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AP Art History > Master Vocab List > Flashcards

Master Vocab List Flashcards

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1
Q

Acropolis

A

Literally, “a high city”, a Greek temple complex built on a hill over a city.

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2
Q

Adobe

A

A building material made from earth, straw, or clay dried in the sun.

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3
Q

Agora

A
  • A public plaza in a Greek city where commercial, religious, and societal activities are conducted.
  • A public square or market place in a Roman city.
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4
Q

Amarna style

A

Art created during the reign of Akhenaton, which features a more relaxed figure style than in Old and Middle Kingdom art.

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5
Q

Amphiprostyle

A

Having four columns in the front and rear of a temple.

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6
Q

Amphora

A

A two-handled Greek storage jar.

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7
Q

Ankh

A

An Egyptian symbol of life.

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8
Q

Anthropomorphic

A

Having characteristics of the human form, although the form itself is not human.

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9
Q

Apadana

A

An audience hall in a Persian palace.

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10
Q

Apotropaic

A

Having the power to ward off evil or bad luck.

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11
Q

Arabesque

A

A flowing, intricate, and symmetrical pattern deriving from floral motifs.

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12
Q

Ashlar masonry

A

Carefully cut and grooved stones that support a building without the use of concrete or other kinds of masonry.

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13
Q

Athena

A

Greek goddess of war and wisdom; patron of Athens.

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14
Q

Atmospheric or Aerial Perspective

A

Landscapes that give the illusion of distance are done in this perspective.

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15
Q

Atrium

A

A courtyard in a Roman house or before a Christian church.

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16
Q

Axial plan

A

A building with an elongated ground plan.

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17
Q

Votive

A

Offered in fulfillment of a vow or pledge.

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18
Q

Stylized

A

A schematic, non-realistic manner of representing the visible world and its contents, abstracted from the way they appear in nature.

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19
Q

Hierarchy of scale

A

A system of representation that expresses a person’s importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art.

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20
Q

Isocephalism

A

The tradition of depicting heads of figures on the same level.

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21
Q

In situ

A

A Latin expression that means that something is in its original location.

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22
Q

Spoila

A

The reuse of architectural or sculptural pieces in a building(s) generally different from their original location.

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23
Q

Canon

A

A body of rules or laws; in Greek art, the ideal mathematical proportion of a figure.

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24
Q

Contrapposto

A

A graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and a bent knee.

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25
Q

Foreshortening

A

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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26
Q

Perspective

A

Depth and recession in a painting or a relief sculpture.

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27
Q

Linear perspective

A

Objects in this perspective achieve 3D in the two-dimensional world of the picture plane.

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28
Q

Orthogonals

A

All the lines within a linear perspective; draw the view back in space to the vanishing point.

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29
Q

Vanishing point

A

A common point within perspective (particularly linear perspective) drawings/paintings.

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30
Q

Stucco

A

A fine plaster used for wall decorations or molding.

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31
Q

Mosaic

A

A decoration using pieces of stone, marble, or colored glass, tesserae, called that are cemented to a wall or a floor (or another surface).

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32
Q

Kiln

A

An oven used for making pottery.

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33
Q

Terra-cotta

A

A hard ceramic clay used for building or making pottery.

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34
Q

Tufa

A

A porous rock similar to limestone.

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35
Q

Torons

A

Wooden beams projecting from the walls of adobe buildings.

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36
Q

Encaustic

A

An ancient method of painting that uses colored waxes burned into a wooden surface.

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37
Q

Fresco

A

A painting technique that involves applying water-based paint onto a freshly plastered wall. The paint forms a bond with the plaster that is durable and long-lasting.

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38
Q

Calligraphy

A

Decorative or beautiful handwriting.

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39
Q

Kufic

A

A highly ornamental Islamic script.

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40
Q

Tessellation

A

Decoration using polygonal shapes with no gaps.

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41
Q

Muqarna

A

A honeycomb-like decoration often applied in Islamic buildings to domes, niches, capitals, or vaults. The surface resembles intricate stalactites.

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42
Q

Cire perdue

A

The lost wax method.

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43
Q

Cong

A

A tubular object with a circular hole cut into a square-like cross section.

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44
Q

Lamassu

A

A colossal winged human-headed bull in Assyrian art.

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45
Q

Henge

A

A Neolithic monument, characterized by a circular ground plan. Used for rituals and marking astronomical events.

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46
Q

Menhir

A

A large uncut stone erected as a monument in the pre-historical era; a standing stone (ie. Stonehenge)

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47
Q

Stele

A

An upright stone lab used to mark a grave or a site.

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48
Q

Ziggurat

A

A pyramid-like building made of several stories that indent as the building gets taller; thus creating terraces at each level.

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49
Q

Necropolis

A

Literally, a “city of the dead”, a large burial area.

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50
Q

Cella

A

The main room of a temple where the God is housed.

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51
Q

Mastaba

A

Arabic for “bench”, a low, flat-roofed Egyptian tomb with sides sloping down to the ground.

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52
Q

Hypostyle

A

A hall in an Egyptian temple (and others) that has a roof supported by a dense thicket of columns.

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53
Q

Pylon

A

A monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple marked by two flat, sloping walls between which is a smaller entrance.

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54
Q

Sarcophagus

A

A stone coffin (ie. Sarcophagus of spouses).

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55
Q

Kore (Kouros)

A

An archaic Greek sculpture of a standing youth.

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56
Q

Krater

A

A large ancient Greek bowl used for mixing water and wine.

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57
Q

Panathenaic way

A

A ceremonial road for a procession built to honor Athena during a festival.

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58
Q

Shamanism

A

A religion in which good and evil are brought about by spirits which can be influenced by shamans, who have access to these spirits.

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59
Q

Cuneiform

A

A system of writing in which the strokes are formed in a wedge or arrowhead shape.

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60
Q

Hieroglyphics

A

Egyptian writing using symbols or pictures as characters.

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61
Q

Ka

A

The soul, or spiritual essence, of a human being that either ascends to heaven or can live in an Egyptian statue of itself.

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62
Q

Papyrus

A

A tall aquatic plant whose fiber is used as a writing surface in ancient Egypt.

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63
Q

Pharoah

A

A king of ancient Egypt

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64
Q

Gigantomachy

A

A mythical ancient Greek war between the giants and the Olympian gods.

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65
Q

Nike

A

Ancient Greek goddess of victory.

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66
Q

Niobe

A

The model of a grieving mother; after boasting of her twelve children, jealous gods killed them.

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67
Q

Peplos

A

A garment worn by women in ancient Greece, usually full length and tied at the waist.

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68
Q

Zeus

A

King of the ancient Greek gods, known as Jupiter to the Romans, god of the sky and weather.

69
Q

Triclinium

A

A dining table in ancient Rome that has a couch on three sides for reclining at meals.

70
Q

Gospels

A

The first four books of the New Testament that chronicle the life of Jesus.

71
Q

Propylaeum

A

A gateway to a Greek temple.

72
Q

Stoa

A

An ancient Greek covered walkway having columns on one side and a wall on the other.

73
Q

Tholos

A

An ancient Greek circular shrine.

74
Q

Cubiculum

A

A Roman bedroom flanking an Atrium; in Early Christian art, a small room serving as a mortuary chapel in a catacomb.

75
Q

Bust

A

A sculpture depicting a head, neck, and upper chest of a figure.

76
Q

Impluvium

A

A rectangular basin in a Roman house that is placed in the open-air atrium in order to collect rainwater.

77
Q

Veristic

A

Sculptures from the Roman Republic characterized by extreme realism of facial features (ie. Head of a Roman Patrician).

78
Q

Basilica

A

In Christian architecture, am axially planned church with a long nave, side aisles, and an apse for the alter (based on the Roman version).

79
Q

Catacomb

A

An underground passageway used for burial.

80
Q

Loculi

A

Openings in the walls of the catacombs to receive the dead.

81
Q

Orant figure

A

A figure with its hands raised in prayer.

82
Q

Codex (codices)

A

A manuscript book.

83
Q

Icon

A

A devotional panel depicting a sacred image.

84
Q

Pyxis

A

A small cylinder-shaped container with a detachable lid used to contain cosmetics or jewelry.

85
Q

Jali

A

Perforated ornamental stone screens in Islamic art.

86
Q

Mausoleum

A

A building, usually large, that contains tombs.

87
Q

Cathedral

A

The principal church of a diocese, where a bishop sits.

88
Q

Chalice

A

A cup containing wine, used during Christian services.

89
Q

Eucharist

A

The bread sanctified by the priest at the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper.

90
Q

Genesis

A

First book of the Bible.

91
Q

Iconostasis

A

A screen decorated with icons, which separates the apse from the transept of a church.

92
Q

Martyrium

A

A shrine built over a place of martyrdom of a grave of a martyred Christian saint.

93
Q

Paten

A

A plate, dish, or bowl used to hold the Eucharist at a Christian ceremony.

94
Q

Theotokos

A

The Virgin Mary in her role as the mother of God.

95
Q

Hajj

A

One of the five pillars of Islam; Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.

96
Q

Mecca, Medina

A

Islamic holy cities; Medina was where Muhammad was first accepted as the prophet, and where his tomb is located.

97
Q

Muezzin

A

An Islamic official who calls people to prayer traditionally from a minaret.

98
Q

Muhammad

A

The only prophet of Islam; his teachings and revelations form the foundation of Islam.

99
Q

Qiblah

A

The direction toward Mecca, which Muslims face during prayer.

100
Q

Qur’an

A

Islamic sacred text; believed to be the words of God.

101
Q

Register

A

A horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story.

102
Q

Ground line

A

A base line upon which figures stand.

103
Q

Negative space

A

Empty space around an object or a person.

104
Q

Continuous narrative

A

A work of art that contains several scenes of the same story painted or sculpture in a single frame.

105
Q

Relief sculpture

A

Sculpture that projects from a flat background.

106
Q

Bas-relief

A

A very shallow relief sculpture.

107
Q

Sunken relief

A

A carving in which the outlines of the figures are deeply carved into a surface so that the figures seem to project forward.

108
Q

Lintel

A

A horizontal beam over an opening.

109
Q

Megalith

A

A stone of great size used in the construction of a pre-historic structure.

110
Q

Facade

A

The front of a building often used as the rear or side.

111
Q

Clerestory

A

A roof that rises above tower roofs and thus has window space beneath.

112
Q

Cornice

A

A projecting ledge over a wall.

113
Q

Entablature

A

The upper story of a Greek temple (and others).

114
Q

Frieze

A

A horizontal band of sculpture.

115
Q

Metope

A

A small relief sculpture on the facade of a Greek temple.

116
Q

Pediment

A

The triangular top of a temple that contains sculpture.

117
Q

Triglyph

A

A projecting grooved element alternating with a metope on a Greek temple.

118
Q

Capital

A

The top element of a column

119
Q

Shaft

A

The body of a column.

120
Q

Engaged column

A

A column that is not freestanding but attached to a wall.

121
Q

Reserve column

A

A column that is cut away from rock but has no support function.

122
Q

Caryatid

A

A building column that is shaped like a female figure.

123
Q

Composite column

A

A column that contains a combination of volutes from ionic order and the acanthus leaves from the Corinthian order.

124
Q

Doric

A

Top part of ancient Greek column that is boring/plainish.

125
Q

Ionic

A

Top part of ancient Greek column that is 2nd most elaborate; loops off to the sides.

126
Q

Corinthian

A

Top part of ancient Greek column that is the most elaborate; the capitals are carved in tiers of leaves.

127
Q

Tuscan order

A

An order of ancient architecture featuring slender, smooth columns that sit on simple bases; no carvings on the frieze or in the capitals.

128
Q

Mortise and tenon

A

A groove cut into stone, called a mortise, that is shaped to receive a tenon, or projection, of the same dimensions.

129
Q

Peristyle

A

A colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a courtyard.

130
Q

Portico

A

An entrance way to a building having columns supporting a roof.

131
Q

Coffer

A

In architecture, a sunken panel in a ceiling.

132
Q

Cupola

A

A small dome rising over the roof of a building; in architecture, a cupola is achieved by rotating an arch on its axis.

133
Q

Grand plan

A

The map of a floor of a building.

134
Q

Central plan

A

A church (or other building) having a circular plan with the altar in the middle.

135
Q

Keystone

A

The center stone of an arch that holds the others in place.

136
Q

Voussoirs

A

A wedge-shaped stone that forms the curved parts of an arch; the central stone is called the keystone.

137
Q

Oculi

A

A circular window in a church, or a round opening at the top of a dome.

138
Q

Pier

A

A vertical support that holds up an arch of vault.

139
Q

Spandrel

A

A triangular space enclosed by the curves of the arches.

140
Q

Pendentive

A

A construction shaped like a triangle that transitions the space between flat walls and the base of a round dome.

141
Q

Squinch

A

The polygonal base of a dome that makes a transition from the round dome to a flat wall.

142
Q

Vault

A

Roof constructed with arches.

143
Q

Barrel vault

A

When an arch is extended in space, forming a tunnel.

144
Q

Groin vault

A

When two barrel vaults intersect at right angles.

145
Q

Ambulatory

A

A passageway around the apse or alter of a church.

146
Q

Apse

A

The endpoint of a church where the alter is located.

147
Q

Basilicas/longitudinal plan

A

A church with a long nave whose focus is the apse, so called because it is designed along an axis.

148
Q

Lynette

A

A crescent-shaped space, sometimes over a doorway, that contains a sculpture or painting.

149
Q

Nave

A

The main aisle of a church.

150
Q

Transcriptr

A

An aisle in a church perpendicular to the nave, where the clergy originally stood.

151
Q

Ambulatory

A

A passageway around the apse or an alter of a church

152
Q

Apandana

A

An audience hall in a Persian palace

153
Q

Apotropaic

A

Having the power to ward off evil or bad luck

154
Q

Assemblage

A

A 3D work made of various materials such as wood, cloth, paper, and miscellaneous objects

155
Q

Biombos

A

Folding free-standing screens

156
Q

Chiaroscuro/sfumato

A

A gradual transition from light to dark in a painting; forms are not determined by sharp outlines, but by the meeting of lighter and darker areas`

157
Q

Casta painting

A

Paintings from New Spain showing people of mixed races

158
Q

Cloissonne

A

Enamel work in which colored areas are separated by thin bands of metal, usually gold or bronze

159
Q

Contrapposto

A

A graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees

160
Q

Enconchados

A

Shell-inlay paintings; tiny fragments of mother-of-pearl placed onto a wooden support and canvas and covered with a yellowish tint and thin glazes of paint

161
Q

Escudo

A

A framed painting worn below the neck in a colonial Spanish painting

162
Q

Daguerreotype

A

A type of early photograph, developed by Daguerre, which is characterized by a shiny surface, meticulous finish, and clarity of detail. Daguerreotypes are unique photographs; they have no negative

163
Q

Embroidery

A

A woven product in which the design is stitched into a pre-made fabric

164
Q

Fresco

A

A painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colors penetrate the plaster and become fixed as it dries.
verb

165
Q

Fibula

A

A clasp used to fasten garments

166
Q

Gigantomachy

A

A mythical ancient Greek war between the giants and the Olympian gods

167
Q

Haboku

A

A monochrome Japanese ink painting done in a free style in which ink seems to be splashed on a surface

168
Q

Horror vacui

A

A type of artwork in which the entire surface is filled with objects, people, designs, and ornaments in a crowded and sometimes congested way

AP Art History (13 decks)

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