Survey of World Art I: Prehistoric to Renaissance [C2VPA] - Maddox

characterize

to discern and describe the mood, tone, nature, personality or affect conveyed, evoked or reprsented in a work of art, literature, poetry or architecture, either in the work considered as a whole or in particular features.

affect

in a work of art the term refers to mood, feeling or attitude

affective

relating to mood, feeling or attitude

iconography

the study of a group of representative pictures or symbols

iconology

the study of visual imagery and its symbolism and interpretation, especially in social or political terms.

formal analysis

the visual analysis of artistic form

acheulean (hand axe)

stone tool industry of the early and middle pleistoscene characterized by the presence of bifacial hand axes & clevers, associated with Homo erectus and early homo sapiens

paleolithic

the first period of the Stone Age, called the Old Stone Age, from about 2 million years ago to around 8000 B.C.E.

mesolithic

the "middle" Stone Age, between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic ages. (era for cognitive change)

neolithic

the period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution. It follows the Paleolithic period.

parietal art (wall paintings)

art executed on permanent features such as cave walls, rock shelters, and large blocks of rock

therianthrop

part animal and part human figure

modeling

process of creating the illusiion of three-dimensionality on a 2D surface by use of light and shade.

high relief

depending upon the extent of projection of the image from the background

post and lintel construction

architectural system of construction with two or more vertical elements (posts) supporting a horizontal element (lintel)

corbel/corbelling

roofing and arching technique in which each course of stone projects slightly beyond the previous layer (a corbel) until the uppermost corbels meet.

corbelling arch/corbelled vault

an arch or vault formed by courses of stones, each of which projects beyond the lower course until the space is enclosed; usually finished with a capstone

megalith

large stone used in some prehistoric architecture

menhir (single;upright megalith)

a large uncut stone erected as a monument in the prehistoric era; a standing stone

cromlech

a circle of megaliths

alignment

an arrangment of menhirs in lines

henge

circular area enclosed by stones or wood posts set up by Neolithic peoples. It is usually bounded by a ditch and raised embankment.

ziggurat

a tall stepped tower of earthen materials, often supporting a shrine

cella

the principal interior room at the center of a greek or roman temple within which the cult statue was usually housed. (aka naos)

registers

in painting, a register indicates the use of differing groundlines to differentiate layers of space within an image. in a sculpture, self-contained bands of reliefs are placed vertically.

hieratic scale

the use of differences in size to indicate relative importance

compositive view

a way of reprsenting a figure so that part of it is seen in profile and part of it is seen frontally

votive figure

an image created as a devotional offering to a deity

hypostyle hall

a large interior room characterized by many closely spaced columns that support its roof

ba

the aspect of the egyptian individual that marks him or her as an individual. it refers to those non-physical properties that make a person unique.

ka

almost indefinable. usually referred to as the creative life-force of each individual, human or divine. It marks the difference between the living and the dead, and comes into being at birth. It must be united with the ba in order for the akh to come into being.

akh

the enduring and unchanging form of the deceased in the afterlife created by the reunion of the ba and the ka.

mastaba

a flat-topped, one-story structure with slanted walls built over an ancient Egyptian underground tomb.

sarcophagus

a stone coffin. often rectangular and decorated with relief sculpture.

necropolis

a large cemetery or burial area; literally a "city of the dead"

pyramid

huge, triangular shaped burial tombs of Egyptian pharaohs built during the Old Kingdom

sed festival

an ancient Egyptian festival theoretically held 30th year of the reign of a king that reestablishes the power and authority of the king over Egypt

ben-ben

a pyramidal shaped stone that is a fetish of the sun god Re (or Ra). It is the prototype for the obelisk and perhaps for the pyramid. The gilded cap stone of the pyramids were called "benbenet."

obelisk

in ancient Egypt it is a four-sided, shaft carved out of a single block of stone and finished at the top with a pyramiding. it represents the sun and is set up in ritual spaces.

pyramidion

(a small shaped pyramidal shaped object), for this course it refers to the pyramid-shaped block on the top of an obelisk

relief sculpture

a three-dimensional image or design whose flat background surface is carved away to a certain depth, setting off the figure.

apotropaic

to ward off evil

clerestory

in a basilica, the topmost zone of a wall with windows, extending above the aisle roofs. provides direct light into the nave.

peristyle court

an oepn colonnaded courtyard, often having a pool and garden

faience

type of ceramic covered with colorful, opaque glazes that form a smooth, impermeable surface. first developed in ancient Egypt.

sunken relief

when the image is carved below the original surface of the background, which is not cut away

ossuary (ossuaries)

a place or receptacle for the placement of bones of the dead

chthonic

of or pertaining to deities, spirits, or other beings that dwell beneath the earth or underworld

rhyton

a vessel in the shape of a figure or an animal, used for drinking or pouring liquids on special occasions

buon fresco

if the plaster is painted when wet, the color is absorbed by the plaster, becoming a permanent part of the wall

fresco secco

created by painting on dried plaster, and the color may eventually flake off

repoussé

a technique of pushing or hammering metal from the back to create a protruding image. elaborate reliefs are created by pressing or hammering metal sheets against carved wooden forms.

beehive tomb

a corbel-vaulted tomb, conical in shape like a beehive, and covered by an earthen mound.

cyclopean construction

a method of construction using huge blocks of rough-hewn stone. any large-scale, monumental building project that impresses by sheer size. named after the cyclopes, one-eyed giants of legendary strength in greek myths.

megaron

the main hall of a mycenaean palace or grand house.