:"'Without entering into the discussion whether the principles inculcated in 'The Monk' are right or wrong, or whether the means by which the story is conducted is likely to do more mischief than the tendency is likely to produce good, I solemnly declare, that when I published the work I had no idea that its publication could be prejudicial; if I was wrong, the error proceeded from my judgment, not from my intention. Without entering into the merits of the advice which it proposes to convey, or attempting to defend (what I now condemn myself) the language and manner in which that advice was delivered, I solemnly declare, that in writing the passage which regards the Bible (consisting of a single page, and the only passage which I ever wrote on the subject) I had not the most distant intention to bring the sacred Writings into contempt, and that, had I suspected it of producing such an effect, I should not have written the paragraph'."

Reviews
Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote a piece in The Critical Review, in which he both praises and criticizes the novel. He acknowledges that it is "the offspring of no common genius," and that the "underplot... is skillfully and closely connected with the main story, and is subservient to its development." However he notes that, ”we declare it to be our opinion, that the Monk is a romance, which if a parent saw in the hands of a son or daughter, he might reasonably turn pale".

Thomas James Mathias followed Coleridge's lead in The Pursuits of Literature, a poem in the 18th-Century satiric tradition, but takes a step farther than Coleridge by claiming that a specific passage made the novel indictable under law. The passage, found in Chapter Seven Volume II, discusses an interpretation of the Bible as too lewd for youth to read.

These two major pieces led the way for a multitude of other attacks on the novel, from such sources as the Monthly Review, the Monthly Magazine, and the Scots Magazine; the last of these attacked the novel six years after its publication. It was a general trend amongst those who criticised, however, to offer praise of some aspect of the novel. "It looked," writes André Parreaux, "as if every reviewer or critic of the book, no matter how hostile he was, felt compelled to at least pay lip-service to Lewis's genius."

The criticism of his novel, extending even into criticism of his person, never truly left Lewis, and an attack on his character was published by the Courier posthumously, calling itself a "just estimate of his character." As recorded by MacDonald: "He had devoted the first fruits of his mind to the propagation of evil, and the whole long harvest was burnt up ... There is a moral in the life of this man ... He was a reckless defiler of the public mind; a profligate, he cared not how many were to be undone when he drew back the curtain of his profligacy; he had infected his reason with the insolent belief that the power to corrupt made the right, and that conscience might be laughed, so long as he could evade law. The Monk was an eloquent evil; but the man who compounded it knew in his soul that he was compounding poison for the multitude, and in that knowledge he sent it into the world".

There were those who defended The Monk as well. Joseph Bell, publisher of the novel, spent half of his essay Impartial Strictures on the Poem Called "The Pursuits of Literature" and Particularly a Vindication of the Romance of "The Monk" defending Lewis; Thomas Dutton, in his Literary Census: A Satirical Poem, retaliated against Mathias and praised Lewis; Henry Francis Robert Soame compared Lewis to Dante in his The Epistle in Rhyme to M. G. Lewis, Esq. M. P.

"Assurances that The Monk was not as dangerous as its enemies maintained failed to dampen its success with the reading public", writes Peck. "They had been told that the book was horrible, blasphemous, and lewd, and they rushed to put their morality to the test". Indeed, the novel's popularity continued to rise and by 1800 there were five London and two Dublin editions.

Manuscripts
An original manuscript is in the collections of Wisbech & Fenland Museum, Isle of Ely.

The W&F Museum was awarded a grant of £7,222 in 2022 for the conservation and digitisation of the manuscript of The Monk by M.G. Lewis which is part of the Townshend Collection.

Struggle with temptation
Ambrosio displays traces of hubris and lust very early in the novel. It is explained that "he [Ambrosio] dismissed them [the monks] with an air of conscious superiority, in which humility's semblance combated with the reality of pride. Similarly, "he fixed his eyes on the Virgin… Gracious God, should I then resist the temptation? Should I not barter for a single embrace the reward of my sufferings for thirty years?" Both passages explicitly show the conflicting forces, that is, the moral choices that rage within Ambrosio. His nature instructs him to exult himself above others and lust for the Virgin Mary, while his religious inclinations, or at least his awareness of his position within the church, command him to humility and chastity.  Ambrosio begins to deviate from his holy conduct when he encounters Matilda, a character revealed at the end of the novel to be an emissary of Satan. Ambrosio's story focuses on temptation which is made to be extreme by the oppression of his upbringing. All of these circumstances are consistent with the classic model of the morality tale, and, true to form, once Ambrosio is tempted into sin he enters into a tailspin of increasing desire, which leads him to transgression and culminates in the loss of his eternal salvation and his grisly murder at the hands of the devil.

This pattern of wicked actions leading to ill consequences is exactly what is expected in a morality tale and is reflected in other Gothic novels. For example, Lewis's work is often discussed in conjunction with that of Ann Radcliffe's. Robert Miles writes that "Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis were the two most significant Gothic novelists of the 1790s, an estimate of their importance shared by their contemporaries.". Indeed, the repercussions of malevolent and self-serving actions are represented extraordinarily well in Radcliffe's The Romance of the Forest. The Marquis in the story was driven to murder for "the title of his brother… and riches which would enable him to indulge his voluptuous inclinations." Similar to Ambrosio, the Marquis was tempted and succumbed to sin, which sets him on a wicked path leading to his public shame and suicide.

The triumph of evil
Matilda is the catalyst of evil in The Monk, as Ambrosio battles the temptations she exposes him to. The first triumph of evil seen in the novel occurs after Matilda has saved Ambrosio's life by sucking out poison from a snake bite. When Ambrosio finds out about her allegedly altruistic sacrifice, she is able to exploit his gratitude. In order to save Matilda, Ambrosio must break the vows he has held for the entirety of his life and expose himself to evil. Throughout the story Matilda wields pity, lust, and innocence as a weapon, breaking down the beliefs Ambrosio used to define himself by. The rest of the story is the result of Matilda's influence over Ambrosio as she leads him through progressively unforgivable sins— rape, murder, and witchcraft—until he eventually signs his own soul over to the devil. The story's many horrific acts and their consequences for other characters are also victories of evil, but the pinnacle of evil is Ambrosio's total relinquishment of his beliefs when he offers his soul to the devil.

Harm to innocents
Lewis also deviates from what is typically expected from morality tales when he includes the sacrifice of innocent people in the latter chapters of the novel. As a result of Ambrosio's personal vices, both Elvira and Antonia are slain. Elvira finds Ambrosio, "the man whom Madrid esteems a saint…at this late hour near the couch of my unhappy child" on the verge of committing rape and Ambrosio murders her to prevent her from revealing his crimes. Elvira was guilty of no crime and throughout the novel was committed to the welfare of her family and her daughter in particular. Likewise, Antonia is murdered to prevent her from alerting Officers of the Inquisition of Ambrosio's crimes. Antonia is also undeserving of her fate, as she was always a loyal daughter and honest woman throughout the novel.

Another Gothic novel in which one individual's quest for a gratification of the senses leads to the ruin of others is Vathek by William Beckford. In the novel, the Caliph Vathek attempts to sacrifice fifty children to a demon to gain his favour. Without mercy he "pushed the poor innocent into the gulph [open to hell]." Similarly, in The Necromancer by Lawrence Flammenberg, an entire village is sacrificed to a troop of banditti who are angered at their hideout being revealed. The leader of group explaining that "the villagers are not yet punished… for having assisted them, but they shall not escape their doom." Admittedly, Vathek can be more readily identified as a morality tale, but The Necromancer warns against the pernicious effects of a legal system that is bereft of mercy. A criminal declares during his confession that his life "will afford a useful lesson to judges, and teach the guardians of the people to be careful how they inflict punishments if they will not make a complete rogue of many a hapless wretch…"

Anti-Catholic themes
The Monk is one of many Gothic novels that criticises the Catholic Church and Catholic tradition. By the time of the Gothic novel, the English were, to some extent, institutionally anti-Catholic. Characters such as the wicked abbess, the unchaste nun, and the lascivious monk represent the naked anti-Catholicism projected by the Gothic. Lewis's condemnation of the Church is apparent throughout the novel in his characterisation of Catholic religious. Ambrosio and the Prioress represent all that is seen as wrong with the Catholic Church. The vow of celibacy, which many Protestant writers at the time condemned as unnatural, is presented as contributing significantly to Ambrosio's repressed sexuality, which in turn leads to the heinous acts he commits against Antonia. Agnes's breaking of her vow is seen by the Prioress as an unforgivable crime, which drives her to punish Agnes so severely. Blakemore argues that in England, the sexual demonization of the aberrant Catholic "Other" was part and parcel of the ideological formation of the English, Protestant national identity."

Lewis also appears to mock Catholic superstition through use of iconoclasm repeatedly over the course of the novel, such as when Lorenzo moves a statue of the virgin St. Clare to reveal the chamber in which Agnes is being kept prisoner. This demystification of idols makes light of Catholic superstition in relation to statues and sacred objects. Lewis's treatment of the Catholic Church clearly shows that he harbours negative sentiments about the Church's activities.

The lack of divinity shown throughout the novel is not unique to The Monk. John Moore's Zeluco focuses on the nefarious plots of a single man who cannot control his passions. Like Ambrosio, Zeluco's disposition is shown very early in the novel to be disagreeable. In his youth Zeluco "seized it [his pet sparrow] with his hand, and while it struggled to get free, with a curse he squeezed the little animal to death." Zeluco continually gratifies his vices much to his discredit and dishonor, and, as in The Monk, his sins compound upon themselves culminating in the infanticide of his only son. Unlike Ambrosio, however, Zeluco has no physical demons spurring him onwards, but rather his insatiable appetite for sin.

Sinful sexuality
The Bleeding Nun, who appears in the subplot of Raymond and Agnes, epitomises the sin of erotic desires. Raymond mistakes her for his lover, Agnes, because she is veiled and he cannot see her face. The veil that "conceals and inhibits sexuality comes by the same gesture to represent it." Both Antonia and Matilda are veiled to protect their virginity and innocence and it is expected that Agnes also covers her face for this reason when she meets Raymond. However, the removal of the veil reveals the Bleeding Nun, dead and punished because of her sins. While she was alive, she was a prostitute and a murderer before she was murdered by her lover. Her story is the first we receive of how giving in to sexual desires leads to death and eternal unrest. Raymond expects to find Agnes's beautiful, virgin face beneath the veil, but instead finds death. Her unveiling connects the loss of virginity and the giving in to sexual desires with death and punishment. Both the Bleeding Nun and Ambrosio begin pious, but then fall prey to their sexual desires. Ambrosio has already given into his desire for Matilda and the story of the Bleeding Nun told in the subplot foreshadows his further downfall with Antonia and his eternal punishment in the hands of the devil.

The reality of the supernatural
The Bleeding Nun also introduces the world of the supernatural into The Monk. The supernatural something "that is above nature or belonging to a higher realm or system than that of nature" This introduction brings another Gothic element into the book. Up until this point, the plot has relied on natural elements of the sublime to invoke the terror expected of a Gothic novel. The entrance of the Bleeding Nun transforms this natural world into a world where the supernatural is possible. When she gets into Raymond's carriage, "Immediately thick clouds obscured the sky: The winds howled around us, the lightning flashed, and the Thunder roared tremendously". Nature is acknowledging the presence of a supernatural force.

When Agnes tells Raymond the story of how the Bleeding Nun's ghost haunts the Castle of Lindenberg, Raymond asks her whether she believes the story and she replies "How can you ask such a question? No, no, Alphonso! I have too much reason to lament superstition’s influence to be its Victim myself". It is not until the Bleeding Nun appears to Raymond at night that the idea of the existence of the supernatural begins to be a reality. The Wandering Jew's appearance coincides with this first instance of the supernatural. He can see the Bleeding Nun, proving that she is not a figment of Raymond's imagination. His supernatural abilities give access to the Bleeding Nun's story and provide plausibility to the existence of the supernatural. He also has the power to free Raymond from her presence. The later confirmation of Raymond's uncle to the existence of the Wandering Jew allows the whole story to be taken for fact. This establishes the reality of the supernatural and lays the groundwork for Matilda's later use of magic and her and Ambrosio's interaction with evil spirits.

 Characteristics of the French Revolution

It is unclear which side Lewis stood on when it came to the French Revolution; however, one thing is sure: he was influenced by it, as seen in his work. For example, Ambrosio is a devout Monk who believes he is incapable of human error and finds himself a prisoner by the lustful desires of his heart [58]. Still, the willpower he exemplifies to repress his desires represents the problems during the French Revolution—a struggle for freedom and oppression. Ronald Paulson writes that Ambrosio's desire for sexual freedom results in the restraint of others' liberties. [536] "The Monk was kept in the monastery for so long that when he finally had the opportunity for self-liberation, it cost him his sacred vows of celibacy." [534] In addition, the angry mob murders the nuns for falling into sexual sins, which is the same act that Ambrosio is guilty of; Ronald believes Ambrosio is justified for his actions due to being held captive for so many years. [534] There is a resemblance to the unrest of the French Revolution when the angry mobs murdered the Nuns of St. Clare's. Matthew Lewis uses Gothic fiction to play a role in The Monk by reliving the terror, surprise, and horror of the French Revolution through the lives of his characters.

Equally important, author Daniel Watkins views The Monk as significant to social hierarchy and thinks we should consider the importance of social classes and their violations throughout the novel. Ambrosio's problem with sexuality is not simply an issue of moral conduct but one of political rights. For example, he discusses how "Matilda denies social and patriarchal claims without mentioning class, and even though Ambrosio is attracted to Matilda, he seeks to preserve his sexual purity because of the high standard of class that he represents." Therefore, Matthew Lewis doesn't use Ambrosio's sexuality in the novel to lead the reader to focus on his moral degradation but on the values that have been instilled in him since birth. Ambrosio has entangled himself in a class ranking system, and failing to adhere to its rules results in social collapse. The social hierarchy portrayed in Matthew Lewis's novel is significant to the French Revolution due to its social perception of the characters. During the 1700s, the Kingdom of France established the Ancien Régime, a term for social and political structure also known as the "Third Estate," which was made up of the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. In The Monk, we see this system of class relations. Lorenzo is a wealthy nobleman, Ambrosio is the clergy, and Antonia is the peasant. During the French Revolution and in the novel, each class of society was expected to behave in a certain way and live up to the standards of their rank.

Matthew Lewis published The Monk when the French Revolution was associated with horror and terror. Łowczanin states that "Lewis wrote The Monk in response to the horrors that revolved around the war, which are seen in how he characterizes women in the novel. The novel's atmosphere focuses on the political upheavals of the anxieties of the time." He speaks about how the Catholic church depicted females as always aiming to broadcast their beauty, especially the Virgin Mary and other saints, and how the novel sought to expose Catholicism by relying on the images of women. To add, the Church and the Revolution used the female body as a display of degradation. On one hand, the female is a representation of beauty and, on the other, is abused at the time of revolt. For example, the once elegant and beautiful Prioress is described in Chapter 10 as beaten, shapeless, and disgusting—one whose lifeless body was dragged through the streets of Madrid. As Edmund Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution (1790) writes, "Lewis represents the female body as beautified and mutilated." Łowczanin thinks the horrors of the time affected the artistic imagination of many authors, leading them to channel their fears through their writings. Gothic is used metaphorically rather than literally because many writers sought coping mechanisms for what happened in the 1790s.

Adaptations
While not a direct adaptation E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1815 novel Die Elixiere des Teufels (The Devil's Elixirs) is based on the basic idea of The Monk and draws heavily from its themes of the corruption of a monk of unknown descent, who is celebrated for his sermons, his involvement in an incestuous affair and temptation by the devil. Lewis' work is also mentioned at one point by a character, who talks about having read it.

La nonne sanglante, a 5-act play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Julien de Mallian, which premiered on 16 February 1835 in Paris at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, was very popular in its day. The legendary actress Mlle Georges created the role of Marie de Rudenz. The melodrama derives its title and certain images and motifs from The Monk.

Maria de Rudenz is a tragic opera by Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848). The libretto by Salvadore Cammarano is based on a 5-act French play (1835), La nonne sanglante, by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Julien de Mallian, a drama informed by motifs and imagery from The Monk. The opera premiered at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, 30 January 1838, with soprano Carolina Ungher (1803–1877) singing the eponymous role.

La nonne sanglante (The Bloody Nun), freely based on The Monk, is a five-act opera by Charles Gounod to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. Written between 1852 and 1854, it was first produced on 18 October 1854 at the Salle Le Peletier by the Paris Opéra. Soprano Anne Poinsot created the role of Agnès.

Edward Loder used the work as the basis for his 1855 opera Raymond and Agnes.

The French writer Antonin Artaud's only full-length novel bears the same name and is a "loose translation" of Lewis's work.

Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière attempted to film a version of The Monk in the 1960s, but the project was halted due to lack of funds. Buñuel's friend, the Greek director Ado Kyrou, used this script as the basis for his 1972 film version. Le Moine (English The Monk) boasted an international cast with Franco Nero in the title role. The film also starred Nathalie Delon, Eliana de Santis, Nadja Tiller and Nicol Williamson.

Juan Tovar, Mexican author, wrote a theatrical adaptation "El Monje" in 1986. It was originally planned as an interlude to his work "The manuscript found in Saragossa" (adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jan Potocki).

In 1990 The Monk was produced by Celtic Films. It starred Paul McGann as the title character, and was written and directed by Francisco Lara Polop.

Grant Morrison and Klaus Janson's 1990 DC Comics graphic novel Batman: Gothic relies heavily and overtly upon The Monk, combined with elements of Don Giovanni, as the inspiration for the plot.

A film adaption, The Monk, was made by French-German director Dominik Moll in 2011. It was shot in Santes Creus, Girona and Madrid and stars Vincent Cassel, Déborah François, Geraldine Chaplin, and Sergi López. Shooting was scheduled for 12 weeks in April 2010. The film released in France on 13 July 2011, and in the UK on 27 April 2012.

A stage adaptation by Benji Sperring for Tarquin Productions ran at Baron's Court Theatre, London, from 16 October to 3 November 2012.

One of the three fictional films shown in the 2022 video game Immortality is an adaptation of the novel, called Ambrosio.

title: The Monk


text:
Hungry ghost

Hungry ghost is a term in Buddhism, and Chinese traditional religion, representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way. The terms 餓鬼 èguǐ literally "hungry ghost", are the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit term preta in Buddhism. "Hungry ghosts" play a role in Chinese Buddhism,Taoism, and in Chinese folk religion. The term is not to be confused with the generic term for "ghost" or damnation, 鬼 guǐ (i.e. the residual spirit of a deceased ancestor). The understanding is that people first become a regular ghost when they die and then slowly weaken and eventually die a second time. The hungry ghosts, along with animals and hell beings, consists of the three realms of existence no one desires. In these realms it is extremely difficult to be reborn in a better realm (i.e. the realm of humans, asura or deva) because it is nearly impossible to perform deeds that cultivate good karma.

With the rise in popularity of Buddhism, the idea that souls would live in space until reincarnation became popular. In the Taoist tradition, it is believed that hungry ghosts can arise from people whose deaths have been violent or unhappy. Both Buddhism and Taoism share the idea that hungry ghosts can emerge from neglect or desertion of ancestors. According to the Hua-yen Sutra evil deeds will cause a soul to be reborn in one of six different realms. The highest degree of evil deed will cause a soul to be reborn as a denizen of hell, a lower degree of evil will cause a soul to be reborn as an animal, and the lowest degree will cause a soul to be reborn as a hungry ghost. According to the tradition, evil deeds that lead to becoming a hungry ghost are killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. Desire, greed, anger and ignorance are all factors in causing a soul to be reborn as a hungry ghost because they are motives for people to perform evil deeds.

Some traditions imagine hungry ghosts living inside the bowels of earth or they live in the midst of humans but go unnoticed by those around them or they choose to distance themselves.

Myths of origin
There are many legends regarding the origin of hungry ghosts. It is likely that the idea of hungry ghosts originated from ancient Indian culture, where they were referred to as Preta.

In the Buddhist tradition, hungry ghosts appear in stories from the Chuan-chi po-yuan ching ("Sutra of One Hundred Selected Legends") that is from the early third century. Some examples of these stories are as follows:

Once, a rich man who travelled was selling sugar-cane juice. One day, a monk came to his house in search of some juice to cure an illness. The man had to leave, so he instructed his wife to give the monk the drink in his absence. Instead of doing this, she secretly urinated in the monk's bowl, added sugar cane juice to it and gave it to the monk. The monk was not deceived; he poured out the bowl and left. When the wife died, she was reborn as a hungry ghost.

Another such tale is of a man who was giving and kind. One day, he was about to leave his house when a monk came by begging. The man instructed his wife to give the monk some food. After the man left his house, his wife was overcome with greed. She took it upon herself to teach the monk a lesson, so she locked the monk in an empty room all day with no food. She was reborn as a hungry ghost for innumerable lifetimes.

The legends often speak of hungry ghosts who, in a previous lifetime, were greedy women who refused to give away food. Other stories in the Buddhist tradition come from Kuei wen mu-lien ching ("The Sutra on the Ghosts Questioning Mu-lien"). One of the stories tells of a diviner who constantly misled people due to his own avarice, and thus, he was reborn as a hungry ghost. Another story in "The Legend of Mu-lien Entering the City and Seeing Five Hundred Hungry Ghosts" is about five hundred men that were sons of elders of the city they lived in. When monks came begging to the city for food, the sons denied them because they thought the monks would keep coming back and eventually take all their food. After the sons died, they were reborn as hungry ghosts.

Avadānaśataka "One Hundred Stories"
The Avadānaśataka is one of the earliest collections of stories about hungry ghosts and was copiled by a Buddhist monk from northwest India between the second and fourth centuries CE. The stories in this work may have functioned as a prescription for appropriate behaviour. The text is divided into ten "decades", the fifth decade being stories that concern hungry ghosts. This part of the Avadānaśataka recounts the bad thoughts and behavior the hungry ghosts have cultivated in their human existence which led them to the hungry ghost realm. The accumulation of malignancy or meanness is called mātsarya.

The notion of mātsarya in this volume is explained to understand the logic of mātsarya's development, the actions it envokes, the suffering it causes and in which ways it can be eradicated. Therefore it describes the causal chain (pratītyasamutpāda) that leads to the existence of a hungry ghost. At the end of nearly every story the phrase "Work hard to get rid of your mātsarya!" is repeated.

In China
In Chinese Buddhism, The World of the Hungry Ghosts (鬼法界, 鬼界) is one of the six domains of the desire realm of Buddhism. The oral tradition of Chinese ancestral worship believes that the ghosts of the ancestors may be granted permission to return to the world of the living at a certain time of the year. If the spirits are hungry and not given sufficient offerings by their living relatives, they take what they can from the world.

A festival called the Hungry Ghost Festival ( is held to honor the hungry ancestor ghosts and food and drink is put out to satisfy their needs. The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated during the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. It also falls at the same time as a full moon, the new season, the fall harvest, the peak of monastic asceticism, the rebirth of ancestors, and the assembly of the local community. According to tradition, during this month, the gates of hell are opened up and the hungry ghosts are free to roam the earth where they seek food and entertainment. These ghosts are believed to be ancestors of those who have forgotten to pay tribute to them after they died. They have long thin necks because they have not been fed by their families. Tradition states that families should offer prayers to their deceased relatives and burn "hell money". It is believed that "hell money" is a valid currency in the underworld and helps ghosts to live comfortably in the afterlife. People also burn other forms of joss paper such as paper houses, cars and televisions to please the ghosts. This festival is one of numerous tantric practices from Chinese Esoteric Buddhism preserved in modern Chinese Buddhism after the various Buddhist traditions started to merge in the early modern period.

Families also pay tribute to other unknown wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls do not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune. A big feast is held for the ghosts on the 15th day of the seventh month, where people bring samples of food and place them on the offering table to please the ghosts and ward off bad luck. Live shows are also put on and everyone is invited to attend. The first row of seats is always empty as this is where the ghosts are supposed to sit to better enjoy the live entertainment. The shows are always put on at night and at high volumes, so that the sound attracts and pleases the ghosts. These acts were better known as "Merry-making".

The chief Taoist priest of the town wears an ornate crown of five gold and red panels, a practice borrowed from Buddhism. This represented the five most powerful deities (The Jade Emperor, Lord Guan, Tu Di Gong, Mazu and Xi Wangmu). He is believed to become their voice on earth.

A sacrificial altar and a chair are built for a priest either at a street entrance or in front of the village. The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha sits in front of the chair. Under the chair are plates of rice flour and peaches. Sitting on the altar are three spirit tablets and three funeral banners. After noon, sheep, pigs, chicken, fruits, and cakes are donated by families that are displayed on the altar. A priest will put a triangular paper banner of three colors with special characters on every sacrifice. After the music begins to play, the priest hits the bell to call the hungry ghosts back to the table. He then throws the rice and peaches into the air in all directions to distribute them to the ghosts.

During the evening, incense is burnt in front of the doors of households. Incense stands for prosperity, the more incense burnt, the greater one's prosperity. During the festival, shops are closed to leave the streets open for the ghosts. In the middle of each street stands an altar of incense with fresh fruit and sacrifices displayed on it. Behind the altar, monks will sing songs that it is believed only the ghosts can understand. This rite is called shi ge'r, meaning "singing ghost songs".

Fifteen days after the feast, to make sure all the hungry ghosts find their way back to hell, people float lanterns on water and set them outside their houses. These lanterns are made by setting a lotus flower-shaped lantern on a piece of board. Hungry ghosts are believed to have found their way back when the lanterns go out.

There are many folk beliefs and taboos surrounding the Hungry Ghost Festival. Spirits are thought to be dangerous, and can take many forms, including snakes, moths, birds, foxes, wolves, and tigers. Some can even use the guise of a beautiful man or woman to seduce and possess. One story refers to a ghost which takes the form of a pretty girl and seduces a young man until a priest intervenes and sends the spirit back to hell. It is believed that possession can cause illness and/or mental disorders.

During the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, children are advised (usually by an elder in the family) to be home before dark, and not to wander the streets at night for fear a ghost might possess them. Swimming is thought to be dangerous as well, as spirits are believed to have drowned people. People will generally avoid driving at night, for fear of a "collision", or spiritual offence, which is any event leading to illness or misfortune. While "ghost" is a commonly used term throughout the year, many people use the phrase "backdoor god" or "good brother" instead during the 7th month, so as not to anger the ghosts. Another thing to avoid is sampling any of the food placed on the offering table, as doing this can result in "mysterious illness". Any person attending a show at indoor entertainment venues (getais) will notice the first row of chairs is left empty. These seats are reserved for the spirits, and it is considered bad form to sit in them. After an offering has been burnt for the spirits, stepping on or near the burnt area should be avoided, as it is considered an "opening" to the spirit world and touching it may cause the person to be possessed.

The English term has often been used metaphorically to describe the insatiable craving of an addict.

In Tibet
In Tibetan Buddhism, Hungry Ghosts (Tib. ཡི་དྭགས་, Wyl. yi dwags, Sanskrit: preta) have their own realm depicted on the Bhavacakra and are represented as teardrop or paisley-shaped with bloated stomachs and necks too thin to pass food so that attempting to eat is also incredibly painful. Some are described as having "mouths the size of a needle's eye and a stomach the size of a mountain". This is a metaphor for people futilely attempting to fulfill their illusory physical desires.

According to the History of Buddhism, as elements of Chinese Buddhism entered a dialogue with Indian Buddhism in the Tibetan Plateau, this synthesis is evident in the compassion rendered in the form of blessed remains of food, etc., offered to the pretas in rites such as Ganachakra.

In Mahayana Buddhism Chenrezig offers the hungry ghosts the nectar flowing from his fingers that relieves their suffering. This buddha helps the hungry ghosts as he is the manifestation of the Lotus Family that has the special ability to support those who suffer, in this case the hungry ghost realm that is filled with suffering. This nectar symbolises purification which is able to cleanse all negativities, karma, obscurations, and defilements.

In Japan
In Japanese Buddhism, the Hungry Ghosts are considered to have two variants: the gaki and the jikininki. Gaki (餓鬼) are the spirits of jealous or greedy people who, as punishment for their mortal vices, have been cursed with an insatiable hunger for a particular substance or object. Traditionally, this is something repugnant or humiliating, such as human corpses or feces, though in more recent legends, it may be virtually anything, no matter how bizarre. Jikininki (食人鬼 "people-eating ghosts") are the spirits of greedy, selfish or impious individuals who are cursed after death to seek out and eat human corpses. They do this at night, scavenging for newly dead bodies and food offerings left for the dead. They sometimes also loot the corpses they eat for valuables. Nevertheless, jikininki lament their condition and hate their repugnant cravings for dead human flesh.

The Hungry Ghosts Scroll kept at the Kyoto National Museum depicts the world of the hungry ghosts and the suffering of these creatures, and contains tales of salvation of the ghosts. The whole scroll has been designated as National Treasure of Japan and it was possibly part of a set of scrolls depicting the six realms which was kept at Sanjūsangen-dō.

LaFleur comments that these depictions symbolise that hungry ghosts are not just hungry but they are constituted by their very hunger. Unlike mankind's hunger that comes and goes for hungry ghosts "there is only an ongoing, alleviated gnawing of the stomach and parching of the throat." The body of the hungry ghost is important as it has a huge stomach and a throat as narrow as a needle which leaves the hungry ghost in the dilemma of always having appetite but no way to ever satisfy that hunger. The hungry ghost depicted in art in medieval Japan were thought of as "consumer of fires" because they mistook fire for something edible in their constant strive to satisfy their hunger. This only makes their hunger worse, they start to emit fire from their mounths and start to consume even more fire. LaFleur interprets that the art of hungry ghosts might have provided viewers of a look into the world they inhabit and which they normally do not see clearly. Therefore the images might offer the insights that hungry ghosts interact with the world of humans from their world and that the human realm is oblivious to these beings affecting them.

Types of spirits
It is believed that the soul contains elements of both yin and yang. The yin is the kui, or demon part, and the yang is the shen, or spirit part. When death occurs, the kui should return to earth, and the shen to the grave or family shrine. If a ghost is neglected, it will become a kui. The shen, or ancestral spirit, watches over its descendants, and can bring good fortune if properly worshipped.

Hungry ghosts are different from the ghosts of Chinese which all people are believed to become after death.

According to the Nyāyānusāriṇī, there are three main groups of hungry ghosts, each of which are divided into three sub-groups:
 * ghosts of no wealth (無財鬼)
 * torch or flaming mouths (炬口鬼): These ghosts regurgitate fierce flames with mouths of inextinguishable embers. Their bodies are like that of a palmyra tree. This is the karmic result of stinginess.
 * needle mouths (針口鬼): These ghosts have bellies as vast as mountain valleys. Their mouth are like the hole of a needle. Even if they find food or drink, they cannot consume it. Thus they suffer from hunger and thirst.
 * putrid mouths (臭口鬼): These ghosts give off a great decomposing odor from their mouths. They may be found at privies overflowing with filth and fecal matter. They constantly emit a nauseating, evil fumes. Although they find food, they cannot eat it. This fills them with anger and they run about shrieking.
 * ghosts of little wealth (少財鬼)
 * needle hair (針毛鬼): These ghosts have bodies made of hair, firm like spears. They are unapproachable. Their insides burn, as a deer shot with a poison arrow. They run about suffering from ulcers. Only small quantities of impure food can allay their hunger.
 * putrid hair (臭毛鬼): These ghosts also have bodies made of hair that smells incredibly foul. Their flesh and bones emit noxious fumes and their bowels are full of grime. They are agitated from poison in their throats and their skin splits when their hair is pulled out. Only small quantities of impure food can allay their hunger.
 * swollen (癭鬼): Large protuberances grow in their throats. They suffer from aches and fever. They smell of pus that gushes forth from their bodies. They fight with each other over food. They consume small bits of pus and blood and can be somewhat satiated.
 * ghosts of much wealth (多財鬼)
 * ghosts of sacrifices (希祠鬼): These ghosts live off sacrifices offered by humans. One is reborn here by ethically gathering wealth, but with a stingy heart does not practice generosity. If one is reborn here, their descendants can make offerings to satiate their hunger.
 * ghosts of losses (希棄鬼): These ghosts are always covetous, searching out filth like vomit and feces to eat. In life, they sought out and found enjoyment in both clean and unclean things, and were thus reborn here.
 * ghosts of great power (大勢鬼): includes certain yakshas, rakshasas, kumbhandas and the like who are the powerful rulers of the spirits. They reside in forests, stupas, mountain valleys, and empty palaces. Those with no authoritative power live on all four continents except for Uttarakuru. Those with authoritative power may also be found in the heavens and on two of the five-hundred islands that lie to the west of Jambudvipa. One island holds their castle while the other holds the castle of those ghosts with no authority.

Sixteen hungry ghosts are said to live in hell or in a region of hell. Unlike other hell dwellers, they can leave hell and wander. They look through garbage and human waste on the outskirts of human cities. They are said to be invisible during the daylight hours but visible at night. Some hungry ghosts can only eat corpses, or their food is burnt up in their mouths, sometimes they have a big belly and a neck as thin as a needle (this image is the basic one for hungry ghosts in Asian Buddhism).

According to the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra, there are thirty-six different types of hungry ghost.

Interpretation
The depictions and stories about hungry ghosts especially in the early Indian context can show the viewer a commentary about the "manual scavengers", members of the lowest caste in India. They are regarded as people whose bad stigma comes from their birth and the group they belong to. They represent a group of starving people who are wandering the outside of cities, are homeless and hungry. As most people have adopted an ingrained blindness to this underclass.

In Popular Culture
丁寧な暮らしをする餓鬼 ("The Hungry Ghost who leads a polite life"): This three volume work explores the life of an hunger ghost who unlike other of their kind is a very kind and pure-hearted. They spend half a day grinding coffee beans in a mortar, folding plastic bags into triangles, sweeping up leaves, and so on.

title: Hungry ghost