Art History Notes All

What is the shape and structure of an artwork?

Form

How is an artist organizes forms within a work?

Composition

What are the material used and the method of applying it?

Materia & Technique

What defines an object’s outer shape?

Line

What are hues applied to surfaces?

Colors

What is the quality of a surface, perceived visually or tactilely?

Texture

What is the container for objects, including mass, volume, and density?

Space

What is the illusion of three-dimensional depth on a two-dimensional plane?

Perspective

Parallel lines converge at ____ points on the horizon line.

Vanishing

What is the compression of objects angled toward the viewer, creating depth?

Foreshortening

What is the relationship in size among parts of a composition?

Proportion

The earliest known cave paintings date to approximately ____ BC.

28,000

Paleolithic artists favored ____ views of animals to display all body parts.

Profile

Humans were ____ depicted in Paleolithic cave art, often as hand silhouettes.

Rarely

Hohlenstein-Stadel is located in ____.

Germany

The Hohlenstein-Stadel statuette is made of ____.

Ivory

The Venus of Willendorf was found in ____.

Austria

The Venus of Willendorf has exaggerated ____ traits.

Fertility

The Laussel Relief features a reclining ____ holding a horn.

Nude

The Altamira cave is located in ____.

Spain

The Altamira cave is famous for its depictions of ____.

Bulls

The Lascaux cave is located in ____.

France

The Chauvet cave is known for its ____ animal depictions.

Vivid

Chauvet cave uses oldest known ____ perspective.

Non-twisted

The Bison fragment is carved from ____.

Antler

The Madeline de la Madeleine features a complex ____ pose.

Cross-legged

Paleolithic art prioritized convincing animal ____ over originality.

Representation

The Neolithic period transitioned from portable art to built ____.

Environments

Göbekli Tepe is the world's oldest known ____ complex.

Religious

Göbekli Tepe features T-shaped ____ with animal motifs.

Pillars

Jericho was one of the first settlements with permanent stone ____.

Fortifications

Çatalhöyük was a dense settlement with dry-plaster ____ paintings.

Wall

Çatalhöyük had communal shrines containing ____ horns.

Bull

Uruk and Lagash are examples of Mesopotamian ____.

City-states

Cuneiform tablets were used for recording administration and ____.

Literature

Cylinder seals were used to identify and secure ____.

Goods

The Standard of Ur has a War side and a ____ side.

Peace

The Stele of Vultures commemorates Eannatum’s victory over ____.

Umma

The Warka Vase depicts a ritual offering to the goddess ____.

Inanna

Figures on the Warka Vase are placed on a ____ line.

Ground

The Narmer Palette unites Upper and Lower ____.

Egypt

____ designed the Step Pyramid of Djoser.

Imhotep

The Pyramids of Giza were built with ____ casing.

Limestone

The Pyramids of Giza are oriented east and ____.

North

Middle Kingdom sculpture began to depict ____.

Age

Rock-cut tombs replaced ____ forms in the Middle Kingdom.

Mastaba

____ are massive gateways with sloping walls.

Pylons

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut records an expedition to ____.

Punt

Ramses II Temple is aligned with summer & winter ____.

Solstices

The Amarna Period featured naturalistic, ____ forms.

Elongated

The Palette of Narmer portrays the ____ of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Unification

Imhotep was the first named ____ in history.

Artist

Cycladic statuettes predominantly depict nude ____.

Females

Cycladic statuettes have abstracted ____ heads.

Geometric

The Palace of Knossos features frescoes in ____ fresco technique.

Buon

Minoan columns are wider at the ____.

Top

Mycenaean Cyclopean masonry uses massive stone blocks without ____.

Mortar

____ arch & dome transfer weight to the sides.

Corbelled

The Geometric Period lasted from 900 to ____ BCE.

700

Geometric motifs include meanders and ____.

Zigzags

The Orientalizing Period introduced Near-Eastern ____.

Motifs

The Archaic Period featured ____ style with triangular faces.

Daedalic

The Classical Period emphasized naturalistic ____.

Anatomy

A ____ is a large mixing vessel used in funerary contexts.

Krater

An ____ is a tall storage jar for wine or oil.

Amphora

Hero-centaur scenes mark the ____ period.

Orientalizing

Hero-centaur scenes introduced ____ into visual art.

Storytelling

Black-Figure technique renders figures as black ____.

Silhouettes

Black-Figure technique was invented by ____ potters.

Corinthian

Red-Figure technique leaves figures the natural ____ of the clay.

Red

____ and Euthymides pioneered the Red-Figure technique.

Euphronios

White-Ground technique is limited to funerary ____.

Lekythoi

Doric columns are sturdy and ____.

Fluted

Doric capitals are plain and simple ____.

Echinus

Doric friezes feature triglyphs and ____.

Metopes

Ionic columns are slender and feature ____.

Volutes

Ionic capitals have scroll-like ____.

Volutes

Ionic friezes are ____.

Continuous

The Doric order was typically found in mainland ____.

Greece

The Ionic order was typically found in the eastern Greek ____.

Islands

A Kouros is a free-standing nude ____.

Male

A Kore is a clothed ____.

Female

The Kritios Boy shows the first known weight ____.

Shift

____ developed the Canon of ideal proportions.

Polykleitos

Etruscan temples have wider, front-only ____.

Columns

Etruscan sarcophagi commonly depict a reclining ____.

Couple

The Tomb of the Leopards features vibrant ____ scenes.

Bird

Veristic portraits emphasize aged ____.

Realism

Roman concrete enabled structures without external ____.

Support

The Caracalla Baths could accommodate approximately ____ bathers.

600

Define "ka."

Egyptian concept of the life force or soul.

What is a "mastaba?"

An ancient Egyptian tomb with a flat roof and sloping sides.

What are "ushabtis?"

Small figurines placed in Egyptian tombs to perform tasks in the afterlife.

Define "Cyclopean masonry."

A type of construction using massive, irregular stones without mortar, characteristic of Mycenaean architecture.

What is a "corbelled arch?"

An arch formed by progressively projecting courses of stone or brick.

Name one possible purpose of Paleolithic cave paintings.

Hunting magic, shamanic rituals, or storytelling

What is the significance of the twisted perspective seen in the Altamira cave paintings?

It shows the animal's head in profile but the horns from the front for better clarity.

What is unique about the structures in Çatalhöyük?

They were attached, roofed structures with communal shrines containing bull horns.

What does the presence of fortifications in Jericho suggest about Neolithic society?

Possible intergroup conflict and the need for defense.

What information can be gathered from cylinder seals?

Mesopotamian dress, diet, and religious practices