Art Appreciation Test #2 Vocab Flashcards
Fresco
painting in fresh or wet plaster. It is very durable in warm, dry climates. Ex. Toreador Fresco
Minos/Minotaur/Labyrinth
Minos was a legendary King of the Minoans. The minotaur was a half man, half-bull. The labyrinth was a maze in which the minotaur lived, inspired by the ruins of the Palace of Knossos.
Animal/Organic Style
repeated use of designs derived from nature to decorate something. Ex. Octopus Vase
Homer/Iliad
Homer was a (blind) Greek poet who lived circa 800 BC. The Iliad was his epic poem about the Trojan War.
Contrapposto
“Counterpoised”… When the weight is shifted onto one leg. All the Classical statues have contrapposto. Ex. Kritios Boy
Canon
the perfect example of something. The “Spearbearer” was the canon of the male body.
Doric/Ionic/Corinthian
Three types of Greek temples. Doric temples had “blobs” at the tops of their pillars, Ionic had scrolls, and Corinthian had leaves at the top of their pillars.
Pediment
triangular space above the pillars of a Greek temple. These spaces were filled with sculpture.
Acropolic
“high city” … the elevated part of Greek cities where temples were placed.
Necropolis
City of the Dead… cemetery… almost everything we know about the Etruscans comes from their cemeteries
Terra Cotta
Red earth or red clay. Etruscans used terra cotta in their sculpture & the Greeks used it for pottery.
VergilAeneid
Vergil was a great Roman poet. The Aeneid was his epic poem ending in the ‘founding’ of Rome by the Trojan Prince Aeneas.
Narrative Relief
sculpture on a 2D surface that tells a story. Ex. Trajan’s Column
Orator Pose
pose used in Roman sculpture to depict a great speaker (Politician). ex. Augustus of Primaporta
Pompeii
Roman city buried by a volcanic eruption. This event preserved much Roman art. Particularly Roman frescos.
