ART HISTORY I - Terms (PART 2)

CHAPTERs - 12, 13, 14 & 15

incised

Cut or engraved

relief

Raised forms that project from a flat background

high relief

Raised forms that project far from a flat background

low relief

Raised forms that project only slightly form a flat background

sanctuary

A sacred space reserved for the worship of a deity

peristyle

A line of columns surrounding an enclosed space or structure

stylobate

The uppermost step leading to a temple, which creates the platform on which the colunms are situated

cella

The inner chamber of a temple, usually houses a cult statue

low-wax casting

A method of creating metal sculpture in which a clay mold surrounds a wax model and is then fired, wax melts away, molten metal is poured in to fill the space

metope

A plain or decorated slave on doric frieze, between triglyphs

capital

The distinct top section, usually decorative, of a column or pillar

kouros

A freestanding archaic statue of a naked young man

Doric Order

A greek architectural order characterized by a column with a space, circular capital, and a frieze of triglyphs and sculpted metopes

Ionic Order

An order of classical architecture characterized by the use of volutes on the capital

Corinthian Order

An order of classical architecture characterized by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with stylized leaves and scrolls

frieze

The part of an entablature located above the architrave

pediment

The triangular component that sits atop a columned porch, doorway, or window

Archaic smile

The upturned lips of an archaic sculpture

karyatid

A stone statue of a young woman, which can be used like a column to support the entablature of a temple

krater

A large vessel usually for diluting wine with water

agora

A public open space that functioned as a marketplace and center for politics and other assemblies

kore

A freestanding archaic greek statue of a clothed young woman

Panathenaic Festival

A multiple day event held annually in Athens that would celebrate the goddess Athena

contrapposto

A posture of the human body that shifts most weight onto one leg, suggesting ease and potential movement

“Canon of Polykleitos”

A treatise on creating and proportioning sculpture, the ideal proportions of the human body

“wet drapery”

Clothing that appears to cling to the body in folds and still reveals the form beneath

gigantomachy

A myth about a battle between the Olympian gods and Giants