Art History Definitions – December Final – Flashcards
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corbelling
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projection of masonry units to form a shelf or ledge
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faience
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glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colors
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frieze
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an architectural ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band between the architrave and the cornice
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megaron
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a tripartite rectangular room containing a central hearth surrounded by four pillars, found in Bronze Age Greece and Asia Minor [from Greek, literally: hall, from megas large]
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repousse
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formed in relief by beating a metal plate from the back, leaving the impression on the face
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terracotta
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Hard-baked clay, used for sculpture and as a building material. It may be glazed or painted.
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tholos
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a type of tomb in Mycenaean architecture with a bee-hive shaped circular plan, also called a bee-hive tomb; a temple with a circular plan
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cylinder seal
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a round piece of carved stone that when rolled onto clay produces an image
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facing
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Outer layer when using roman concrete, like chocolate of candy bar.The concrete was ugly and needed protective outer surfrace. A tightly fit masonry, bonded to the concrete. By imperial period prefered brick made in triangles with points in and flat part out.
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glaze
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coating for fabrics, ceramics, metal, etc.
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glyptic art
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the art of carving or engraving, especially on small objects such as seals or precious stones.
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intaglio
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glyptic art consisting of a sunken or depressed engraving or carving on a stone or gem (as opposed to cameo)
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hierarchical proportion
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figures are arranged in a work of art so that scale indicates importance
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lamassu
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Assyrian guardian in the form of a man-headed winged bull
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lapis lazuli
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an azure blue semiprecious stone
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load-bearing construction
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exterior walls and interior columns bore the construction (structure weight)
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pillar
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(architeture) a tall cylindrical vertical upright and used to support a structure
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provenience
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the context or location within a grid system - Archaeologists use provenience information to detail where artifacts were located spatially in a given excavation.
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register
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one of a series of superimposed bands or friezes in a pictorial narrative, or the particular levels on which motifs are placed
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shaft
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(architecture) upright consisting of the vertical part of a column
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stele
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a monument, vertical in style, small or large, that contained writing or pictures to commemorate or record something
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ziggurat
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a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians
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armature
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a skeletal framework built as a support on which a clay, wax, or plaster figure is constructed.
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base
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a support or foundation
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capital
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the upper part of a column that supports the entablature
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cella
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the chief room of a Greek temple, where the statue of the god was located and, frequently, the temple's treasure was kept.
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column
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(architeture) a tall cylindrical vertical upright and used to support a structure
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convention
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practice widely observed in a group; custom; accepted technique or device
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cuneiform
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Sumerian writing made by pressing a wedge-shaped tool into clay tablets
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canon
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a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field or art or philosophy
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cartouche
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An oval shape inside which a pharaoh's name was inscribed in hieroglyphics. These are often seen on tomb walls. Now people can buy cartouche jewelry with their names in hieroglyphics
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celerestory
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the upper part of a church consisting of windows
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hypostyle
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a building having a roof or ceiling supported by rows of columns
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mastaba
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an ancient Egyptian mudbrick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof
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obelisk
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tall column tapering(becoming gradually narrower toward the end) and ending in a pyramid
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papyrus
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paper made from the papyrus plant by cutting it in strips and pressing it flat
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pylon
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a massive gateway with sloping walls
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pyramidion
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A pyramid shaped block set as the finishing element atop an obelisk.
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abacus
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a tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in supporting the architrave
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acanthus
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the leaves on the Corinthian capital
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amphora
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a two-handled Greek storage jar
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architrave
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the lowest part of an entablature (ex: rests immediately on top of the capitals)
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balustrade
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a railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling
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black-figure
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a style in Greek pottery decoration composed of black figures against a red background
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caryatids
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Female statues used instead of columns to support a roof, as on the South Porch of the Erechtheum
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chryselephantine
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cult statues built around a wooden frame, with thin carved slabs of ivory attached to represent flesh and gold leaf sheats representing other details
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colonnade
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structure consisting of a row of evenly spaced columns
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cornice
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projecting molding on building (usually above columns or pillars)
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contapposto
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Greek S-curve pose
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drum
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one of the stacked cylindrical stones that form the shaft of a column; the cylindrical wall that supports a dome
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echinos
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spine
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encaustic
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a paint consisting of pigment mixed with melted beeswax
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entablature
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The upper section of a classical building, resting on the columns and constituting the architrave, frieze, and cornice
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entasis
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swelling on vertical columns to counteract optical illusion of concavity
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fluting
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a series of shallow concave grooves, vertical on the shaft of a column.
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foreshortening
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a visual effect in which an object is shortened and turned deeper into the picture plane to give the effect of receding in space
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frieze
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an architectural ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band between the architrave and the cornice
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geometric
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characterized by simple geometric forms in design and decoration
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hydria
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an Etruscan or Greek water jar with two horizontal handles and one vertical handle to facilitate pouring
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isocephalic
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(of a composition) having the heads of all figures on approximately the same level.
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krater
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an ancient Greek wide-mouthed bowl for mixing wine and water
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kylix
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An ancient Greek shallow drinking cup with two handles and a stem.
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lekythos
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a flask containing perfumed oil; were often placed in Greek graves as offerings to the deceased, they also had narrow necks
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lost-wax
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a method of metalcasting in which a figure is modeled in wax then enclosed in a clay mold that is fired
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meander pattern
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key pattern around rim
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metope
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The carved or painted rectangular panel between the triglyphs of a Doric frieze
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naos
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cella, a room with no windows that usually housed the cult statue of the deity
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necking
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A groove at the bottom of the ancient Greek Doric capital between the echinus and the flutes that masks the junction of capital and shaft.
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oenochoe
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a pouring jug. taking liquid from krater to kylix
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pediment
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a triangular gable between a horizontal entablature and a sloping roof
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peristyle
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row of columns around a building or court; the space so enclosed
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red-figure
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red clay colored figures reserved against black background with details painted in
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scroll
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a document that can be rolled up (as for storage)
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slip
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potter's clay that is thinned and used for coating or decorating ceramics
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stylobate
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The uppermost course of the platform of a Greek temple, which supports the columns.
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triglyph
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a triple projecting, grooved member of a Doric frieze that alternates with metopes
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tesserae
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the small piece of stone, glass, or other object that is pieced together with many others to create a mosaic
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volute
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ornament from Ionic capital resembling a rolled scroll
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white-ground
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A type of ancient Greek pottery mostly used in the Classical period in which the background color of the object is painted with a slip that turns white in the firing process. Details could be painted or incised afterward, though the white slip did not bond well to the object and would flake over time. Were often used as funerary objects.
