Week 6: Art of Renaissance and Baroque Europe Flashcards
Altarpiece
an artwork that is placed behind an altar in a church (See Chapter 3.6, page 465)
Arches
structures, usually curved, that span an opening (See Chapter 3.6, page 471)
Atmospheric perspective
use of shades of color and clarity to create the illusion of depth. Closer objects have warmer tones and clear outlines, while objects set further away are cooler and become hazy (See Chapter 3.6, page 463)
Balance
a principle of art in which elements are used to create a symmetrical or asymmetrical sense of visual weight in an artwork (See Chapter 3.6, page 476)
Baroque
European artistic and architectural style of the late sixteenth to early eighteenth century, characterized by extravagance and emotional intensity (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Chiaroscuro
the use of light and dark in a painting to create the impression of volume (See Chapter 3.6, page 463)
Column
freestanding pillar, usually circular in section (See Chapter 3.6, page 473)
Composition
the overall design or organization of a work (See Chapter 3.6, page 463)
Continuous narrative
when different parts of a story are shown within the same visual space (See Chapter 3.6, page 464)
Contrapposto
a pose in sculpture in which the upper part of the body twists in one direction and the lower part in another (See Chapter 3.6, page 464)
Deposition
a scene showing the removal of Christ’s body from the cross (See Chapter 3.6, page 471)
Dissonance
a lack of harmony (See Chapter 3.6, page 47)
Dome
an evenly curved vault forming the ceiling or roof of a building (See Chapter 3.6, page 462)
Enlightenment
an intellectual movement in eighteenth-century Europe that argued for science, reason, and individualism. Challenging received ideas passed down by tradition, the Enlightenment also promoted the notion of equal rights for all men (See Chapter 3.6, page 486)
Facade
any side of a building, usually the front or entrance (See Chapter 3.6, page 473)
Focal point
the area in a composition to which the eye returns most naturally (See Chapter 3.6, page 463)
Foreground
the part of a work depicted as nearest to the viewer (See Chapter 3.6, page 483)
Fresco
a technique in which the artist paints onto freshly applied plaster. From the Italian fresco, “fresh” (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Genre
in painting, scenes that depict everyday life (See Chapter 3.6, page 479)
Geometric
predictable and mathematical (See Chapter 3.6, page 479)
Glazing
in oil painting, adding a transparent layer of paint to achieve a richness in texture, volume, and form (See Chapter 3.6, page 464)
Hemispherical
having half the form of a spherical shape divided into identical, symmetrical parts (See Chapter 3.6, page 473)
Humanism, humanist
the study of such subjects as history, philosophy, languages, and literature, particularly in relation to those of ancient Greece and Rome (See Chapter 3.6, page 460)
Iconoclasm
the destruction of images or artworks, often out of religious belief (See Chapter 3.6, page 474)
Iconographic analysis
the study of art by interpreting symbols, themes, and subject matter as sources of meaning (See Chapter 3.6, page 467)
Ideal
more beautiful, harmonious, or perfect than reality; or exists as an idea (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Implied line
a line not actually drawn but suggested by elements in the work (See Chapter 3.6, page 483)
In the round
a freestanding sculpted work that can be viewed from all sides (See Chapter 3.6, page 481)
Linear perspective
a system using converging imaginary sight lines to create the illusion of depth (See Chapter 3.6, page 462)
Mannerism
from Italian di maniera, meaning charm, grace, playfulness; mid- to late sixteenth-century style of painting, usually with elongated human figures elevating grace as an ideal (See Chapter 3.6, page 471)
Mass
a volume that has, or gives the illusion of having, weight, density, and bulk (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Medieval
relating to the Middle Ages; roughly, between the fall of the Roman empire and the start of the Renaissance (See Chapter 3.6, page 463)
Medium (plural media)
the material on or from which an artist chooses to make a work of art (See Chapter 3.6, page 474)
Modeling
the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions so that they appear solid (See Chapter 3.6, page 473)
Narrative
an artwork that tells a story (See Chapter 3.6, page 463)
Naturalism
a very realistic or lifelike style of making images (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Oil paint
paint made of pigment suspended in oil (See Chapter 3.6, page 460)
Outline
the outermost line or implied line of an object or figure, by which it is defined or bounded (See Chapter 3.6, page 472)
Patron
an organization or individual who sponsors the creation of works of art (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Pedestal
a base upon which a statue or column rests (See Chapter 3.6, page 468)
Pediment
the triangular space, situated above the row of columns, on the facade of a building in the Classical style (See Chapter 3.6, page 473)
Perspective
the creation of the illusion of depth in a two-dimensional image by using mathematical principles (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Picture plane
the transparent division between the space depicted by the artist and the real space in which the viewer is placed (See Chapter 3.6, page 482)
Proportion
the relationship in size between a work’s individual parts and the whole (See Chapter 3.6, page 473)
Quatrefoil
a symmetrical framework that has four lobes or leaves (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Renaissance
a period of culture and artistic change in Europe from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century (See Chapter 3.6, page 460)
Scale
the size of an object or artwork relative to another object or artwork, or to a system of measurement (See Chapter 3.6, page 463)
Sfumato
in painting, the application of layers of translucent paint to create a hazy or smoky appearance and unify the composition (See Chapter 3.6, page 468)
Sitter
person who poses, or “sits,” for an artist to paint, sculpt, or photograph (See Chapter 3.6, page 468)
Subject matter, subject
the person, object, or space depicted in a work of art (See Chapter 3.6, page 460)
Symbolism
using images or symbols in an artwork to convey meaning; often obvious when the work was made, but requiring research for modern viewers to understand (See Chapter 3.6, page 464)
Symmetrical balance
an image or shape that looks exactly (or nearly exactly) the same on both sides when cut in half (See Chapter 3.6, page 473)
Symmetry
the correspondence in size, form, and arrangement of items on opposite sides of a plane, line, or point that creates direct visual balance (See Chapter 3.6, page 476)
Tempera
fast-drying painting medium made from pigment mixed with water-soluble binder, such as egg yolk (See Chapter 3.6, page 464)
Tenebrism
dramatic use of intense darkness and light to heighten the impact of a painting (See Chapter 3.6, page 477)
Texture
the surface quality of a work, for example fine/coarse, detailed/lacking in detail (See Chapter 3.6, page 464)
Three-dimensional
having height, width, and depth (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Vault
an arch-like structure supporting a ceiling or roof (See Chapter 3.6, page 471)
Volume
the space filled or enclosed by a three-dimensional figure or object (See Chapter 3.6, page 461)
Woodblock
a relief print process where the image is carved into a block of wood (See Chapter 3.6, page 475)
