Art History, Exam 1

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Chrysography

Back 1

Gold writing; contributes to ornateness; i.e. gold on robes

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Polyptych

Back 2

A work consisting of 4 or more panels put together

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Gilding

Back 3

applying thin sheets of gold to a piece of work

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Gesso

Back 4

glue applied as a primer on paintings

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transubstantiation

Back 5

The doctrine stating that the body and blood of Christ is truly contained within the bread and wine of the Eucharis

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Modeling

Back 6

process for creating the illusion of three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface

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Chiaroscuro

Back 7

juxtaposition of light and dark pigments to represent light and shade in illusionistic painting

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monumentality

Back 8

appearance of largeness or massiveness

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foreshortening

Back 9

Rendering a figure or object from an unusual point of view, so that its length appears compressed

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difficulta

Back 10

describe a feature in a painting or sculpture that involves special skills on the part of the artist; i.e. make a convincing rendering of a figure from an unusual point of view (foreshortening)

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Italo-Byzantine

Back 11

practiced in Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries, incorporating features derived from Byzantine models such as chrysography and stylized, elongated faces.

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symbolic scale

Back 12

scaling of figures in a composition according to their relative importance, rather than their actual relative size.

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antithesis

Back 13

type of ornamentation in which opposites are set in contrast with one another

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chasing

Back 14

Part of the final process of polishing and incising done on a piece of cast metal sculpture after it has been removed from its mold.

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contrapposto

Back 15

weight shift in stance of figure of a piece of work

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atmospheric perspective

Back 16

A means of creating the illusion of depth in a painting by reducing the contrast between light and dark on objects that one wishes to suggest are further away

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optical modeling

Back 17

modeling of an object in accordance with how it appears to sight rather than in accordance with its known characteristics. For instance, when one looks at a human face from a distance, one sees a pattern of light and dark, although one knows that the face contains a nose with nostrils, eyes with eyelashes, etc.

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sfumato

Back 18

a subtle transition from light to dark that creates an appearance of softness

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di sotto in su

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"From below, looking upwards." A method of illusionistic ceiling painting using perspective and extreme foreshortening to create a convincing illusion

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centering

Back 20

Wooden framework used to construct an arch, vault or dome

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symbolic scale

Back 21

scaling of figures in a composition according to their relative importance, rather than their actual relative size.

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modularity & proportion

Back 22

Terms used to describe the architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi, who used a square module as the basic unit for his church plans. Because all of the parts of the church are based on this single module, all of the parts of the church are proportionate to each other.

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sacra conversatzione

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A type of altarpiece in which saints from different epochs are posed around, and occupy the same illusionistic space as, the Virgin and Child

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classical order

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In classical architecture, the parts of a temple elevation may be in different proportional ratios to one another and be decorated with different types of ornamentation. The three major classical orders are called Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

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Vitruvius

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Ancient Roman architect and architectural theorist active 46-30 BCE; his treatise De Architectura (On Architecture)

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variety

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viewer is provided not simply with many examples of the same thing, (e.g., 4 lambs standing all in a row; a garden filled with roses) but with many different things (e.g., 4 lambs in different poses; a field of varied plants and flowers).

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latin cross

Back 27

A type of church plan in which the nave is longer than the transept, producing three short arms and one long arm

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facade

Back 28

The front of a building, on which the main entrance is usually located.

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pediment

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A low-pitched gable, or triangular structure that sits atop the portico of a building constructed in the Greco-Roman style, often held aloft by columns supporting an entablature (triangle at top)

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triumphal arch

Back 30

A free-standing gateway structure erected by ancient Roman emperors after a military victory. In form, they usually consisted of a rectangular block with either one archway through its center, or three archways, the central one of which was larger than the two lateral ones.

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pilaster

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A shallow pier or rectangular column projecting only slightly from a wall.

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colossal (or gigantic) order

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Columns or pilasters that rise from their base through several stories of a building. This type of column or pilaster creates lines that continue upward without being stopped at each horizontal cornice; thus an impression of height or monumentality is created by the use of the colossal order.

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barrel vault

Back 33

A simple form of vault (i.e., arched ceiling) that consists of a rounded or pointed arch extended into space.

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coffers

Back 34

Sunken square or polygonal ornamental panels used as decoration on a ceiling or vault.

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glazing

Back 35

A method of painting in oils which involves the application of a transparent layer of dark paint on top of an opaque layer of light paint.

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disguised symbolism

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A term sometimes used in describing 15th-century Flemish paintings; it refers to naturalistically depicted, everyday objects that may also be laden with symbolic meaning.

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naturalism

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A style term used to describe art that presents the world in accordance with optical reality.

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triptych

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A painting (most often an altarpiece) consisting of three panels, usually hinged together.

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combinatory fantasy

Back 39

creative faculty that could take apart images stored in the memory and recombine their various parts to make new forms

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hatching

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in engraving, a series of parallel lines suggesting shadow

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humanists

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scholars who studied and wrote literature, history and ethics in classical Latin and sometimes in classical Greek

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humanist art

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using a style imitating or emulating that of classical antiquity