Midterm vocab to study

Question 1

Megalith

Answer 1

a large stone that forms a prehistoric monument

Question 2

composite view

Answer 2

A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally, used to highlight the most known parts of a figure and help recognize if something is human

Question 3

hierarchical/hieratic scale

Answer 3

Use of different sizes to indicate importance

Question 4

additive sculpture

Answer 4

sculptural form produced by adding, combining, or building up material from a core or (in some cases) an armature (building from adding)

Question 5

sculptural relief

Answer 5

a two-dimensional image or design whose flat background surface is carved away to a certain depth, setting off the figure (building by subtracting)

Question 6

ziggurat

Answer 6

A rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians

Question 7

stele

Answer 7

A carved stone slab used to mark graves or to commemorate historical events.

Question 8

register

Answer 8

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

Question 9

canon

Answer 9

the best representative candidate for a piece of work, considered a masterpiece

Question 10

fresco secco

Answer 10

the technique of painting on dry plaster with pigments mixed in water.

Question 11

contrapposto

Answer 11

A style of Greek sculpture where people are depicted standing and leaning so that the person’s weight is being put on one side. People are depicted with their bodies curved like an “S”

Question 12

black-figure painting

Answer 12

In early Greek pottery, the silhouetting of dark figures against a light background of natural, reddish clay, with linear details incised through the silhouettes.

Question 13

lost-wax bronze casting

Answer 13

artist would sculpt a full scale model in clay of the figure and all its details, then covered the clay sculpture with a thick layer of wax, then covered this with another layer of clay, then everything would be kiln fired, the clay would harden and the wax would melt, After it cooled, the artist would poor bronze into the hollow space, after it cooled, the outer clay would be broken away and the inner clay chipped out and you were left with a hollow bronze statue

Question 14

entablature

Answer 14

The entablature is like a table top on the legs of the columns. Each entablature traditionally has three main parts by definition, as explained by architect John Milnes Baker: “entablature: the top portion on a classical order supported by columns which forms the base for the pediment

Question 15

entasis

Answer 15

a slight convex curve in the shaft of a column, introduced to correct the visual illusion of concavity produced by a straight shaft.

Question 16

cella

Answer 16

The chamber at the center of an ancient temple; in a classical temple, the room (Greek, naos) in which the cult statue usually stood. where the god is housed

Question 17

Pagoda

Answer 17

The Buddhist place of worship

Question 18

calligraphy

Answer 18

the art of fine handwriting

Question 19

interlace

Answer 19

Patterns formed by intricately interwoven ribbons and bands. Usually associated with animal style works. Bands or portions of other motifs can be looped, braided, and knotted in complex geometric patterns, often to fill a space.

Question 20

handscroll

Answer 20

in Asian art, a horizontal painted scroll that is unrolled to the left and often used to present illustrated religious texts or landscapes

Question 21

groin vault

Answer 21

formed at the point at which 2 barrel vaults intersect at right angles

Question 22

forum

Answer 22

A Roman public meeting place

Question 23

illusionism

Answer 23

the principle or technique by which artistic representations are made to resemble real objects or to give an appearance of space by the use of perspective.

Question 24

catacombs

Answer 24

An underground cemetery, esp. one consisting of tunnels and rooms with recesses dug out for coffins and tombs.

Question 25

illuminated manuscript

Answer 25

a luxurious handmade book with painted illustrations and decorations

Question 26

pendentives

Answer 26

the concave triangular section of a vault that forms the transition between a square or polygonal space and the circular base of a dome

Question 27

mihrab

Answer 27

(Islam) a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca

Question 28

cloissone

Answer 28

decorative work in which enamel, glass, or gemstones are separated by strips of flattened wire placed edgeways on a metal backing.

Question 29

radiating chapels

Answer 29

In medieval churches, chapels for the display of relics that opened directly onto the ambulatory and the transept.

Question 30

reliquary

Answer 30

A container where religious relics are stored or displayed (especially relics of saints)

Question 31

flying buttress

Answer 31

a buttress that stands apart from the main structure and connected to it by an arch

Question 32

stained glass

Answer 32

colored glass used for windows or decorative applications

Question 33

clerestory

Answer 33

A row of windows in the upper part of a wall.