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Final Exam Vocab
200 vocab words
160
Art History
Undergraduate 1
05/07/2009

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Term
achromatic
Definition
Having no color without identifiable hue. Most blacks, whites, grays and browns.
Term
acrylic
Definition
A clear plastic used as a binder in paint and as a casting material in sculpture.
Term
aesthetic
Definition
The philosophy of art focusing on questions regarding what art is
Term
afterimage
Definition
visual image that remains after an initial stimulus is removed
Term
allegory
Definition
a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.
Term
ambulatory
Definition
an aisle surrounding the end of the choir or chancel of a church.
Term
analogous colors
Definition
colors sit next to each other on the color wheel. They tend to look pleasant together because they are closely related.
Term
aperture
Definition
an opening, usually circular, that limits the quantity of light that can enter an optical instrument.
Term
applied art
Definition
any type of art done with a practical application; the application of design and aesthetics to objects of function and everyday use
Term
apse
Definition
a semicircular or polygonal termination or recess in a building, usually vaulted and used esp. at the end of a choir in a church.
Term
aqueduct
Definition
a bridgelike structure that carries a water conduit or canal across a valley or over a river.
Term
arcade
Definition
a series of arches supported by column or piers
Term
armature
Definition
a skeletal framework built as a support on which a clay, wax, or plaster figure is constructed.
Term
artist's proof
Definition
a trial print, usually made as an artist works on a plate or block to check work
Term
ashlar masonry
Definition
The strongest and most suitable stonework for monumental architecture
Term
asymmetrical
Definition
Without symmetry
Term
atmospheric perspective
Definition
a technique of rendering depth or distance in painting by modifying the tone or hue and distinctness of objects perceived as receding from the picture plane, esp. by reducing distinctive local colors and contrasts of light and dark to a uniform light bluish-gray color.
Term
balance
Definition
arrangement of parts achieving a state of equilibrium between opposing forces or influence.
Term
Baroque
Definition
17th century period in Europe characterized in the visual arts by dramatic lights and shades
Term
barrel vault
Definition
semicircular arch extended in depth; a continuing series of arches one behind the other
Term
bas
Definition
Term
Basilica
Definition
an early Christian or medieval church of the type built esp. in Italy, characterized by a plan including a nave, two or four side aisles, a semicircular apse, a narthex, and often other features, as a short transept, a number of small semicircular apses terminating the aisles, or an atrium. The interior is characterized by strong horizontality, with little or no attempt at rhythmic accents. All spaces are usually covered with timber roofs or ceilings except for the apse or apses, which are vaulted.
Term
Bauhaus
Definition
a school of design established in Weimar in 1919 by Walter Gropius, moved to Dessau in 1926, and closed in 1933 as a result of Nazi hostility.
Term
binder
Definition
material used in paint that causes pigment particles to adhere to one another
Term
Bodhisattva
Definition
a person who has attained prajna, or Enlightenment, but who postpones Nirvana in order to help others to attain Enlightenment
Term
Book of Hours
Definition
a book containing the prescribed order of prayers, readings from Scripture, and rites for the canonical hours.
Term
burin
Definition
a tempered steel rod, with a lozenge-shaped point and a rounded handle, used for engraving furrows in metal.
Term
buttress
Definition
any external prop or support built to steady a structure by opposing its outward thrusts, esp. a projecting support built into or against the outside of a masonry wall.
Term
Byzantine art
Definition
noting or pertaining to the architecture of the ________ and to architecture influenced by or imitating it: characterized by masonry construction, round arches, impost blocks, low domes on pendentives, the presence of fine, spiky foliage patterns in low relief on stone capitals and moldings, and the use of frescoes, mosaics, and revetments of fine stone to cover whole interiors.
Term
camera obscura
Definition
a darkened boxlike device in which images of external objects, received through an aperture, as with a convex lens, are exhibited in their natural colors on a surface arranged to receive them: used for sketching, exhibition purposes, etc.
Term
cantilever
Definition
a bracket for supporting a balcony, cornice, etc.
Term
cartoon
Definition
a full-scale design for a picture, ornamental motif or pattern, or the like, to be transferred to a fresco, tapestry, etc.
Term
casting
Definition
to form (an object) by pouring metal, plaster, etc., in a fluid state into a mold and letting it harden.
Term
Cathedral
Definition
the principal church of a diocese, containing the bishop's throne.
Term
ceramic
Definition
of or pertaining to products made from clay and similar materials, as pottery and brick, or to their manufacture
Term
chiaroscuro
Definition
the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, esp. to enhance the delineation of character and for general dramatic effect
Term
choir
Definition
the part of a cruciform church east of the crossing
Term
clapboard
Definition
a long, thin board, thicker along one edge than the other, used in covering the outer walls of buildings, being laid horizontally, the thick edge of each board overlapping the thin edge of the board below it.
Term
closed form
Definition
Term
coffers
Definition
one of a number of sunken panels, usually square or octagonal, in a vault, ceiling, or soffit.
Term
collage
Definition
a technique of composing a work of art by pasting on a single surface various materials not normally associated with one another, as newspaper clippings, parts of photographs, theater tickets, and fragments of an envelope.
Term
colonnade
Definition
a series of regularly spaced columns supporting an entablature and usually one side of a roof.
Term
complementary colors
Definition
one of a pair of primary or secondary colors opposed to the other member of the pair on a schematic chart or scale (color wheel), as green opposed to red, orange opposed to blue, or violet opposed to yellow.
Term
composition
Definition
the organization or grouping of the different parts of a work of art so as to achieve a unified whole.
Term
conceptual art
Definition
art in which emphasis is placed on the means and processes of producing art objects rather than on the objects themselves and in which the various tools and techniques, as photographs, photocopies, video records, and the construction of environments and earthworks, are used to convey the message to the spectator.
Term
continuous narrative
Definition
have been called “Bibles in stone.” Sculpture recounting the heroic deeds of kings and generals are common, especially in Assyria and Rome
Term
contour line
Definition
a line joining points of equal elevation on a surface.
Term
contrapposto
Definition
a representation of the human body in which the forms are organized on a varying or curving axis to provide an asymmetrical balance to the figure.
Term
cool colors
Definition
the blues and greens of the color spectrum, associated with water, sky, ice, and cooler temperatures
Term
cross-hatching
Definition
to mark or shade with two or more intersecting series of parallel lines.
Term
Cubism
Definition
a style of painting and sculpture developed in the early 20th century, characterized chiefly by an emphasis on formal structure, the reduction of natural forms to their geometrical equivalents, and the organization of the planes of a represented object independently of representational requirements.
Term
curtain wall
Definition
an exterior wall having no structural function
Term
curvilinear
Definition
consisting of or bounded by curved lines
Term
drapery
Definition
hangings, clothing, etc., as represented in sculpture or painting.
Term
dressed
Definition
to fit (furniture) around and between pages in a chase prior to locking it up.
Term
drypoint
Definition
a technique of engraving, esp. on copper, in which a sharp-pointed needle is used for producing furrows having a burr that is often retained in order to produce a print characterized by soft, velvety black lines.
Term
earthworks
Definition
an artistic work that consists of a large-scale alteration or modification of an area of land in a configuration designed by an artist or of an artist's sculptural installation, as in a museum or gallery, of soil, rock, or similar elemental materials
Term
edition
Definition
one of a series of printings of the same book, newspaper, etc., each issued at a different time and differing from another by alterations, additions, etc.
Term
elevation
Definition
a drawing or design that represents an object or structure as being projected geometrically on a vertical plane parallel to one of its sides.
Term
encaustic
Definition
painted with wax colors fixed with heat, or with any process in which colors are burned in.
Term
entasis
Definition
a slight convexity given to a column or tower, as to correct an optical illusion.
Term
etching
Definition
the act or process of making designs or pictures on a metal plate, glass, etc., by the corrosive action of an acid instead of by a burin.
Term
facade
Definition
the front of a building, esp. an imposing or decorative one.
Term
fixative
Definition
a chemical substance, as sodium thiosulfate, used to promote fixation.
Term
fluting
Definition
something having ornamental grooves, as a Greek column
Term
flying buttress
Definition
a segmental arch transmitting an outward and downward thrust to a solid buttress that through its inertia transforms the thrust into a vertical one.
Term
folk art
Definition
artistic works, as paintings, sculpture, basketry, and utensils, produced typically in cultural isolation by untrained often anonymous artists or by artisans of varying degrees of skill and marked by such attributes as highly decorative design, bright bold colors, flattened perspective, strong forms in simple arrangements, and immediacy of meaning.
Origin:
Term
foreshortening
Definition
to reduce or distort (parts of a represented object that are not parallel to the picture plane) in order to convey the illusion of three-dimensional space as perceived by the human eye: often done according to the rules of perspective
Term
format
Definition
the organization, plan, style, or type of something
Term
fresco
Definition
the art or technique of painting on a moist, plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture
Term
frieze
Definition
the part of a classical entablature between the architrave and the cornice, usually decorated with sculpture in low relief.
Term
front elevation
Definition
Term
genre painting
Definition
a genre depicting everyday life
Term
glaze
Definition
a thin layer of transparent color spread over a painted surface.
Term
gouache
Definition
A method of painting with opaque watercolors mixed with a preparation of gum.
Term
gum Arabic
Definition
a water-soluble, gummy exudate obtained from the acacia tree, esp
Term
Hierarchy of scale
Definition
Term
hue
Definition
the property of light by which the color of an object is classified as red, blue, green, or yellow in reference to the spectrum.
Term
hue
Definition
the property of light by which the color of an object is classified as red, blue, green, or yellow in reference to the spectrum.
Term
iconography
Definition
symbolic representation, esp. the conventional meanings attached to an image or images.
Term
impasto
Definition
the laying on of paint thickly.
Term
implied line
Definition
visually suggested by the arrangement of forms, lights and darks, or other elements in a work of art
Term
in situ
Definition
situated in the original, natural, or existing place or position
Term
intaglio
Definition
a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching
Term
intensity
Definition
the strength or sharpness of a color due esp. to its degree of freedom from admixture with its complementary color.
Term
key block
Definition
first woodcut used for printing
Term
keystone
Definition
the wedge-shaped piece at the summit of an arch, regarded as holding the other pieces in place
Term
kiln
Definition
a furnace or oven for burning, baking, or drying something, esp. one for firing pottery, calcining limestone, or baking bricks.
Term
kore
Definition
A sculpture representing a standing young woman clothed in long robes, especially one produced in Greece before the fifth century B.C
Term
kourous
Definition
a sculptured representation of a young man, esp. one produced prior to the 5th century b.c.
Term
line
Definition
a mark or stroke long in proportion to its breadth, made with a pen, pencil, tool, etc., on a surface
Term
linear perspective
Definition
a mathematical system for representing three-dimensional objects and space on a two-dimensional surface by means of intersecting lines that are drawn vertically and horizontally and that radiate from one point (one-point perspective), two points (two-point perspective), or several points on a horizon line as perceived by a viewer imagined in an arbitrarily fixed position.
Term
lintel
Definition
a horizontal architectural member supporting the weight above an opening, as a window or a door.
Term
lith
Definition
a combining form meaning “stone”
Term
lithography
Definition
the art or process of producing a picture, writing, or the like, on a flat, specially prepared stone, with some greasy or oily substance, and of taking ink impressions from this as in ordinary printing.
Term
local color
Definition
the natural color of a particular object as it appears in normal light.
Term
mandala
Definition
a schematized representation of the cosmos, chiefly characterized by a concentric configuration of geometric shapes, each of which contains an image of a deity or an attribute of a deity.
Term
Mannerism
Definition
a style in the fine arts developed principally in Europe during the 16th century, chiefly characterized by a complex perspectival system, elongation of forms, strained gestures or poses of figures, and intense, often strident color.
Term
manuscrpit
Definition
the original text of an author's work, handwritten or now usually typed, that is submitted to a publisher
Term
matrix
Definition
(in a press or stamping machine) a multiple die or perforated block on which the material to be formed is placed
Term
Minimalism
Definition
a chiefly American style in painting and sculpture that developed in the 1960s largely in reaction against abstract expressionism, shunning illusion, decorativeness, and emotional subjectivity in favor of impersonality, simplification of form, and the use of often massive, industrially produced materials for sculpture, and extended its influence to architecture, design, dance, theater, and music.
Term
monochromatic
Definition
of or having one color
Term
montage
Definition
the technique of combining in a single composition pictorial elements from various sources, as parts of different photographs or fragments of printing, either to give the illusion that the elements belonged together originally or to allow each element to retain its separate identity as a means of adding interest or meaning to the composition
Term
mosaic
Definition
a picture or decoration made of small, usually colored pieces of inlaid stone, glass, etc.
Term
mosque
Definition
a Muslim temple or place of public worship
Term
mural
Definition
a large picture painted or affixed directly on a wall or ceiling
Term
nave
Definition
the principal longitudinal area of a church, extending from the main entrance or narthex to the chancel, usually flanked by aisles of less height and breadth: generally used only by the congregation.
Term
Neoclassical
Definition
of, pertaining to, or designating a style of painting and sculpture developed principally from the mid-18th through the mid-19th centuries, characterized chiefly by an iconography derived from classical antiquity, a hierarchical conception of subject matter, severity of composition and, esp. in painting, by an oblique lighting of forms in the early phase and a strict linear quality in the later phase of the style.
Term
neutrals
Definition
gray; without hue; of zero chroma; achromatic
Term
nocturne
Definition
A painting of a night scene
Term
non-objective
Definition
not representing objects known in physical nature; nonrepresentationa
Term
oculus
Definition
a circular opening, esp. one at the apex of a dome.
Term
opaque
Definition
not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.
Term
organic
Definition
of or pertaining to the shapes or forms in a work of art that are of irregular contour and seem to resemble or suggest forms found in nature.
Term
patina
Definition
a film or incrustation, usually green, produced by oxidation on the surface of old bronze and often esteemed as being of ornamental value.
Term
pediment
Definition
a low gable, typically triangular with a horizontal cornice and raking cornices, surmounting a colonnade, an end wall, or a major division of a façade
Term
pendentives
Definition
any of several spandrels, in the form of spherical triangles, forming a transition between the circular plan of a dome and the polygonal plan of the supporting masonry.
Term
picture plane
Definition
the plane of a painting, drawing, or the like, that is in the extreme foreground of a picture, is coextensive with but not the same as the material surface of the work, is the point of visual contact between the viewer and the picture, and is conceived as a major structural element in the production of abstract or illusionistic forms.
Term
pigment
Definition
a dry insoluble substance, usually pulverized, which when suspended in a liquid vehicle becomes a paint, ink, etc
Term
pilaster
Definition
a shallow rectangular feature projecting from a wall, having a capital and base and usually imitating the form of a column.
Term
plate mark
Definition
a mark made on paper by the edge of an intaglio plate during printing.
Term
pointillism
Definition
a theory and technique developed by the neo-impressionists, based on the principle that juxtaposed dots of pure color, as blue and yellow, are optically mixed into the resulting hue, as green, by the viewer.
Term
Pop Art
Definition
an art movement that began in the U.S. in the 1950s and reached its peak of activity in the 1960s, chose as its subject matter the anonymous, everyday, standardized, and banal iconography in American life, as comic strips, billboards, commercial products, and celebrity images, and dealt with them typically in such forms as outsize commercially smooth paintings, mechanically reproduced silkscreens, large-scale facsimiles, and soft sculptures.
Term
primary colors
Definition
a color, as red, yellow, or blue, that in mixture yields other colors
Term
proportion
Definition
symmetry, harmony, or balance
Term
pulled print
Definition
Term
rhythm
Definition
a patterned repetition of a motif, formal element, etc., at regular or irregular intervals in the same or a modified form.
Term
Rococo
Definition
a style of architecture and decoration, originating in France about 1720, evolved from Baroque types and distinguished by its elegant refinement in using different materials for a delicate overall effect and by its ornament of shellwork, foliage, etc.
Term
santero
Definition
a priest of Santería
Term
sarcophagus
Definition
a stone coffin, esp. one bearing sculpture, inscriptions, etc., often displayed as a monument.
Term
scale
Definition
any thin, platelike piece, lamina, or flake that peels off from a surface, as from the skin
Term
sculptor
Definition
a person who practices the art of sculpture
Term
secondary color
Definition
a color, as orange, green, or violet, produced by mixing two primary colors.
Term
section drawing
Definition
Term
setback
Definition
a recession of the upper part of a building from the building line, as to lighten the structure or to permit a desired amount of light and air to reach ground level at the foot of the building.
Term
sfumato
Definition
the subtle and minute gradation of tone and color used to blur or veil the contours of a form in painting.
Term
shade
Definition
the degree of darkness of a color, determined by the quantity of black or by the lack of illumination
Term
shape
Definition
the quality of a distinct object or body in having an external surface or outline of specific form or figure
Term
slip
Definition
to move, flow, pass, or go smoothly or easily; glide
Term
style
Definition
a particular kind, sort, or type, as with reference to form, appearance, or character
Term
subtractive sculpture
Definition
is the oldest form of sculpture and involves removing material, as in wood carving or stone sculpture, to create a finished work
Term
symbol
Definition
something used for or regarded as representing something else
Term
tenebrism
Definition
is a style of painting using violent contrasts of light and dark
Term
tessera
Definition
one of the small pieces used in mosaic work.
Term
texture
Definition
the characteristic visual and tactile quality of the surface of a work of art resulting from the way in which the materials are used.
Term
tint
Definition
a color or a variety of a color; hue
Term
tondo
Definition
a round painting or relief.
Term
tooth
Definition
a rough surface created on a paper made for charcoal drawing, watercolor, or the like, or on canvas for oil painting
Term
transept
Definition
any major transverse part of the body of a church, usually crossing the nave, at right angles, at the entrance to the choir.
Term
trompe l'oeil
Definition
visual deception, esp. in paintings, in which objects are rendered in extremely fine detail emphasizing the illusion of tactile and spatial qualities.
Term
truss
Definition
any of various structural frames constructed on principles other than the geometric rigidity of the triangle or deriving stability from other factors, as the rigidity of joints, the abutment of masonry, or the stiffness of beams.
Term
tusche
Definition
a greaselike liquid used in lithography as a medium receptive to lithographic ink, and in etching and silkscreen as a resist
Term
two-and-three-dimensional
Definition
Term
unity
Definition
a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.
Term
value
Definition
degree of lightness or darkness in a color.
Term
vertical placement
Definition
Term
voussoirs
Definition
any of the pieces, in the shape of a truncated wedge, that form an arch or vault.
Term
warm colors
Definition
the yellows and reds of the color spectrum, associated with fire, heat, sun, and warmer temperatures
Term
wash
Definition
to cover with a watery or thin coat of color
Term
woodcut
Definition
a carved block of wood from which prints are made.
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