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Cycladic

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Refers to the civilization on the islands of the Cyclades

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Cyclopean masonry

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Stone work constructed with oversized, undressed stones

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cylinder seal

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A carved cylindrical object that creates a raised image when rolled over a surface of clay

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Dacians

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A "barbarian" people living in what is now Romania during the period of the Roman empire

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Dada

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An art movement first emerging in Zurich in 1916 that rejected bourgeois culture and traditional artistic expression in favor of an art characterized by chance, feeling, freedom, indeterminate meaning, and a breaking down of the barriers between art and life

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dado

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The lower part of a wall, differentiated in some way from the upper section, often with a molding

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daguerreotype

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An early photographic process in which images were made on silver plates coated with a light-sensitive layer of silver iodide

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damnatio memoriae

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Literally, "damnation of memory;" the ritual destruction of an image or other artifact to erase the memory of an individual who has fallen out of favor for political reasons

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Daoism

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Dao means way or path. Spiritual attainment rather than a material achievement

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Dark Ages

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A now defunct name for the Middle Ages or Medieval Period, ca. 500 to 1400 CE

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De Stijl

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Dutch, "the style"; an art movement that emerged in the Netherlands around 1917 that sought to express the universe through abstraction

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decursio

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Ritual circling of a Roman funerary pile

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Deesis

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Enthroned Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist, and sometimes by other saints

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deposition

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Christ's removal from the cross

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depth

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Real space or illusionistic space that relates to a surface and can be expressed horizontally or vertically

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ding

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Bronze ceremonial container for holding or cooking food, typically raised on three or four legs

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Dionysian

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Having to do with the Greek god of wine and revelry

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diptych

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An object consisting of two doors hinged together, like a book, used to hold wax for writing

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Diquís

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Mesoamerican civilization that enjoyed its most productive period from 500-1500 CE

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disegno

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Emphasis on line drawing as the foundation of artistic design

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divine deliverance

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Rescue, or deliverance, from an undesirable situation by the hand of God

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domino construction method

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Associated with Le Corbusier in which concrete reinforced by steel is supported by freestanding steel posts just at the points where the dots of a domino would be located and used as the building block for further construction

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donor portrait

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A representation of the patron of an artwork in the work itself, often smaller in scale and on the margins of the composition

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dressed stone

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Stone that has been cut to a desired shape, and the sides that will be exposed to view have been smoothed

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dromos

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Entryway to a tholos tomb

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drum

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The vertical circular wall supporting a dome

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drypoint

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A type of intaglio print; the artist scratches directly into a copper plate with a sharp needle. Process can be used alone or to strengthen details on an etched plate

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dyer

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A person who dyes cloth

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dynasty

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A succession of rulers of the same family or line

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Early English Gothic

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Late 12th century. Its characteristics include screening facades, lancet windows, and width rather than sheer verticality

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earspools

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Personal ornament inserted in stretched space of pierced earlobe

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earthwork

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A work of art constructed from a portion of modified land

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echinus

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The convex part of a Doric capital, just below the abacus

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Edict of Milan

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A proclamation issued jointly by the rulers Constantine and Licinius in 313 CE that made Christianity a tolerated religion

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Edo

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Period in Japanese history from 1603 to 1868 when imperial authority was restored

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effigy

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An anthropomorphic or zoomorphic form represented in a vessel. Like figurines, they are usually made from clay, wood, or stone

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en plein air

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French phrase for painting in the open air, outdoors

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encaustic

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A painting technique in which pigments are mixed with hot wax

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engaged columns

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Half-round columns built against a wall for support

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engraving

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The process of cutting a metal surface to produce decoration

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Enlightenment

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A philosophical movement of the 18th century marked by the reevaluation of social, political, and religious authority and beliefs, and emphasizing reasons

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entablature

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The part of a building between the columns and the roof, which functions as a lintel. In a Classical Greek temple, the entablature has three parts: the architrave or epistyle, the frieze, and the pediment

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Environmental art

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A style of sculptural art originated in the 1960s that uses earth, rock, and other organic material to altar the landscape.

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epic

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A long narrative poem recounting the deeds of a hero

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equinox

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Time in spring and fall when periods of daylight and dark are exactly equal

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etching

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A type of intaglio print; metal (usually copper) plate is covered with an acid-resistant coating and a design is scratched through the coating.

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Eucharist

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The symbolic consumption of bread or wafers that are blessed to represent the body of Christ

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evangelist portraits

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Portraits of the authors of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

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exedra

answer

Recessed area

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Existentialism

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A philosophy prevalent in the early 20th century that asserted the aloneness of the individual in an indifferent universe and the necessity for the individual to act without the certainty of moral knowledge

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Expressionism

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A mostly Germanic style of the early 20th century that is a visual projection of intense inner feelings rather than outer appearances

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expressionism

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A style of representation in which forms are created to evoke or express emotions.

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Eyckian

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Working in the style of Jan van Eyck. It is a style noted for realism, with attention down to the minutest detail; rich color, including vista landscapes; and arranged compositions, embedded with strong symbolism

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eye paint

answer

Common egyptian cosmetic. Pigments were ground on a palette with water or gum to make a paste and applied with a rounded applicator made from wood, bronze, glass, or other material. During the New Kingdom it was mainly black "kohl."

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façade

answer

Front or principal elevation of a building

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fasces

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A bundle of rods bound with an ax in the middle and its blade projecting; originally used by lictors before the superior magistrates at Rome as an emblem of their power, it later became a standard feature of Neoclassical ornament.

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Fauvism

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A painting style developed by Henri Matisse in 1905 that formally lasted until 1908. The means "fierce animal." The style rejects Neo-Impressionism and expresses flat, bold, un-naturalistic color with impulsive brushwork; sometimes the blank canvas shows between brushstrokes.

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femmage

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A term coined by Miriam Schapiro meaning "feminine collage."

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fenestration

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The patterns of windows evident in a building

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fête galante

answer

An outdoor entertainment for the French nobility; a genre of painting

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fibula

answer

A clasp or pin

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figure serpentina

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The spiraling serpentine line that structures the composition of many Mannerist works of art

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figural representation

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The artistic representation of a body, especially a human body

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figurative

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Artwork representing the forms of humans or animals rather than ideas or patterns

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fillet

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The flat ridge between the flutes of a column, usually found in the Ionic order

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fin de siècle

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"End of the century" (1890s) in France and Western Europe; connotes an attitude of decadence and uncertainty that characterized the culture and art in a period when the faith in many conventions and institutions had been overthrown

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finial

answer

An architectural ornament usually found at the top point of a spire, pinnacle, or roof gable; a finial may also be found on furniture

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Flamboyant Gothic

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Style of architecture from the Late Gothic period. Means "flamelike."

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Flanders

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In the "Low Countries." The capital was Bruges, and later Ghent. It included parts of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, northern France, and western Germany

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fleur-de-lis

answer

A stylized, heraldic lily used as the symbol of the French monarchy.

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flutes

answer

Vertical grooves in a column

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Fluxus

answer

A movement of the 1960s-1970s coordinated by George Maciunas to redefine art and create anonymous non-art for social change

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flying buttress

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A masonry structure that transfers the horizontal thrust of a wall or vault to a detached buttress or pier, forming an arch between the supporting structure and the wall. Typically Gothic

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font

answer

Vessel containing water used for a Christian baptism

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foreshortening

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Technique used to create perspective by shortening or compressing an object in the direction of depth

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form

answer

The shape of an object or figure. Also can refer to the formal elements that comprise the composition of an artwork and express the artist's intentions

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formal analysis

answer

An analysis of the form of a work of art by examining how all of the elements in the work are used and which ways they shape the work's perceive meaning and effect

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formal elements

answer

The visual, physical elements of an artwork: Line, color, light and shadow, pattern and texture, space, mass, volume, proportion and scale, composition

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formal visual analysis

answer

The analysis of an artwork's use of line, color, light, space, proportion, composition, and other visual elements

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Fortitude

answer

The abstract personification of courage and steadfastness

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forum

answer

In ancient Roman cities, a public square enclosed by colonnades that included temples, a basilica, and other public buildings

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Four Corners

answer

Area of the American Southwest where Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico meet

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Franks

answer

A people who entered Europe in the 5th century CE, settling first in northern Gaul and ruling a good part of Western Europe

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freestanding sculpture

answer

Independent of any architectural setting or frame. This term is interchangeable with "in the round" since both refer to sculpture that you can walk all the way round

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fresco

answer

Pigment is painted on plaster, either wet or dry

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fret

answer

A decoration, usually in bands, consisting of interlocking geometric lines

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frieze

answer

This decorative band located above the architrave which features sculpture in Classical Greek architecture

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frontal

answer

Viewed from the front

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frottage

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A technique involving rubbing a pencil over a paper placed on a textured surface to produce an image

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fusuma

answer

Paper-covered sliding doors in Japanese architectural structures

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Futurism

answer

A call for societal change and an artistic movement founded by F.T. Marinetti in 1909. The style depicts motion and dynamics, often with emphasis on machinery

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gallery

answer

The middle level of a church's interior elevation, second story of the side aisle

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Gauls

answer

A non-Greek people living in Asia Minor

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genius figure

answer

A representation of an innately divine nature or spirit

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genre painting

answer

Narrative art that shows scenes from daily life, particularly activities of ordinary folk

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genre scene

answer

Images that depict people engaged in everyday activities

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gentiles

answer

A non-Israelite or non-Jewish person; often refers to Christians

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geoglyphs

answer

Large images engraved into the ground

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gesso

answer

Paint that serves as a base upon which other paint is applied.

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gestural abstraction

answer

Another term for action painting, emphasizing expressive mark making and the evidence of the human hand in the creation of Abstract Expressionist paintings

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Gestural line

answer

A sketchy, rapidly drawn line emphasizing force and movement

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Gigantomachy

answer

A battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants

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Gilded Age

answer

A period of expansion and prosperity at the end of the 19th century in the US; a play on the idea of the "golden age" through a reference to the superficially opulent decoration characteristic of the period

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Gilded

answer

Painted with pigment that has been mixed with gold

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Glaze

answer

A form of glassy or vitreous liquid that, when fired, renders a ceramic waterproof and forms a decorative surface

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Glazed brick

answer

Requires a two-part process in which mud-bricks are first fired to strengthen the bricks and then covered with a glaze and fired a second tome to melt the glaze into glass making the bricks waterproof

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Gopuram

answer

A rectangular tower with a pyramidal roof in a Hindu temple, found especially in India

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Gospel Book

answer

A Christian manuscript containing the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

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Gothic sway

answer

The s-shaped, graceful, pronounced torsion of a figure's body that is characteristic of Gothic sculpture

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Grand Manner

answer

English term for idealized, classically influenced art that showcased history as well as virtue

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Grand Tour

answer

An educational journey through Europe often lasting a year or more, undertaken by English gentry and wealthy Americans for the purpose of studying the monuments of antiquity and artistic achievements of the past

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Grave goods

answer

Objects placed in a grave along with the body of the deceased for use in the afterlife

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Gravitas

answer

Serious and dignified manner

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Greenberg, Clement

answer

An important American formalist critic and the earliest advocate of Abstract Expressionism

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Greenstone

answer

A generic term for any green stone in Mesoamerican archaeology

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Grisaille

answer

A style of gray monochromatic painting used to represent sculpture within a painting

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Ground line

answer

The real or imaginary line representing the base or ground on which the figures in a painting are positioned, and which remove the appearance of floating

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Guilds

answer

Specialized medieval economic organizations for artists and craftsmen

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Gum bichromate

answer

Photographic printing process (1855-1930) using paper coated with gum Arabic, a photosensitive solution, and pigment. Finished picture often resembles charcoal drawing rather than a photograph

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Hammurabi

answer

A Babylonian leader who used cuneiform to record the code of laws for his territory

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hard-edge painting

answer

A type of Post Painterly Abstraction in which painters produced sharp, geometric compositions on the canvas

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hatching

answer

The engraving or drawing of fine, closely placed parallel lines

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Hellenic

answer

the Greeks term for themselves

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Hellenistic period

answer

(323-1st century BCE)The period of Greek history marked by the spread of Greek culture throughout territories conquered by Alexander the Great and his successors

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Hellenophile

answer

A lover of Greek culture

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heraldry

answer

Aristocratic dynastic iconography meant to differentiate knights in full armor from one another; also used as a mark of specific noble houses on a wide range of objects

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herm

answer

Plain shafts topped by human (usually male) torsos

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Herodotus

answer

Greek historian often known as the "father of history" who wrote a lengthy account of the wars between Persia and the Greeks

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Herreran style

answer

A Spanish style of architecture characterized by cold, monumental austerity

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Hiberno-Saxon

answer

Refers to art produced on the British islands during the early medieval period.

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hierarchical scale

answer

A scale of representation in which size indicates the political, social, or spiritual significance of one figure relative to others in the same composition

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hieratic writing

answer

A formal, non-hieroglyphic script used by the Ancient Egyptians for religious texts

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hieroglyphic writing

answer

A pictorial writing system used by the Ancient Egyptians that uses over 700 symbols to represent sounds, things, and ideas

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Hinduism

answer

A major world religion that originated in India and includes a variety of philosophies, beliefs, and rituals

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Hippodamian plan

answer

An urban plan built on a grid and divided up into three social districts

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Hittites

answer

A people who dominated Anatolia (the central part of modern Turkey) in the ancient world; known for their monumental use of stone sculpture

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Hodegetria

answer

A type of icon named for a painting preserved in the Hodegon monastery in Constantinople, usually showing the Virgin pointing to the child with her right arm

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Holy Communion

answer

The ceremonial consumption of blessed bread and wine to symbolize the body and blood of Christ

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Homer

answer

Greek epic poet, ca. 8th century BCE. Author of the Iliad and the Odyssey

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horror vacui

answer

Latin for "fear of empty space." In art, it is filling an entire space with detail

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hue

answer

The name of a color

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Huitzilopochtli

answer

The Aztec sun god

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Humanism

answer

A cultural movement that emerged in the 14th and 15th centuries, tied to the Classical revival in the arts and letters.

question

hypostyle hall

answer

A hall filled with columns supporting a roof

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icon

answer

A piece of religious art, usually in portrait form

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Iconoclasm

answer

A movement against the worship of religious icons, involving icons' destruction

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iconoclast

answer

A person who objects to the worship of icons or images

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iconography

answer

Literally "image writing," the study of the significance and interpretation of the subject matter of art.

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illuminated manuscript

answer

Illustrations and embellished text, often painted with gold or silver

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illusionistic space

answer

The painted or drawn image of a three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface

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impasto

answer

Thick application of paint where the marks of the paintbrush or palette knife are still visible

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Imperial type scenes

answer

Stereotyped scenes in which the emperor performs conventional actions that illustrate his authority or virtue

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implied line

answer

A line that is not explicitly drawn, but one that is perceived to exist

question

Impressionism

answer

The artistic period directly following Realism. Discards the details of Realism and instead studies that momentary effects of light and color

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in situ

answer

In original place or position

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in the round

answer

Sculptures independent of any architectural setting or frame

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Inca

answer

Quechua-speaking people who built an empire in western South America, ca. 1438-1533. Known for their stonework and textiles

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incipit

answer

opening words in a text in a medieval manuscript

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indigenous peoples

answer

People belonging to a particular locale, particularly inhabitants seen as aboriginal to that locale

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Individualists

answer

A group of Chinese landscape painters during the Ching Dynasty who emphasized radically individualized style and less emphasis on tradition

question

initial

answer

The decorative first letter in a sentence

question

insula

answer

Roman urban buildings, three to sox stories high, usually with storefronts on the bottom and middle-to lower-income housing above, with the least desirable housing at the top

question

intaglio printmaking

answer

Process of making a print from an etched or engraved metal plate that has been inked, wiped clean to leave ink only in the incised lines, and printed under great pressure directly onto paper

question

interlace

answer

Decoration made of intertwined lines

question

intermediate colors

answer

Also known as tertiary colors, A range of colors between each primary color and secondary color of the color wheel

question

International Gothic

answer

A late form of the Gothic style that is a blending of styles characterized by elegance, naturalism, and realism; it is found across Western Europe circa 1400 CE

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International Style

answer

A timeless-looking architectural style from the 1930s-1970s that emphasizes pure geometric form over ornamentation. Characteristics include smooth lines, rounded corners, flat roofs, utilitarian construction materials, and neutral colors

question

Investiture Controversy

answer

A debate between the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor as to who had the right to "invest" bishops with authority

question

Italo-Byzantine style

answer

Italian art of the 12th and 13th centuries, strongly influenced by Byzantine art

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iwan

answer

A vaulted hall open on one end that often open onto a courtyard

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Jainism

answer

A religion of India that teaches a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through a disciplined mode of life. it emerged between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, and is founded upon the tradition of nonviolence to all living creatures

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jamb

answer

One of the vertical sides that forms a door frame

question

jeremiads

answer

A type of sermon, based on the teachings of Jeremiah, that combats decreasing personal piety with warnings of doom

question

Jung, Carl

answer

A Swiss psychoanalyst and student of Freud

question

kapu

answer

Taboos; a system of right and wrong used to reinforce the social caste system

question

katholikon

answer

The largest church in a given area. Loosely translated as "cathedral."

question

key

answer

The stone that holds a vault together at its apex

question

Kinetic Art

answer

A style of art that includes movement in its design

question

kiva

answer

An enclosed ceremonial chamber, wholly or partially underground, in a pueblo reached by ladder through a hole in the ceiling

question

Koran

answer

Holy text of Islam

question

kore

answer

A statue of a young mortal woman

question

kouroi

answer

Greek for "young man." These are statues of mortal youths, typically nude

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lamassu

answer

Large composite supernatural creatures sculpted as intimidating guardian figures and designed to flank gates with an Assyrian citadel

question

Lamentation

answer

The scene immediately after the descent from the cross in which Christ's mother and other followers mourn over his dead body

question

lancet

answer

A slender, pointed window. Often separated by mullions

question

lapiths

answer

A people in Greek mythology whose home was Thessaly

question

lekythos

answer

A flask to hold oil, often left at Greek graves as offerings to the dead

question

Liber divinorum operum

answer

Book of Divine Works, written by Hildegard von Bingen, ca. 1160 CE

question

line

answer

The mark left by a moving point. It can be actual or implied and can have various attributes such as width, density, and direction

question

linear perspective

answer

All parallel lines or surface edges converge on one, two, or three "vanishing points" located with reference to the eye level of the viewer. objects are rendered smaller the farther from the viewer they are intended to seem

question

liturgy

answer

Text and written directions for an official church service

question

loculus

answer

A "place;" a space carved into the walls of a catacomb where a body could be placed

question

Lombardy

answer

A region of Northern Italy

question

lost-wax process

answer

Method of bronze-casting in which a figure molded in wax is covered with clay, then fired. The wax melts and molten bronze is poured into the space left behind.

question

lunette

answer

Semicircular area below an arch

question

madras

answer

Religious schools predating universities

question

malachite

answer

Copper carbonate; a green stone used extensively in Mesoamerican art

question

mandala

answer

Generally a square form, it is a diagram of the cosmic realm that represents order and meaning in the spiritual universe

question

mandorla

answer

Italian for almond. The oval-shaped frame or light that surrounds Christ, usually after his Resurrection

question

Manifest Destiny

answer

The mid-19th century philosophy that white settlers were divinely ordained to explore and pioneer the wilderness and bring civilization to the indigenous people living there

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