Art History Vocabulary (Exam 1)

Front 1

Pulpit

Back 1

A raised platform in a church or mosque where the priest or imam leads the religious service.

Front 2

Continuous Narrative

Back 2

Multiple stories or events shown in one scene.

Front 3

Maniera Greca

Back 3

Byzantine-style manner of art. Characterized by bold parallel lines, bold faces, stark colors.

Front 4

Saediae Sapientiae

Back 4

Seat of Wisdom; refers to the Virgin Mary.

Front 5

Barrel Vault

Back 5

A kind of simple vaulting in the roof.

Front 6

Tempera

Back 6

A painting technique using pigment mixed with egg yolk, glue, or casein.

Front 7

Predella

Back 7

The narrow ledge on which an altarpiece rests on an altar.

Front 8

Altar Christus

Back 8

Another Christ.

Front 9

Campanile

Back 9

A belltower of the Church, usually freestanding.

Front 10

Hieratic Scale

Back 10

Greater size indicates greater importance.

Front 11

Mendicant Orders

Back 11

Friars belonging to Franciscan or Dominican orders; they renounced worldly goods, lived in poverty, and devoted themselves to preaching, teaching, and doing good works.

Front 12

International Gothic

Back 12

A style of 14th and 15th century painting begun by Simone Martini. It includes brilliant colors, lavish costumes, intricate ornamentation, and themes involving splendid processions of knights and ladies. Appealed to aristocracy.

Front 13

Nave

Back 13

The central area of a basilica church, separated from aisles by piers or columns.

Front 14

Bay

Back 14

The space between two columns.

Front 15

Crossing

Back 15

The space in a Cruciform church formed by the intersection of the nave and the transept.

Front 16

Burgundy

Back 16

What is now southern France.

Front 17

Holy Roman Empire

Back 17

What is now central Europe.

Front 18

Low Countries

Back 18

Northwestern coastal region of Europe, around what is now Belgium and the Netherlands.

Front 19

Monastery

Back 19

A place for Monks to live and work.

Front 20

Carthusians

Back 20

A monastic order that is more secluded; focused on using silent prayer and physical labor to be religious.

Front 21

Cloister

Back 21

An open space surrounded by corridors or open halls.

Front 22

Fons Vitae

Back 22

The fountain of life.

Front 23

Winged Altarpiece

Back 23

An altarpiece with side panels that can open or close it.

Front 24

Diptych; triptych; polyptych

Back 24

Two, three, or more paintings attached to each other at a hinge.

Front 25

Manuscript illumination

Back 25

The decoration of manuscripts.

Front 26

Vellum

Back 26

A parchment of calfskin.

Front 27

Donor Portrait

Back 27

A painting where the portrait of the commissioner is shown somewhere in the image.

Front 28

Madonna Lactans

Back 28

The Virgin Mary lactates.

Front 29

Grisaille

Back 29

A painting entirely in monochrome.

Front 30

Oil Paint

Back 30

Paint made from oil, instead of from egg like tempera.

Front 31

Linseed Oil

Back 31

An oil often used to make oil paint.

Front 32

Gilding

Back 32

Gold leaf or paint applied to a painting.

Front 33

Woodcut Print

Back 33

A stamp made by carving negatively into a block of wood.

Front 34

Engraving

Back 34

Cutting grooves into a hard surface.

Front 35

Etching

Back 35

Using a corrosive material to cut into metal.

Front 36

Lost-wax castin

Back 36

Using wax to create a cast to create the finished sculpture in.

Front 37

Sculpture-in-the-round

Back 37

A sculpture that you can walk all the way around, unlike a relief sculpture.

Front 38

Schiacciato

Back 38

Very light relief.

Front 39

Confraternity

Back 39

An association created to promote special works of Christianity.

Front 40

Glazed Terracotta

Back 40

Made from clay.

Front 41

Neo-Platonism

Back 41

A renewal in Platonic philosophy.

Front 42

Apsidials

Back 42

Small apses.

Front 43

Loggia

Back 43

An open corridor with a roof.

Front 44

Trompe l'oeil

Back 44

Optical illusion that makes the image look 3d.

Front 45

Last Judgement

Back 45

The second coming.

Front 46

Di sotto in su

Back 46

Seen from below; ceiling perspective.

Front 47

atmospheric perspective

Back 47

Further away objects are more hazy.

Front 48

sfumato

Back 48

Soft, hazy transitions.

Front 49

chiaroscuro

Back 49

contrasted light and shadow.

Front 50

pyramidal composition

Back 50

Figures shown in a triangular composition.

Front 51

refectory

Back 51

Dining hall of a Christian monastery.

Front 52

sacra conversazione

Back 52

Image depicting the Virgin and Child amidst various saints in a relatively informal grouping.

Front 53

studiolo

Back 53

A study.

Front 54

scuola

Back 54

Clubhouses for confraternities in Venice.