Art History Terms

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abacus

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The uppermost portion of the capital of a column.

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abbess

Back 2

the chief nun who presides over an abbey

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abbey

Back 3

a monastic community under the rule of an abbot or abbess

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abbot

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the chief monk who presides over an abbey

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abrasion

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the rubbing or grinding of stone or another material to produce a smooth finish.

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acropolis

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greek, "high city", usually the site of the city's most important temple(s)

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additive light

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the sum of all the wavelengths composing the visible spectrum.

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additive sculpture

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a kind of sculpture technique in which materials are built up or added to create form

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agora

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an open square or space used for public meetings or business in ancient greek cities

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aisle

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the portion of a basilica flanking the nave and separated from it by a row of columns or piers

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altarpiece

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a panel, painted or sculpted, situated above and behind an altar

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alternate-support system

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in church architecture the use of alternating wall supports in the nave, usually piers and columns or compound piers of alternating form

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amazonomachy

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in greek mythology, the legendary battle between the greeks and amazon

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ambo

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a church pulpit for biblical readings

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ambulatory

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a covered walkway, outdoors or indoors; especially the passageway around the apse and the choir of a church

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amphiprostyle

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the style of greek building in which the colonnade was placed across both the front and back, but not along the sides.

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amphitheater

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greek, "double theater". a roman building type resembling two greek theaters put together. the roman amphitheater featured a continuous elliptical cavea around a central arena

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amphora

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a two-handled jar used for general storage purposes, usually to hold wine or oil

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amulet

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an object worn to ward off evil or to aid the wearer

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andron

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dining room in a greek house

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antae

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the molded projecting ends of the walls forming the pronaos or opisthodomos of an ancient greek temple

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apadana

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the great audience hall in ancient persian palaces

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apotheosis

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elevated to the rank of gods, or the ascent to heaven

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apse

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a recess, usually semicircular, in the wall of a roman basilica or at the east end of a church

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arabesque

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"arab-like". a flowing, intricate pattern derived from stylized organic motifs, usually floral; generally, an islamic decorative motif

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arcade

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a series of arches supported by piers or columns

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arch

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a curved structural member that spans an opening and is generally composed of edge-shaped blocks that transmit the downward pressure laterally

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archaic smile

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in archaic greek sculpture, the smile sculptors represented on faces as a way of indicating that the person portrayed is alive

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architrave

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the lintel or lowest division of the entablature; also called the epistyle

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archivolt

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the continuous molding framing an arch

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arcuated

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arch shaped

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arena

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in a roman amphitheater, the central area where bloody gladiatorial combats and other boisterous events took place

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armature

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the crossed or diagonal arches that form the skeletal framework of a gothic rib vault. in sculpture the framework for a clay form

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arrises

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in doric columns the raised edges of the fluting

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ashlar masonry

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carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in construction fitted together without mortar

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atlantid

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a male figure that functions as a supporting column

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atrium

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the court of a roman house that is partly open to the sky

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attic

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the uppermost story of a building

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attribute

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a unique characteristic that identifies a figure

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attribution

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assignment of a work to a maker or makers

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baldacchino

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a canopy on columns, frequently built over an altar

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balustrade

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a railing held up by small posts, as on a staircase

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baptistery

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in christian architecture, the building used for baptism

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base

Back 44

in ancient greek architecture, the lowest part of ionic and corinthian columns

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basilica

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in roman architecture, a civic building for legal and other civic proceedings

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battlement

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a low parapet at the top of a circuit wall in a fortification

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bay

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the area between the columns or piers in the nave or aisles of a church

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ben-ben

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a pyramidal stone; a fetish of the egyptian god Re

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bestiary

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a collection of illustrations of real and imaginary animals

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bilingual vases

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experimental greek cases produced for a short time in the late 6th centure bce; one side featured black-figure decoration, the other red-figure

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black-figure painting

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

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blind arcade

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an arcade having no actual openings, applied as decoration to a wall surface

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block statue

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in ancient egyptian sculpture, a cubic stone image with simplified body parts.

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breviary

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a christian religious book of selected dialy prayers and psalms

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burin

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a pointed tool used for engracing or incising

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buttress

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an exterior masonry structure that opposes the lateral thrust of an arch or a vault. a pier buttress is a solid mass of masonry

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caduceus

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in ancient greek mythology, a magical rod entwined with serpents carried by hermes

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caldarium

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the hot-bath section of a roman bathing establishment

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caliph

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muslim rulers, regarded as successor of muhammad

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calligraphy

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greek, "beautiful writing." handwriting or penmanship, especially elegant writing as a decorative art

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cames

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the lead strips in stained-glass windows that join separate pieces of colored glass

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campanile

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a bell tower of a church, usually, but not always, freestanding.

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canon

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a rule, for example, of proportion

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canopic jar

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in ancient egypt, the container in which the organs of the deceased were placed for later burial with the mummy

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capital

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the uppermost member of a column

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Capitolium

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an ancient roman temple dedicated to the gods jupiter, juno, and minerva

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cardo

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the north-shouth street in a roman town

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Caroline minuscule

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the alphabet that carolingian scribes perfected, from which our modern alphabet was developed

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Carolingian

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pertaining to the empire of Charlemagne and his successors

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carpet pages

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in early medieval manuscripts, decorative pages resembling textiles

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caryatid

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a female figure that functions as a supporting column

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casting

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pouring a fluid substance such as bronze into a mold

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castrum

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a roman military encampment

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catacombs

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subterranean networks of rock-cut galleries and chambers designed as cemeteries for the burial of the dead

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cathedral

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a bishop's church

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cavea

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latin, "hollow place or cavity" the seating area in ancient greek and roman theaters

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cella

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the chamber at the center of an ancient temple

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centaur

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in ancient greek mythology, a fantastical creature, with the front or top half of a human and the back or bottom half of a horse

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centauromachy

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in ancient greek mythology, the battle between the greeks and centaurs

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cestrum

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a small spatula used in encaustic painting

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chamfer

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the surface formed by cutting off a corner of a board or post; a bevel

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chaplets

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metal pins driven through the investment to connect it to the clay core in the lost-wax process of casting

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chevet

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the eats, or apsidal, end of a gothic church

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chimera

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a monster of greek invention with the head and body of a lion and the tail of a serpent. a secion head, that of a goat, grows out of one side of a body

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chiton

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a greek tunic, the essential garment of both men and women

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choir

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the space reserved for the clergy and singers in the church

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christogram

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the three initial letters of christ's name in greek (XPI), which came to serve as a monogram for christ

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chryselephantine

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fashioned of gold and ivory

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ciborium

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a canopu, often freestanding and supported by four columns

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cista

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an etruscan cylindrical container made of sheet bronze with cast handles and feet, often with elaborately engraved bodies, used for women's toilet articles

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city-state

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an independent, self-governing city

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clerestory

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the fenestrated part of a building that rises above the roofs of the other parts

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cloison

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a cell made of metal wire or a narrow metal strip soldered edge-up to a metal base to hold enamel or other decorative materials

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cloisonnè

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a process of enameling employing cloisons; also, decorative brickwork in later byzantine architecture

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cloister

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a monastery courtyard

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codex

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separate pages of vellum or parchment bound together at one side; the predecessor of the modern book

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coffer

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a sunken panel, often ornamental, in a vault or a ceiling

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colage

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a composition made by combining on a flat surface various materials, such as newspaper, wallpaper, printed text and illustrations, photographs, and cloth

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colonnade

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a series or row of columns, usually spanned by lintels

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colonnette

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a thin column

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color

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the value or tonality of a color is the degree of its lightness or darkness

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column

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a vertical, wight-carrying architectural member

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complementary colors

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those pairs of colors, such as red and green, that together embrace the entire spectrum

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Composite capital

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a capital combining ionic volutes and corinthain acanthus leaves

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composition

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the way in which an artist organizes forms in an artwork

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compound pier

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a pier with a group, or cluster, of attached shafts, or responds, especially characteristic of gothic architecture

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conch

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half-dome

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concrete

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a building material invented by the romans and consisting of various proportions of lime mortar, volcanic sand, water, and small stones

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confraternity

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in late antiquity, an association of christian families pooling funds to purchase property for burial

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congregational mosque

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a large mosque designed to accommodate a community's entire population for the friday noonday prayer

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continuous narration

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in painting or sculpture, the convention of the same figure appearing more than once in the same space at different stages in a story

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contour line

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in art, a continuous line defining the outer shape of an object

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contrapposto

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the disposition of the human figure in which one part is turned in opposition to another part, creating a counterpositioning of the body about its central axis.