Art History Exam #1 Terms

Style

Naturalism

Realism

Idealization

Abstraction

Non-representational

Form

Content

Context

Patron

Person who commissions the art piece

Iconography

The visual images and symbols used in a work of art or in study/interpretation

Perceptual

Conceptual

Baptistery

A building or church space where baptisms happen

plasticity

making a medium take on the characteristics of what it depicts

modeling

A technique used by artists with live models to better render proportions

fresco

a style of painting directly onto wet plaster. Dries very quickly, no mistakes

Donor portrait

When the artists incorporates a portrait of the donor into the paiting itself

Foreshortening

As space retracts, objects become smaller

Allegory

a symbolic representation that conveys a deeper meaning, often moral or political, that's not explicitly stated

Humanism

a cultural movement that celebrated the human experience and form during the Renaissance

Altarpiece —>Triptych

A tri folding piece which has both outside and inside paintings

Predella

the long horizontal structure at the base or 'foot' of an altarpiece.

tempera

a painting technique that involves mixing pigments with a water-soluble binder, usually egg yolk.

oil

a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the binder.

glazes

transparent or semi-transparent layers of paint or a glassy coating that modify the appearance of an underlying layer

Atmospheric perspective

a technique used in painting to create the illusion of depth by depicting distant objects as less detailed, paler in color, and often with a bluish hue, mimicking how the atmosphere affects our perception of objects further away in real life;

Medici

A very powerful Florentine family who were the defacto rulers on florence Italy during the High Renaissance

Arcade

A series of arches

Loggia

a covered, open-sided space with columns or arches that was often used in villas and public squares

Pediment

Triangle at top of Roman sctructures

Piazza

Plaza

Roundel

Small cherub-like child, can be seen on Hosptial of the Innocents

Pilaster

Rectangular column, flat

Contrapoposto

Relaxed pose

relief

carved out of something

Lost wax casting

Gilding

an art technique that involves applying a thin layer of gold or other metal to a surface

Niche

discipline

Chiaroscuro

Creation of sense of volume

Leon Battista Alberti

• San Andrea Mantua facade architrecture

Linear perspective

a technique used by artists to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface by depicting parallel lines converging at a single point on the horizon line, called the vanishing point, which allows for a more realistic representationof three-dimensional space in a painting or drawing

Vanishing point

the point on the horizon line where parallel lines in a perspective drawing appear to converge, creating the illusion of depth and distance in a two-dimensional artwork

orthogonal

Lines which travel parallel to the line of sight

sacra conversazione

sacra conversazione, meaning "holy conversation", is a genre developed in Italian Renaissance painting, with a depiction of the Virgin and Child amidst a group of saints in a relatively informal grouping, a

Putto(putti)