Art History semester 1 2025/2026 UAntwerpen

Disegno

physical act of drawing and the intellectual capacity to invent a creative design

Mimesis

imitation of nature; imitative representation of the real world

Suprematism

a form of abstract art that rejected realism, using simple geometric shapes and limited colors to express pure feeling and a non-objective, spiritual reality, influencing later modern art.

Canon

The conventional timeline of artists who are sometimes considered as foundational 'Old Masters' or 'Great Artists'

Aerial perspective

the technique of creating an illusion of depth by depicting distant objects as paler, less detailed, and usually bluer than near objects

Renaissance

European cultural revival beginning around 1400 that drew on classical ideals, humanism, and scientific advances, marking a transition from medieval traditions to the Early Modern age

Humanism

emphasized human experiences, emotion, and individual potential, drawing on classical inspiration to focus on realism, anatomy, and the dignity of the human form

Bas Relief

a method of moulding, carving, or stamping in which the design stands out from the surface to a lesser extent than in high relief

Linear perspective

a method of representing space scientifically using one vanishing point, making space appear ordered, measurable, and harmonious, as seen in idealized city views

Medici patronage

the financial support of artists, thinkers, and scientists by the Medici family, helping drive the Renaissance and a major cultural and intellectual flourishing

Al fresco

painting technique where pigments are applied to wet plaster, allowing the colors to bond with the wall as it dries, creating durable murals

Feudalism

land was allocated by feudal lords to their vassal in exchange for an obligation of personal loyalty, military assistance and tax revenue

Patronage

wealthy burghers started supporting art, moving it beyond the church into private homes, where it reflected social status, education, and taste, while also influencing more personal details in religious commissions

Contraposto

pose in art where the figure's weight rests on one leg, creating a natural, relaxed stance that suggests movement and realism

Illuminated manuscripts

hand-written books decorated with elaborate designs, gold, and vivid colors, often used for religious texts and created in the Middle Ages

Grisaille painting

technique that uses shades of gray to create a monochromatic image, often to mimic sculpture or emphasize form and volume

Tromple-l'œil

painting technique that creates an optical illusion, making two-dimensional images appear three-dimensional and realistic

Tempera

fast-drying paint made from pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder like egg yolk, producing a matte, precise finish

Oil paint

uses pigment suspended in oil, dries slowly, allows blending, layering, and rich, luminous colors, and became dominant in Renaissance art

Memento mori

artistic theme reminding viewers of mortality, often using symbols like skulls, hourglasses, or decaying objects to reflect on the transience of life

Triptych

a picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged together vertically and used as an altarpiece

Chiaroscuro

use of contrast of light and dark to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects and figures

World landscape

style featuring a high horizon and aerial perspective, where vast landscapes include religious or mythological figures that give the scene its meaning

Devotional paintings/Modern Devotion

small, portable artworks for private religious practice, emphasizing personal meditation, emotional engagement, and empathy with Christ's Passion. Popular in 15th-century Low Countries and Germany, they were linked to the Devotio Moderna movement and influenced genres like devotional diptychs, declining after the Protestant Reformation.

Advantages of oil paint

it offers artists greater flexibility, allows highly detailed observation, realistic shading and figure modeling, and supports the idea of a painting as a mirror of reality

Diptych

two paintings which form a pair, often attached by a hinge and often used for private devotion

Polyptych

a work of art which is divided into multiple sections or panels, generally used as an altarpiece

Caravaggism

style inspired by Caravaggio, marked by dramatic chiaroscuro (strong light and dark contrasts), realistic depictions of figures, and intense emotional expression

Counter-Reformation

the Catholic Church's response to Protestantism, reaffirming doctrine (Council of Trent), promoting education and missions (Jesuits), and enforcing conformity (Inquisition). It influenced art and architecture, encouraging elaborate, emotionally engaging works in churches

Baroque

17th-century art style characterized by drama, movement, and emotion, featuring dynamic compositions, theatrical spaces, strong chiaroscuro, illusionism, and expressive, often theatrical figures designed to engage and move the viewer

Rubens' workshop practice

combined high quality with high output, employing assistants to handle tasks like grinding pigments, copying compositions, and painting minor details, while Rubens focused on designing compositions, executing major commissions, retouching, and signing works

Artists' collaborations

involved working with other artists, like Jan Brueghel the Elder, to enhance the artwork's quality, appeal, and value, often creating pieces prized as special collector's items

Genre painting

17th-century Northern Netherlands depicted domestic interiors, reflecting social roles, the feminization of home, ideals of privacy and intimacy, and the growing wealth and taste of Protestant households

Empiricism

the philosophy that knowledge comes from sensory experience rather than innate ideas. In the arts, it inspired realism, careful observation, and the use of optical tools like the camera obscura to study and represent the visible world

Mind-Body Dualism

Descartes' idea separating the immaterial mind from the physical body, influenced the arts by inspiring interest in human sensation, emotions, and the inner life, encouraging artists to explore the interplay of rationality, emotion, and individual psychology

Golden Age

traditionally describes 17th-century Dutch art but is problematic because the era's wealth relied on colonialism and exploitation. Today, historians prefer neutral terms like Seventeenth-Century Dutch art

Tronie

originated from portrait studies of heads or faces used by artists like Rubens and Rembrandt as references for larger works, later becoming an independent, collectible genre valued for its expressive character rather than identity

Landscape painting

flourished in 17th-century Northern Netherlands, often featured in interiors, using central and aerial perspective. Artists employed repoussoir—foreground elements at the edges—to guide the viewer's eye and enhance depth

Still-life paintings

emerged in the late 16th-century Low Countries as an independent genre, depicting objects that reflected wealth, lifestyle, and values. Many works carried symbolic meaning—e.g., musical instruments for harmony, clocks or candles for fleeting time—and vanitas still lifes reminded viewers of mortality

Cabinet pictures

combined multiple genres in a single work, often with allegorical meaning, showcasing artistic skill and collaboration. They were linked to art and curiosity cabinets—collections of paintings, sculptures, coins, shells, and scientific instruments—reflecting a universal interest in the world and empiric knowledge.

Delft Blue

17th-century Dutch ceramics inspired by Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, reflecting wealth, exoticism, and global trade. Imported Asian porcelain arrived via the Dutch East India Company through Batavia, and Delft became a major center for reinterpretations like tulip vases, symbolizing Dutch craftsmanship and identity

The Dutch Republic

liberal society economically, religiously, and politically, promoting progressive ideas including women's education and professional development, which contributed to a growing number of women artists despite some restrictions

Rococo

18th-century art style known for lavish decoration, irregular and asymmetric forms, opulence, pastel colors, and seashell-inspired ornamentation, creating a playful and picturesque effect

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture

ounded under Charles Le Brun, freed art from guild control, established painting and sculpture as intellectual professions, and centralized art production in France. It offered structured training in theory and practice, including drawing and composition, while admitting women but restricting access to nude models

Salon

gatherings in private homes or public spaces where Enlightenment ideas were shared and debated. These forums, part of the broader Republic of Letters, fostered a transnational intellectual community exchanging ideas through correspondence and print

Prix de Rome

founded in 1663 by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, was a competition awarding top art students with a multi-year study trip to Rome, aiming to train France's next generation of leading artists. It inspired similar competitions across Europe

The Poussinistes vs. Rubenists debate (1671) in the French Royal Academy

argued whether drawing (line) or color was more important in painting. Poussinists, following Nicolas Poussin, valued clarity, logic, and drawing. Rubenists, following Rubens, emphasized color and visual appeal. The debate, with nationalistic undertones, ended in 1717 when Antoine Watteau's 'The Embarkation for Cythera' was accepted, establishing fête galante and favoring color

Hierarchy of Genres

classified artistic subjects by intellectual and technical demands. History painting—religious, mythological, and allegorical—ranked highest for its complex compositions and human figures. Portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, animals, and still lifes followed, with still lifes lowest. Women artists were generally limited to the lower genres.

Enlightenment

emphasized reason, individual liberty, empiricism, and natural rights, promoting knowledge through observation and challenging traditional beliefs.

Rationalism

valued reason and science as primary sources of knowledge, inspiring figures like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu to question tradition and advance societal progress.

Linda Nochlin and institutional critique: In her 1971 essay 'Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?",

Nochlin challenged the art historical canon and questioned the notion of "greatness" itself. She argued that women were historically excluded from key institutions—art academies, salons, and access to training like life drawing—which created systemic barriers to success. Her work highlighted how art is socially and institutionally determined, not merely the product of individual genius, and became foundational to second-wave feminist art history and theory.

Social history of art

The French Revolution abolished the monarchy, proclaimed civil rights, and led to Napoleon's reforms and wars across Europe until 1815. After his defeat, the Congress of Vienna restored conservative monarchies, but liberal and nationalist ideas persisted among the urban middle class. The 1830 July Revolution in France and the Belgian Revolution inspired broader bourgeois movements, while the 1848 revolutions sought national unification and expanded rights, leaving a legacy of political liberalization despite mostly failing.

Salon style

Exhibitions were centralized and strictly regulated, with a jury deciding admission. Exposure and critical reception determined artistic careers, giving national and international appeal. Drawing a fully nude woman was acceptable only in mythological scenes.

Academism / Academic art

Continued the neo-classicist tradition, with history painting as the highest genre. Emphasized study of the ideal body, drawing, antique-inspired themes, symmetry, balance, highly finished surfaces, and harmonious composition.

Traditional academic training

Centralized education at academies focused on classical ideals, study of antique models, and drawing from nude models for men only. Competitions like the Prix de Rome encouraged excellence. Women were excluded from nude studies but could train in private studios or academies.

Impressionism

19th-century art movement focused on capturing fleeting effects of light and color, everyday scenes, and the artist's immediate perception, often with loose brushwork and outdoor settings.

Japonism

the influence of Japanese art and design on Western artists in the late 19th century, seen in flat color planes, asymmetrical compositions, decorative patterns, and themes drawn from nature and everyday life.

Cultural nationalism

used arts and heritage to define national identity, expressing political legitimacy, promoting national architectural styles, and reviving folk traditions and myths as symbols of nationhood.

Invention of photography

Louis Daguerre created the metal-based daguerreotype, and Henry Fox Talbot developed the paper-based calotype and salt print. Photography challenged painting's role in representation, inspired new artistic concerns with light and perception, and expanded the documentation of social life, history, and monuments.

Romanticism

emerged in the early 19th century as a reaction against Enlightenment rationalism and Neo-Classicism. It emphasized emotion, imagination, individuality, and the sublime, portraying the artist's inner world, human feelings in landscapes, and a spiritual or philosophical vision of art.

Realism

emerged in the mid-19th century, focusing on direct observation of contemporary life rather than imagination or idealization. Artists like Gustave Courbet depicted everyday subjects and social conditions, aiming to represent the world truthfully.

Plein-air painting

painting outdoors to observe nature directly, practiced by artists like Corot and Millet in the Barbizon School, it influenced Impressionism and often depicted peasants and rural life with dignity and realism.

Courbet, 1855

Courbet's works were rejected by the official Universal Exhibition jury, so he organized the Pavilion of Realism outside the official fair. This asserted his independence and marked the formal establishment of Realism, setting a precedent for independent exhibitions.

Salon des Refusés, 1863

Two-thirds of submitted works, including Courbet and Manet, were rejected by the Salon jury. Emperor Napoleon III allowed the public to view the refused paintings. The exhibition was a success, legitimizing the avant-garde and challenging academic authority. Manet's Luncheon on the Grass was a notable work shown.

First Impressionist Exhibition, 1874

Organized by artists rejected by the Paris Salon, including Monet, Morisot, Renoir, and Pissarro. The exhibition gained fame after a satirical review called it "The Exhibition of the Impressionists," a term derived from Monet's Impression, Sunrise.

Neo-Classicism

19th-century movement inspired by Greek and Roman art, emphasizing ideal forms, symmetry, and clarity. It influenced decoration, museum displays, and private interiors, reflecting industrialization and the tastes of the rising bourgeoisie.

Carving (sculpture)

Subtractive sculptural technique. Starting with a solid block (e.g. stone, marble, wood), the sculptor removes material using chisels and other tools to 'reveal' the finished form.

Modeling (sculpture)

Additive sculptural technique, in which material is steadily built up to produce the finished figure. Unlike carving, the sculptor often also has the option of correcting mistakes by removing or reshaping the material. Modeling requires a malleable or plastic material (e.g. clay, wax, plaster, papier-mâché) which can later be cured or fired to set it hard.

Plaster casting

Casting is a method of producing one or more copies of a sculpture. Typically, the original sculpture is modeled as usual and covered with a molding material that sets hard when dry. The mold is then separated to release the original sculpture. Once the mold is reassembled, the casting material is poured into the void and left to set.

Clay model

An original sculpture or prototype, often made from water-based clay, which can be shaped and then dried or fired.

Bozzetto

A small terracotta sketch of a sculpture.

Plaster mould

A negative copy of the original clay model.

Plaster model

A positive copy of the original sculpture created from the mould.

Praticien

Assistant in the art-making process. While the artist focused on sketching and modeling, praticiens handled tasks like plaster casting and transferring models into durable materials such as stone. Bronze casting was often done in specialized studios.

Salon d'Automne

founded in Paris in 1903 as an alternative to the conservative Paris Salon. It became a hub for modern art, showcasing the birth of Fauvism in 1905 and Cubism in 1910, and promoting experimental and avant-garde exhibitions.

Armory Show, New York 1913

introduced the American public to modern European art, featuring artists like Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, Picasso, Matisse, and Duchamp. It marked the first major exposure of German and Parisian modernism in the US and helped spread modernist ideas internationally.

Symbolism

emphasized inner vision over naturalistic representation. Artists, often academically trained, turned to myths, dreams, and spirituality, influenced by figures like Goya and occult ideas.

Fauvism (Salon d'Automne, 1905)

featured intense colors, wild brushwork, and anti-naturalist shapes. Critics called the artists "Les Fauves" (the wild beasts). Fauvism projected inner emotions, influenced by Van Gogh and Cézanne, and was centered in France.

Expressionism (Northern and German-speaking regions)

used distorted forms, intense colors, and wavy lines to express anxiety, love, and death. Notable works include Paula Modersohn-Becker's *Self-Portrait at 6th Wedding Anniversary* and Käthe Kollwitz's The Mothers.

Analytic Cubism (Picasso, Braque)

broke forms into multiple viewpoints and overlapping planes, simplified geometry, flattened perspective, and used muted colors, paving the way for abstraction.

Synthetic Cubism

introduced collage, mixed media, brighter colors, simpler shapes, and flatness, exemplified by Picasso's *Guitar, Sheet Music and Glass* (1912), influencing Dada photomontage.

Der Blaue Reiter

Munich-based Expressionist group active from 1910 to 1916, including Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and Gabriele Münter. They explored spiritual abstraction, with Kandinsky pioneering non-figurative, spontaneous, and organic painting, often influenced by music and synesthesia.

Dada

anti-art movement reacting to World War I, embracing absurdity, anti-rationalism, and anti-bourgeois politics. It introduced new media such as photomontage, ready-mades, and performance, influencing conceptual and performance art. Marcel Duchamp's ready-mades, like Fountain (1917), emphasized concept over craftsmanship, while Hannah Höch's photomontages, such as Cut with the Kitchen Knife (1919), critiqued society, politics, and gender roles with fragmented, chaotic imagery.

Surrealism

early 20th-century movement exploring the unconscious, dreams, and the irrational. Influenced by Freud, it aimed to reveal hidden desires and the imagination through unexpected juxtapositions, automatism, and symbolic imagery. Artists like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst combined precise technique with fantastical, illogical scenes to challenge reality and reason, blending reality and dream in provocative, often unsettling ways.

Pop Art (1950s-1970s)

used everyday consumer objects, logos, and mass-media imagery to question art hierarchies and the meaning of art, often taking objects out of context.

Conceptual Art (1960s-1970s)

prioritized ideas over the finished object. Artists like Joseph Beuys challenged social structures, using any material, including perishable items, with execution often being secondary. Preservation and authenticity posed challenges.

Body Art / Performance

used the artist's body as medium. Works were often documented via photography or video, raising questions about preservation. Marina Abramović explored endurance and objectification in interactive performances.

Land Art

involved sculpting landscapes or using natural materials in site-specific works, usually experienced through photographs rather than in person.

CoBrA / Abstract Expressionism (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam)

emphasized spontaneity, collaboration, intense colors, rough brushwork, and influences from children's art, mythology, and folk traditions.

Arte Povera

used everyday or "worthless" materials like rocks or newspapers to critique commercialization and embrace minimalism, performance, and conceptual strategies.

Viennese Actionism

featured shocking live performances with the body, blood, animal carcasses, and ritualized violence, confronting society, taboo, and conservatism, exemplified by Hermann Nitsch, Otto Mühl, and Adolf Frohner's Blood Organ (1962).