Art History Chapter 20

Feudalism

A way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.

Manuscript

The art of illustrating and decorating handwritten books (_____) with intricate designs, images, and gold, often creating "illuminated ________" that transformed texts into visual treasures.

Oil Paintings

A versatile art form using pigments mixed with a drying oil as a binder, allowing for rich colors, blending, and layers.

Tempera

A type of paint consisting of egg combined with a wet paste of ground pigment, these paintings have a velvet sheen.

Donor/Patron

Artworks commissioned by wealthy individuals (patrons) who often had themselves depicted within the piece (donors) to display piety, status, and secure eternal salvation.

Triptych

A work of art that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open.

Glaze

The technique of applying thin, transparent layers over a base medium to create luminosity, depth, and rich color in various art forms, including ceramics, oil painting, and acrylics.

Polyptych

A painting, typically an altarpiece, consisting of more than three leaves or panels joined by hinges or folds.

Altarpiece

A significant work of Christian art, typically a painting or sculpture, placed behind or above the altar in a church, serving as a visual aid to faith

Linear Perspective

An artistic technique using converging lines and vanishing points on a horizon line to create a realistic illusion of depth and space on a flat, two-dimensional surface,

Vanishing Point

The spot on the horizon line where parallel lines appear to converge and disappear,

Orthogonal

90 Degrees, or lines creating depth by receding to a vanishing point on the horizon line, making 2D surfaces seem 3D.

Grisaille

A monochromatic painting technique using only shades of gray (or sometimes brown/sepia) to create a realistic, sculptural illusion of depth.

Print

An original artwork made by transferring ink from an engraved or prepared surface (matrix-like woodblock, metal plate, stone, screen) onto paper or fabric, creating multiples (an edition)

Relief

A technique where figures and forms project from a flat, solid background, remaining attached to it, rather than being fully freestanding

Intaglio

A printmaking method where the image is incised into a surface (like copper or zinc), holding ink in sunken lines, opposite to relief printing

Edition

A set of multiple, original artworks, often prints, photographs, or sculptures, produced from a single matrix

Merode Altarpiece

Oil on oak panel triptych, Robert Campin

Ghent Altarpiece

Oil-on-wood polyptych by Hubert and Jan van Eyck

Arnolfini Portrait

Oil painting on oak panel by Jan van Eyck,

Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

Illuminated manuscript that was created between c. 1412 and 1416. It is a book of hours, which is a Christian devotional book and a collection of prayers said at canonical hours.

Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons

An engraving by Martin Schongauer depicting grotesque demons that swarm around Saint Anthony the Great