Definition of collage

The word "collage" has its roots in the French language. In French, the verb "coller" means "to glue" or "to stick," and the suffix "-age" is used to form a noun. In the late 18th century, the term "collage" was first used to describe a physical technique of gluing various materials, such as paper, fabric, and other ephemera, onto a surface to create a new composition. The art of collage gained popularity in the early 20th century with artists like Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Hannah Höch, who used the technique to create unusual and innovative works of art. The term "collage" was later adopted to describe not only the physical technique but also the resulting artworks, which often combined different materials, textures, and styles to create unique and thought-provoking pieces.