Art History All Vocab Words

Abbey

a monastery for monks, or a convent for nuns, and the church that is connected to it

Abstract

works of art that may have form, but have little or no attempt at pictorial representation

Academy

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

Acropolis

literally, a “high city,” a Greek temple complex built on a hill over a city

Action painting

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

Adobe

a building material made from earth, straw, or clay dried in the sun

Agora

a public plaza in a Greek city where commercial, religious, and societal activities are conducted

‘Ahu ‘ula

Hawaiian feather cloaks

Aka

an elephant mask of the Bamileke people of Cameroon

Aerial perspective

see Perspective

Altarpiece

a painted or sculpted panel set atop an altar of a church

Ambulatory

a passageway around the apse or an altar of a church

Amphiprostyle

having four columns in the front and rear of a temple

Amphora

a two-handled ancient Greek storage jar

Anamorphic image

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

Andachtsbild

an image used for private contemplation and devotion

Animal style

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

Ankh

an Egyptian symbol of life

Annunciation

in Christianity, an episode in the Book of Luke 1

Anthropomorphic

having characteristics of the human form, although the form itself is not human

Apadana

an audience hall in a Persian palace

Apocalypse

last book of the Christian Bible, sometimes called Revelations, which details God’s destruction of evil and consequent rising to heaven of the righteous

Apotheosis

a type of painting in which the figures are rising heavenward

Apotropaic

having the power to ward off evil or bad luck

Apse

the end point of a church where the altar is

Aquatint

a kind of print that achieves a watercolor effect by using acids that dissolve onto a copper plate

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, they are called a blind arcade

Arcadian

a simple rural and rustic setting used especially in Venetian paintings of the High Renaissance; it is named after Arcadia, a district in Greece to which poets and painters have attributed a rural simplicity and an idyllically untroubled world

Archaeology

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

Architrave

a plain nonornamented lintel on the entablature

Archivolt

a series of concentric moldings around an arch

Ashlar masonry

carefully cut and grooved stones that support a building without the use of concrete or other kinds of masonry

Assemblage

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

Athena

Greek goddess of war and wisdom; patron of Athens

Atmospheric perspective

see Perspective

Atrium

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-named because it is designed along an axis

Bandolier bag

a large heavily beaded pouch with a slit on top worn at the waist with a strap over the shoulder

Baptistery

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

Barrel vault

see Vault

Basilica

in Roman architecture, a large axially planned building with a nave, side aisles, and apses. In Christian architecture, an axially planned church with a long nave, side aisles, and an apse for the altar

Bas-relief

a very shallow relief sculpture

Bay

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

Bent-axis

an architectural plan in which an approach to a building requires an angular change of direction, as opposed to a direct and straight entry

Bi

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

Biombos

folding free-standing screens

Biomorphism

a movement that stresses organic shapes that hint at natural forms

Bodhisattva

a deity who refrains from entering nirvana to help others

Bottega

the studio of an Italian artist

Buddha

a fully enlightened being; there are many Buddhas, the most famous of whom is Sakyamuni, also known as Gautama or Siddhartha

Bundu

masks used by the women’s Sande society to bring girls into puberty

Bust

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

Byeri

in the art of the Fang people, a reliquary guardian figure

Calligraphy

decorative or 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

(Latin, meaning “dark room”) a box with a lens which captures light and casts an image on the opposite side

Caprice

usually a work of art that is an architectural fantasy; more broadly any work that has a fantasy element

Cantilever

a projecting beam that is attached to a building at one end and 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

Caricature

a drawing that uses distortion or exaggeration of someone’s physical features or apparel in order to make that person look foolish

Caryatid

a column in a building that is shaped like a female figure

Cassone

a trunk intended for storage of clothing for a wife’s trousseau

Casta paintings

paintings from New Spain showing people of mixed races

Catacomb

an underground passageway used for burial

Cathedral

the principal church of a diocese, where a bishop sits

Cella

the main room of a temple where the god is housed

Central plan

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

Chacmool

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

Chalice

a cup containing wine used in a Christian ceremony

Chapter house

a building next to a church used for meetings

Chasing

to ornament metal by indenting into a surface with a hammer

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

Cinquecento

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 that can be used as a mold for liquid metal

Clerestory

the third, or window, story of a church; also, a roof that rises above lower roofs and thus has window space beneath

Cloissonné

enamelwork in which colored areas are separated by thin bands of metal, usually gold or bronze

Close

an enclosed gardenlike area around a cathedral

Codex

a manuscript book

Coffer

in architecture, a sunken panel in a ceiling

Coiling

a method of creating pottery in which a rope-like strand of clay is wrapped and layered into a shape before being fired in a kiln

Collage

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

Colophon

1) a commentary on the end panel of a Chinese scroll; 2) an inscription at the end of a manuscript containing relevant information on its publication

Color field

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

Composite column

one that contains a combination of volutes from the Ionic order and acanthus leaves from the Corinthian order

Compound pier

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

Confucianism

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

Cong

a tubular object with a circular hole cut into a square-like cross section

Continuous narrative

a work of art that contains several scenes of the same story painted or sculpted in continuous succession

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

Corinthian

an order of ancient Greek architecture similar to the Ionic, except that the capitals are carved in tiers of leaves

Coyolxauhqui

an Aztec moon goddess whose name means “Golden Bells”

Cornice

a projecting ledge over a wall

Cubiculum

a Roman bedroom flanking an atrium; in Early Christian art, a mortuary chapel in a catacomb

Cuneiform

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