Art History Terms

Front 1

Quatrafoil

Back 1

shape of points and semicircles that is kind of like a clover overlapping a diamond

Front 2

Gesso

Back 2

a ground made from glue, gypsum, and/or chalk forming the ground of a wood panel or the priming layer of a canvas. Provides a smooth surface for painting.

Front 3

Tempera

Back 3

a painting medium made by blending egg yolks with water, pigments, and occasionally other materials such as glue.

Front 4

Grisaille

Back 4

a style of monochromatic painting in shades of gray

Front 5

Buon Fresco

Back 5

a painting technique in which water based pigments are applied to a surface of wet plaster. The color is absorbed by the plaster, becoming a permanent part of the wall

Front 6

Giornata

Back 6

adopted from the Italian term meaning “a day’s work,” a giornata is the section of a fresco plastered and painted in a single day

Front 7

Sinopia

Back 7

Italian word taken from “sinope,” the ancient city in Asia Minor that was famous for its red-brick pigment. In fresco paintings, a full-size preliminary sketch done in this color on the first rough coat of plaster or arriccio.

Front 8

Predalla

Back 8

the base of an altarpiece, often decorated with small scenes that are related in subject to that of the main panel or panels

Front 9

Andachtsbilder

Back 9

German term. Devotional image.

Front 10

Vesperbild

Back 10

image of Mary mourning her son

Front 11

Triptych

Back 11

an artwork made up of three panels. The panels may be hinged together so the side segments (wings) fold over the central area.

Front 12

Atmospheric (aerial) perspective

Back 12

a method of rendering the effect of spatial distance by subtle variations in color and clarity of representation. Things further from the eye get lighter, bluer, and less distinct

Front 13

Polyptych

Back 13

an altarpiece constructed from multiple panels, sometimes with hinges to allow for movable wings.

Front 14

Provenance

Back 14

history of a work of art. Where, for whom, what collection it was in

Front 15

Relief process

Back 15

Black is untouched, white is carved out. For every line created, two cuts are required. Very time intensive. Cut design, ink plate with sticky thick paste. Sometimes soak paper. Pressure is used to lift ink off plate. Printing press applies equal pressure throughout and results in a plate mark.

Front 16

Intaglio process

Back 16

term used for a technique in which the design is carved out of the surface of an object, such as an engraved seal stone. In the graphic arts, intaglio includes engraving, etching, and drypoint – all processes in which ink transfers to paper from incised, ink-filled lines cut into a metal plate. Rather than relieving negative space, you dig in to create positive space. Ink sits in the grooves. Burin tool makes triangular troughs.

Front 17

Woodcut

Back 17

a type of print made by carving a design into a wooden block. The ink is applied to the block with a roller. As the ink remains only on the raised areas between the carved-away lines, these carved-away areas and lines provide the white areas of the print. Also: the process by which the woodcut is made.

Front 18

Engraving

Back 18

an intaglio printmaking process if inscribing an image, design, or letters onto a metal or wood surface from which a print is made. An engraving is usually drawn with a sharp implement (burin) directly onto the surface of the plate. Also: the print made from this process.

Front 19

Etching

Back 19

wax is applied to metal plate. Carve away way coating with stylus. Allows you to create curlycues and round parts. Plate is placed in acid which cuts the metal where the wax is removed.

Front 20

Drum

Back 20

the wall that supports a dome. Also, a segment of the circular shaft of a column.

Front 21

Oculus

Back 21

In architecture, a circular opening. Oculi are usually found either as windows or at the apex of a dome. When at the top of a dome, an oculus is either open to the sky or covered by a decorative exterior lantern.

Front 22

Lantern

Back 22

a turretlike structure situated on a roof, vault, or dome with windows that allow light into the space below

Front 23

Module

Back 23

a segment or portion of a repeated design. Also: a basic building block

Front 24

Orthogonal

Back 24

Any line running back into the represented space of a picture plane. In linear perspective, all orthogonals converge at a single vanishing point in the picture and are the basis for a grid that maps out the internal space of the image. An orthogonal plan is any plan for a building or city that is based exclusively on right angles, such as the grid plan of many major cities.

Front 25

Vanishing Point

Back 25

In a perspective system, the point on the horizon line at which orthogonals meet. A complex system can have multiple vanishing points.

Front 26

Foreshorten

Back 26

the illusion created on a flat surface in which figures and objects appear to recede or project sharply into space. Accomplished according to the rules of perspective.

Front 27

Linear Perspective

Back 27

a system for representing three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface by delineating a horizon line and multiple orthogonal lines. These recede to meet at one or more points on the horizon (called vanishing points), giving the appearance of spatial depth.

Front 28

Peristyle

Back 28

surrounding colonnade in Greek architecture. A peristyle building is surrounded on the exterior by a colonnade. Also: a peristyle court is an open colonnaded courtyard, often having a pool and garden.

Front 29

Sfumato

Back 29

Italian term meaning “smoky,” soft, and mellow. In painting, the effect of haze in an image. Resembling the color of the atmosphere at dusk, sfumato gives a smoky effect.

Front 30

Lunette

Back 30

a semicircular wall area, framed by an arch over a door or window. Can be either plain or decorated.

Front 31

Spandrel

Back 31

The area of wall adjoining the exterior curve of an arch between its springing and the keystone, or the area between two arches, as in an arcade

Front 32

Ignudo

Back 32

heroic figures of nude young men

Front 33

Baldachin

Back 33

a ceremonial canopy of stone, metal, or fabric over an altar, throne, or doorway.

Front 34

Tenebrism

Back 34

lighting technique. Chiaroscuro (pulling light out of darkness). Dark background with strong, single light source to pop parts out.

Front 35

Still life

Back 35

a type of painting that has as its subject inanimate objects (such as food, dishes, fruit, or flowers)