ARTH 205 Exam 1 - Identifications

Iconography

Identifying and studying the subject matter and conventional symbols in works of art

Iconology

Interpreting works of art as embodiments of cultural situation by placing them within broad social, political, religious, and intellectual contexts

Parietal Art

wall paintings

Therianthrop

half-animal half-human figure

Modeling

in painting, the process of creating the illusion of three-dimensionality on a two-dimensional surface by use of light and shade. In sculpture, the process of molding a three-dimensional form out of a malleable substance

Post-and-lintel construction

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

Corbel, corbelling

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

corbeled arch and 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

Menhir

A single, upright megalith

Alignment

an alignment of menhirs

Ziggurat

In ancient Mesopotamia, a tall stepped tower of earthen materials, often supporting a shrine

Registers

A device used in systems of spatial definition.

In painting, a register indicates the use of differing ground-lines to differentiate layers of space within an image.

In relief sculpture, the placement of self-contained bands of reliefs in a vertical arrangement

Hierarchic Scale

the use of differences in size to indicate relative importance. For example, with human figures, the larger the figure, the greater his or her importance

Composite view

a way of representing 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

Ba

that 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

Ankh

A looped cross signifying life, used by ancient Egyptians

Sed Festival

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

Relief Sculpture

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

High relief

high extension of projection of the image from the background

Sunken relief

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

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

Rhyton

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

Humanism

the idea that human beings are the primary measure of all things

Rationalism

the belief that human reasoning is the source for understanding the world.

Idealism

a belief in and the pursuit of perfect forms. These forms may be political, social, economic, religious or artistic

Expressionism

Artistic styles in which aspects of works of art are exaggerated to evoke subjective emotions rather than to portray objective reality or elicit a rational response

Doric Order

The column shaft can be fluted or smooth-surfaced and has no base.

The Doric capital consists of an undecorated echinus and abacus.

The Doric entablature has a plain architrave, a frieze with metopes and triglyphs, and a simple cornice

Ionic Order

The column of the Ionic order has a base, a fluted shaft, and a capital decorated with volutes.

The Ionic entablature consists of an architrave of three panels and moldings, a frieze usually containing sculpted relief ornament, and a cornice with dentils

Corinthian Order

Includes a base and a fluted column shaft with a capital elaborately decorated with acanthus leaf carvings.

Its entablature consists of an architrave decorated with moldings, a frieze often containing relief sculpture, and a cornice with dentils

Kore

An Archaic Greek statue of a young woman

Kouros

An Archaic Greek statue of a young man or boy

Black-figure vase

a technique of ancient Greek ceramic decoration in which black figures are painted on a red clay ground

Red-figure vase

A technique of ancient Greek ceramic decoration characterized by red clay-colored figures on a black background.

The figures are reserved against a painted ground and details are drawn, not engraved

Contrapposto

An Italian term meaning ‘set against,’ used to describe the Classical convention of representing human figures with opposing alternations of tension and relaxation on either side of a central axis to give figures a sense of the potential for movement

Syncretism (syncretic, adj. form)

a process whereby artists assimilate and combine images and ideas from different cultural traditions, beliefs, and practices, giving them new meanings