AP Art History Vocabulary (AP Art History Glossary)

(source: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByrPKAfvK3DDYmNjOGE3OGYtNWQ5NS00YTU2LWI3YzAtMGMzMDUyODEzMGRh/view?resourcekey=0-o-WjWPoScb7Z-19giIbQqw (AP Art History Study Guide Glossary))

Abstract

works that may have form but little to no attempt at pictoral representation

Academy

an institution whose main objectives include training artists in an academic tradition, ennobling the profession, and holding exhibitions

Acropolis

A fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city; "high city"

Action painting

an abstract painting in which the artist drips or splatters paint onto a surface like a canvas in order to create his or her work

Aerial Perspective

the technique of representing more distant objects as fainter and more blue.

Allegory

A work of art that possesses a symbolic meaning in addition to a literal representation

Altarpiece

a panel, painted or sculpted, situated above and behind an altar

Ambulatory

a passageway around the apse or an altar of a church

Amphora

a two-handled Greek storage jar

Anamorphic Image

an image that must be viewed by a special means, such as a mirror, in order to be recognized

Animal Style

a medieval art form in which animals are depicted in a stylized and often complicated pattern, usually seen fighting with one another

Apadana

an audience hall in a Persian palace

Apotheosis

a type of painting in which the figures are rising heavenward

Apse

the end point of a church

Aqueduct

an aboveground water system

Arabesque

a flowing intricate and symmetrical pattern deriving from floral motifs

Arcade

A series of arches supported by columns ;when the arches face a wall and are not self supporting (blind arcade)

Archeology

the scientific study of ancient people and cultures principally revealed through excavation

Architrave

a plain, unornamented lintel on the entablature

Archivolt

a series of concentric moldings around an arch

Assemblage

A three-dimensional work made of various materials such as wood, cloth, paper, and miscellaneous objects

Atmospheric perspective

Creating the illusion of depth of space by fading colors and eliminating detail in objects that are further away.

Artrium

A courtyard in a roman house or before a christian church

Avant-garde

an innovative group of artists who generally reject traditional approaches in favor of a more experimental technique

Axial plan (Basilican plan, Longitudinal plan)

a church with a long nave whose focus is the apse, so-called because it is designed along an axis

Baldacchino

A canopy placed over an altar or a shrine

Baptistery

in medieval architecture, a separate chapel or building in front of a church used for baptisms

Barrel Vault

a vault forming a half cylinder

Basilica

In Roman architecture, a civic building for legal and other civic proceedings, rectangular in plan with an entrance usually on a long side. In Christian architecture, a church somewhat resembling the Roman basilica, usually entered from one end and with an apse at the other.

bay (church)

A vertical section of a church that is embraced by a set of columns and is usually composed of arches and aligned windows

Benday dots

Named for inventor Benjamin Day; this printing process uses the pointillist technique of colored dots from a limited palette placed closely together to achieve more colors and subtle shadings

bi

a round ceremonial disk found in ancient Chinese tombs; characterized by having a circular hole in the center, which may have symbolized heaven

Biomorphism

A movement that stresses organic shapes that hint at natural forms

Bodhisattva

a deity who refrains from entering nirvana to help others

Book of hours

a book of prayers to be said at different times of day, days of the year

Bottega

the studio of an Italian artist

Buddah

a fully enlightened being

Bust

a sculpture depicting a head, neck, and upper chest of a figure

Calligraphy

art of beautiful handwriting

Calotype

A type of early photograph, developed by William H. F. Talbot, that is characterized by its grainy quality; a calotype is considered the forefather of all photography because it produces both a positive and a negative image

camera obscura

a box with a lens which captures light and casts an image on the opposite side

campanile

the detached bell tower of an Italian church

Cantilever

a projecting beam that is attached to a building at one end, but suspended in the air at the other

Canvas

a heavy woven material used as the surface of a painting; first widely used in Venice

Capital

the top element of a column

Caryatid

(male: atlantid); a building column that is shaped like a female figure

Catacomb

an underground passageway used for burial

Cathedral

the principal church of a diocese, with which the bishop is officially associated.

Cella

The main room of a greek temple where the god is housed

Central Plan

a church having a circular plan with the altar in the middle

Chacmool

a Mayan figure that is half-sitting and half-lying on his back

Chaitya

A rock-cut shrine in a basilican form with a stupa at the endpoint

Chalice

A cup used in a Christian ceremony

Chateau

an impressive country house (or castle) in France

Chevet

the east end of a gothic church

Chiaroscuro

a gradual transition from light to dark in a painting. Forms are not determined by sharp outlines, but by the meeting of lighter and darker areas

Choir

a space in a church between the transept and the apse for a choir or clergymen

Cinquecentro

the 1500s, or sixteenth century, in Italian art

cire perdue

the lost wax process. A bronze casting method in which a figure is modeled in clay and covered with wax and then recovered with clay. When fired in a kiln, the wax melts away, leaving a channel between the two layers of clay which can be used as a mold for liquid metal

Clerestory

the third, or window, story of a church

Cloister

a rectangular open-air monastery courtyard with a covered arcade surrounding it

Close

an enclosed gardenlike area around a cathedral

Codex

manuscript in book form

Coffer

in architecture, a sunken panel in a ceiling

Collage

a composition made by pasting together different items onto a flat surface

colophon

a commentary on the end panel of a Chinese handscroll

color field

a style of abstract painting characterized by simple shapes and monochromatic color

compound pier

a pier that appears to be a group or gathering of smaller piers put together

Confucianism

a philosphical belief begun by confucius that stresses education, devotion to family, mutual respect, and traditional culture

Contrapposto

a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees

corbel arch

a vault formed by layers of stone that gradually grow closer together as they rise until they eventually meet

cornice

a projecting ledge over a wall

Cromlech

a circle of megaliths

cubiculum

a roman bedroom

Cuneiform

a system of writing in which the strokes are formed in a wedge or arrowhead shape

cupola

a small dome rising over the roof of a building; in architecture, a cupola is achieved by rotating an arch on its axis

Cyclopean Masonry

A type of construction that uses rough massive blocks of stone piled one atop the other without mortar. Named for the mythical Cyclops.

cylinder seal

a round piece of carved stone that when rolled onto clay produces an image

Dagueereotype

a type of early photograph, developed by Daguerre, which is characterized by a shiny surface, meticulous finish, and clarity of detail. Daguerreotypes are unique photographs; they have no negative

Daosim

a philosophical belief begun by Laozi that stresses individual expression and a striving to find balance in one's life

di sotto in su

Italian, "from below upwards." A technique of representing perspective in ceiling paintings.

Documentary Photography

a type of photography that seeks social and political redress for current issues by using photographs as a way of exposing society's faults

donor

a patron of a work of art, who is often seen in that work

embriodery

a woven product in which the design is stitched into a pre-made fabric

Encaustic

an ancient method of painting that uses colored waxes burned into a wooden surface

Engaged column

a column that is not freestanding but attached to a wall

engraving

A printmaking process in which a tool called a burin is used to carve into a metal plate, causing impressions to be made in the surface. Ink is passed into the crevices of the plate, and paper is applied. The result is a print with remarkable details and finely shaded contours.

Entablature

the upper story of a Greek temple

Etching

A printmaking process in which a metal plate is covered with a ground made of wax. The artist uses a tool to cut into the wax to leave the plate exposed. The plate is then submerged into an acid bath, which eats away at the exposed portions of the plate. The plate is removed from the acid, cleaned, and ink is filled into the crevices caused by the acid. Paper is applied and an impression is made. Etching produces the finest detail of the three types of early prints.

exemplum virtutis

a painting that tells a moral tale for the viewer

facade

the front of a building

Fan Vault

a type of vault so-named because a fanlike shape is created when the vaults spring from the floor to the ceiling, nearly touching in the space directly over the center of the nave. They are usually highly decorated and filled with rib patterns

Ferroconcrete

steel reinforced concrete; the two materials act together to resist building stresses

fete galante

an eighteenth-century French style of painting that depicts the aristocracy walking through a forested landscape

Fetish

(n.) an object believed to have magical powers

Flying Buttress

A stone arch and its pier that support a roof from a pillar outside the building. Flying buttresses also stabilize a building and protect it from wind sheer.

Foreshortening

a visual effect in which an object is shortened and turned deeper into the picture plane to give the effect of receding in space

Forum (plural: fora)

a public square or marketplace in a Roman city

Fresco

a painting technique that involves applying water based paint onto a freshly plastered wall. The paint forms a bond with the plaster that is durable and long-lasting

Frieze

a horizontal band of sculpture