MODULE 10: THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY

Question 1

cassapanca

Answer 1

an Italian Renaissance furniture form derived from a cassone, that contains a paneled back and arms

Question 2

cassone

Answer 2

a rich and showy Italian type of chest, which may be inlaid or carved, prepared with gesso ground then painted and gilded.

Question 3

humanism

Answer 3

In the Renaissance, an emphasis on education and on expanding the knowledge (especially of classical antiquity), the exploration of individual potential and a desire to excel, and a commitment to civic responsibility and moral duty.

Question 4

intarsia

Answer 4

elaborate decorative inlay work that often form abstract or pictorial design; a type of marquetry

Question 5

marquetry

Answer 5

the elaborate use of inlay in wood veneering to decorate furniture, often involving pictorial designs and woods of many types and colors

Question 6

Neoplatonism

Answer 6

Platonic idea that suggested that looking at and contemplating beautiful objects, sacred images, and architecture, leads one’s soul into closer union with the Divine.

Question 7

palazzo

Answer 7

the Italian word for palace and refers to a residence located in town

Question 8

piano nobile

Answer 8

an Italian word for the principal (usually the second) floor of a building

Question 9

rusticated / rustication

Answer 9

stonework treated as projecting stones and recessed joints to form a strong surface pattern

Question 10

Savonarola chair

Answer 10

15th-century scissor chair named after the Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498)

Question 11

sgabello

Answer 11

an Italian chair consisting of a carved or pierced splat above a plank seat supported, not by legs, but by carved vertical slabs of wood

Question 12

contrapposto pose

Answer 12

in the visual arts, a sculptural scheme, originated by the ancient Greeks, in which the standing human figure is poised such that the weight rests on one leg (called the engaged leg), freeing the other leg, which is bent at the knee

Question 13

baptismal fonts

Answer 13

an article of church furniture used for baptism, using non-immersive methods, such as aspersion (springing) or affusion (pouring).

Question 14

candelabrum

Answer 14

a large branched candlestick or holder for several candles or lamps.
“candles in iron candelabra shed some light”

Question 15

cartouche

Answer 15

a carved tablet or drawing representing a scroll with rolled-up ends, used ornamentally or bearing an inscription

Question 16

blackamoor

Answer 16

or exotically clad figures, generally African, used as supports for candelabra, table legs and bedposts

Question 17

colonnette

Answer 17

miniature columns

Question 18

putti

Answer 18

Putto (plural, putti) are winged infants who either play the role of angelic spirits in religious works, or act as instruments of profane love. They are often shown as associates of Cupid. They have their origin in Greek and Roman antiquity (the latin word putus means little man).

Question 19

grotesques

Answer 19

a very ugly or comically distorted figure, creature, or image.

Question 20

Duomo

Answer 20

an Italian word for a cathedral, or a Catholic church where the bishop is located. All cathedrals, including the Duomo Cathedral of Florence, are designed with four perpendicular arms so that the entire building has the shape of a cross, symbolizing the crucifixion of Christ.