Italian Renaissance Art Glossary

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Aerial perspective

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a perspective technique in which the illusion of depth is created by making distant forms less distinct than nearer forms. Also called atmospheric perspective.

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Baptistery

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a Christian building, usually round or octagonal, where baptisms are performed.

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Basilica

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a large, oblong Roman building with a nave and side aisles used for administrative purposes. It was adapted to the structure of Early Christian churches.

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Bust

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an image of a person's head, neck, and shoulders.

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Cartoon

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a preparatory drawing the same size as the projected painting.

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Chiaroscuro

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Italian for "light-dark"; gradual shading to create the illusion of three-dimensional form.

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Classical

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(1) the style of ancient Greece from c. 450-c. 400 B.C.; (2) used more generally to refer to Greek and Roman antiquity.

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Colonnade

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a series of columns.

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Contrapposto

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a twist at the waist resulting from a shift in the stance of the human body.

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Elongated

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having long or extended proportions.

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Facade

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the front of a building.

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Figura serpentinata

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Italian for "serpentine figure"; an S-shape pose characteristic of Mannerism.

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Foreshortening

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representing a form in perspective so that it appears to recede three-dimensionally on a two-dimensional surface.

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Forum

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an open square of an ancient Roman town consisting of temples, markets, and administration buildings.

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Fresco

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a painting technique in which waterbased pigments are applied to damp lime plaster and bond with the wall as the plaster dries. It is also called buon fresco, or true fresco. In fresco secco, the paint is applied to dry plaster and is less durable than true fresco.

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Gilding

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a gold coating on a sculpture or painting.

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Gothic

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referring to the European style that immediately preceded the Renaissance in western Europe. It generally includes the mid-twelfth through the sixteenth centuries, depending on the region.

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Hellenistic

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referring to the style of Late Greek antiquity, approximately 323 B.C.-A.D. 31.

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Icon (Iconic)

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a sacred image.

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Inlay

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a surface decorated by imbedding one material with pieces of a different material.

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Linear perspective

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a system of perspective in which diminishing scale creates the impression of distance on a flat surface.

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Mannerism

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a sixteenth-century style in western Europe.

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Medium

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the material of which a work of art is made.

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Mosaic

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a medium in which the artist uses small colored tiles, tesserae, to create an image, usually on a floor, wall, or ceiling.

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Naturalism

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the representation of things as they appear in nature.

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Nave

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the central aisle of a church or Roman basilica.

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Oculus (pl. oculi)

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a round opening, usually at the center of a dome or in a wall.

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Oil paint

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a medium in which pigments are mixed with an oil binder.

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One-point perspective

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a perspective system in which the orthogonals converge at a single vanishing point.

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Perspective

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a system for creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface. (See Aerial perspective, Di sotto in su, Linear perspective, One-point perspective.)

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Pigment

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in painting, the powdered material mixed with a binder that produces color.

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Relief sculpture

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a category of sculpture in which the image is raised from its original material. In low relief, the image is raised slightly from its background; in high relief, it stands out farther; in sunken relief, the image is below the surface of the background material.

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Schiacciato

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Italian for "squashed"; a type of low relief sculpture in which the very slight gradations of depth create an image having a pictorial quality.

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Sfumato

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Italian for "vanished in smoke"; a technique for creating form with very slight shifts in shading.

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Tapestry

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a woven fabric, usually decorated and meant to hang on a wall.

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Tempera

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a water-based paint thickened with egg yolk.

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Terra-cotta

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literally "cooked, or baked, earth"; unglazed clay that has been fired or the color of such an object.

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Tondo

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a round painting or relief sculpture.

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Vanishing point

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in one-point perspective, the point at which the orthogonals converge.

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Varnish

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a usually clear protective coating on the surface of a painting.

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Gold leaf

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thin hammered gold applied to paintings for decorative purposes; also the ground in certain Byzantine Renaissance paintings.