Art History: (Test 2) Definitions

Front 1

Base

Back 1

Masonry supporting a statue or the shaft of a column

Front 2

Canon of Proportions

Back 2

A set of ideal mathematical ratios in art based on measurements of the human body

Front 3

Capital

Back 3

The sculptured block that tops a column

Front 4

Clerestory

Back 4

The topmost zone of a wall with windows in a bascilla extending above the aisle roofs. Provides direct light into the central interior space

Front 5

Colonnade

Back 5

A row of columns supporting a straight lintel

Front 6

Column

Back 6

An architechtural element used for support or decoration. Consists of a shaft placed on a base and topped by a capital

Front 7

Faience

Back 7

Type of ceramic covered with colorful, opaque glazesthat form a smooth, impermeable surface. First developed in ancient Egypt.

Front 8

Hypostyle Hall

Back 8

A large interior room characterized by many closely spaced columns that support its roof

Front 9

Mastaba

Back 9

A flat topped one story structure with slanted walls over an ancient Egyptian underground tomb

Front 10

Papyrus

Back 10

a material on which to write, prepared from thin strips of the pith of this plant laid together, soaked, pressed, and dried, used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans

Front 11

Rock-Cut Tombs

Back 11

Tombs in Beni Hasan in which columns, lintels, false doors and niches were carved out of rock. Typically had a portico, main hall, and shrine with a burial chamber

Front 12

Sarcophagus

Back 12

A stone coffin, often rectangular and decorated in relief sculpture

Front 13

Sunken Relief

Back 13

Relief in which the outlines of the figures have been carved into the surface of the stone rather than being formed by cutting away the stone

Front 14

Beehive Tomb

Back 14

A corbel vaulted tomb, conical in the shape of a beehive and covered by an earthen mound

Front 15

Citadel

Back 15

A fortress or defended city, if possible, placed in a high and commanding location

Front 16

Cyclopean

Back 16

A method of building using huge blocks of stone

Front 17

Niello

Back 17

A metal technique in which a black sulfer alloy is rubbed fine lines engraved in to a metal. When heated the alloy becomes fused with the surrounding metal and provides contrasting detail.

Front 18

Repousse

Back 18

A technique of hammering metal from the back to create a protruding image.

Front 19

Archaic Smile

Back 19

The curved lips of an Ancient Greek Statue, usually interpreted as an attempt to animate the features

Front 20

Black-Figure

Back 20

A style or technique of ancient Greek pottery in which black figures are painted on a red clay background

Front 21

Cella

Back 21

The prinipal interior room at the center of a Greek or Roman templewithin which the cult statue was usually housed

Front 22

Contrapposto

Back 22

Used to describe the twisted pose resulting from parts of the body set in opposition to each other around a central axis

Front 23

Doric

Back 23

Refers to a column without a base

Front 24

Kore/Korai

Back 24

Greek statue of a young woman

Front 25

Kouros/Kouroi

Back 25

An archaic Greek statue of a young man or boy

Front 26

Naos

Back 26

The principal room in a temple or church. In ancient architecture, this is the cella

Front 27

Pediment

Back 27

A triangular gable found over major architechtural elements such as classical greek porticos, windows, or doors

Front 28

Tholos

Back 28

A small round building, sometimes built underground such as a Mycenean tomb