Chapter 4 - Renaissance Design

Question 1

Humanistic

Answer 1

Grounded in a human-centered view of the world, as distinct from a God-centered or religious orientation; pertaining to Renaissance scholars of classical antiquity who promoted this outlook; with reference to type, any face that emulates the writing style associated with this tradition.

Question 2

Perspective

Answer 2

A drawing system devised to represent objects accurately with regard to distance or depth; a method of mapping 3D space onto a 2D surface from a single, stationary viewpoint.

Question 3

Monocular

Answer 3

from the Latin mono (single) and oculus (eye), of or pertaining to a single eye; seen by one eye, as in drawing systems that organize the visual field from a single point of view, without parallax effect or movement.

Question 4

Modular

Answer 4

made in standard forms or measures that allow for interchangeability or variable combinations of parts; in the case of printing, produced in the standardized units that made movable type possible.

Question 5

Punch

Answer 5

A letter or design cut on the end of a stick of hard metal used to produce a matrix, or mold, for casting lead type; a punch had to be cut for every letter of every typeface in each size, style, and weight.

Question 6

Typecast

Answer 6

the repeated use of a mold to produce multiple copies of a letter in metal.

Question 7

Fit

Answer 7

the spatial relation of letters to each other in a particular face; the spaces created between letters by their respective positions on the metal blocks of letterpress type.

Question 8

Matrix

Answer 8

Matrices - in printing technology, molds (usually brass) made from the imprint of a punch and used to cast type; matrices are used over and over again in the production of a font of lead letters.

Question 9

Punch cutter

Answer 9

A person who cuts type designs in hard metal punches.

Question 10

Point size

Answer 10

the measure of type in terms of a standard system.

Question 11

Typeface

Answer 11

a full set of letters and punctuation marks designed tow irk together in a single style.

Question 12

Old Style

Answer 12

of or pertaining to type designs that moved away from strict imitation of humanistic handwriting and took advantage of the specific physical properties and formal possibilities of metal to improve legibility; the first Old Style faces appeared at the end of the 15th century, zoo after the invention of movable type.

Question 13

Copperplate engraving

Answer 13

an intaglio printing technique in which lines are carved into the surface of a copper plate.

Question 14

Intaglio

Answer 14

from the italian intagliare , literally, incised or engraved; of or pertaining to any printing process–including engraving and etching–that involves removing material from a surface, pressing ink into the incised areas, and wiping the rest of the surface clean before transferring the ink onto paper ( as opposed to relief printing, such as woodblock or letterpress, or planographic processes, such as lithography).

Question 15

Woodcut

Answer 15

a relief print made from a woodblock.

Question 16

Relief print

Answer 16

a print made by a process that involved removing areas fro the surface of a block or plate, inking the raised surface that remains, and transferring the image to paper.

Question 17

Etching

Answer 17

a process in which acids used to bite lines or patters into a plate of intaglio printing; metal plates are treated with an acid-resistant coating from which lines or dots are removed before the plate is put into an acid bath that bites exposed areas.

Question 18

Incunabula

Answer 18

the infancy period of printing, from its invention in the 1450s through 1500.

Question 19

Broadside

Answer 19

single sheets used for one-sided printing.

Question 20

Octavo

Answer 20

a book size resulting from the gathering of sheets folded three times so that each page is one eighth the size of the original sheet.

Question 21

Cartographic

Answer 21

cartography- the art and science of making charts and maps.

Question 22

Emblem

Answer 22

an image, usually accompanied by a verse or motto, often depicting an allegory with a moral or religious message; in Renaissance culture, emblem books had three parts–an allegorical image, a text, and a motto–all of which were to be contemplated and synthesized for the advancement of one’s spiritual education.

Question 23

Why was the printing press such an important innovation?

Answer 23

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Question 24

How is the printing press’ development distinctive of the Renaissance in general? For example, how did it contribute to the “standardization” of knowledge and its diffusion?

Answer 24

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Question 25

What were the achievements of the Venetian printers such as Jensen and Manutius?

Answer 25

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Question 26

How was printed literature distinctive of the interests of the Renaissance, especially in Italy and France?

Answer 26

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Question 27

In what ways did literature become politicized? Think of materials that were banned or presented particular worldviews?

Answer 27

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Question 28

Why was the integration of text and image so important during the Renaissance, and how were its issues overcome?

Answer 28

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