Exam 1 Flashcards
Abstract/Abstraction
Based on an object, figure or landscape, where forms have been simplified or schematized
Stylized
A form that has moved away from natural forms and shapes
Reliquary
A container for holy relics
Tympanum
A semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window, which is bounded by a lintel and an arch
Jambs
A side post or surface of a doorway, window, or fireplace
Jamb statues
A figure carved on the jambs of a doorway or window
Nave
The central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation
Giornata
Giornata is an art term, originating from an Italian word which means “a day’s work.” The term is used in Buon fresco mural painting and describes how much painting can be done in a single day of work
Predella
A painting or sculpture on the front of a raised shelf above an altar, which typically forms the base for an altarpiece.
Sinopia
Sinopia is a dark reddish-brown natural earth pigment, whose reddish color comes from hematite, a dehydrated form of iron oxide
Buon fresco
(Italian for ‘true fresh’) is a fresco painting technique in which alkaline-resistant pigments, ground in water, are applied to wet plaster
Grisaille
A method of painting in gray monochrome, typically to imitate sculpture
Fresco secco
(or a secco or fresco finto) is a wall painting technique where pigments mixed with an organic binder and/or lime are applied onto a dry plaster
Book of Hours
The book of hours is a Christian devotional book used to pray the canonical hours
Ambulatory
A semicircular or polygonal aisle. Often an ambulatory leads around the east end of the choir; separating the choir from apses or chapels
Rose window
A circular window with mullions or tracery radiating in a form suggestive of a rose
S-curve
A traditional art concept where the figure’s body and posture is depicted like a sinuous or serpentine manner
Diptych
A painting, especially an altarpiece, on two hinged wooden panels which may be closed like a book
Triptych
A picture (such as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side
Polyptych
A painting, typically an altarpiece, consisting of more than three leaves or panels joined by hinges or folds
Glazing
A standard technique in painting, whereby a thin layer of paint is applied on top of the main color, resulting in rich, iridescent colors
Woodcut
A relief process in which knives and other tools are used to carve a design into the surface of a wooden block
Engraving
An intaglio printmaking process in which lines are cut into a metal plate in order to hold the ink
Intaglio printing
The opposite of relief printing, in that the printing is done from ink that is below the surface of the plate
Relief printing
When you carve into a printing block that you then use to press onto paper and make a print
Linear perspective
A type of perspective used by artists in which the relative size, shape, and position of objects are determined by drawn or imagined lines converging at a point on the horizon
Pietra serena
A blue-gray sandstone used extensively in Renaissance Florence for architectural details. It is also known as Macigno stone
Palazzo
Refers to an architectural style of the 19th and 20th centuries based upon the palazzi (palaces) built by wealthy families
Rusticated
Rustication is a range of masonry techniques used in classical architecture giving visible surfaces a finish texture that contrasts with smooth, squared-block masonry called ashlar
Orthogonal
Imaginary lines which are parallel to the ground plane and the line of sight of the viewer
Vanishing point
Point of convergence
Trompe l’oiel
An artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface
Allegory
A relation to something
Neoplatonism
Idealist, perfection, flawless
