APAH Vocab

Abstraction

Works of art that may have from 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 canvas in order to create his or her work

Aerial perspective (Atmospheric perspective )

Landscapes that give the illusion of distance

Allegory

Work of art that possess a symbolic meaning in addition to a literal interpretation

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

Amphora

A two-handeld 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 patter, 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 where the altar is

Aqueduct

An aboveground water system

Arabesque

A flowing, intricate, and symmetrical pattern deriving from floral motives

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

Acradian

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 idyllically untroubled world

Archaeology

The scientific study of an ancient people and cultures principally revealed through excavation

Architrave

A plan and non-ornamental lintel on the entablature

Archivolt

A series of concentric moldings around and 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

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 the axis

Baldacchino

A canopy placed over an altar or shrine

Baptistery

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

Barrel vault

An arch that is extended in space, forming a tunnel

Basilica

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

Bay

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; they are 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

A studio of an Italian artist

Buddha

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

Bust

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

Calligraphy

A 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

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

Campanile

A bell tower for an Italian building

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

Caryatid

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

Catacomb

An underground passageway used for burial

Cathedral

The principal church of a diocese, where a bishop sits

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 its back

Chaitya

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

Chalice

A cup used in a Christian ceremony

Chateau

A large country estate or manor house

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

In 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

Cloissonne

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

Cloister

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

Close

An enclosed gardenlike area around a cathedral

Coatlicue

An Aztec goddess who is characterized by a savagery only satisfied by human sacrifice

Codex (plural: codices)

A manuscript book

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 scroll; 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

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

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

Coyolxauhqui

An Aztec goddess who dies when she tries to assassinate her mother, Coatlicue

Cornice

A projecting ledge over a wall

Cromlech

A circle of megaliths

Cubiculum (plural: cubicula)

A Roamn bedroom flaking an atrium; in Early Christian art, a mortuary chapel in a catacomb

Cuneifrom

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 rotating achieved by an arch on it 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.

Daguerrotype

A type of early photograph, developed by Daguerre, which is characterized by a shiny surface, meticulous finish, and clarity of detail.

Daoism

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

Darshan

In Hinduism, the ability of a worshipper to see a deity and the deity to see the worshipper.

Di sotto in su

(see Quadro Riportato)

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.

Donjon

An inner stronghold of a castle complex.

Donor

A patron of a work of art who is often seen in that work.

Earthwork

A large outdoor work in which the earth itself its the medium.

Embroidery

A woven product in which the design is stitched into a premade fabric.

Encaustic

An ancient method of painting using colored waxes that are burned into a wooden surface.

Engaged columns

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.