ARTH Midterm Vocab

Key Vocab

Nomadic

A lifestyle of moving from place to place without permanent settlement. Example: Hunter-gatherer societies.

Agrarian

Relating to farming or rural life, based on cultivating land. Example: The development of agriculture in ancient civilizations.

Registers

Horizontal bands or sections in art, used to organize visual elements. Example: The use of registers in ancient Egyptian wall paintings.

Defacement

The act of damaging or disfiguring a surface or artwork. Example: Graffiti on historical monuments.

Hieratic

A simplified, formal style of ancient Egyptian writing, used for religious texts. Example: Hieratic script found on papyrus scrolls.

Ziggurat

A terraced, stepped pyramid-like structure used in ancient Mesopotamia, often as a temple. Example: The Ziggurat of Ur.

Lamassu

A protective deity in Assyrian culture, depicted as a winged bull or lion with a human head. Example: Lamassu statues guarding palace entrances.

Mastaba

A flat-roofed, rectangular tomb structure from ancient Egypt, used before pyramids. Example: The mastabas in the burial site of Saqqara.

Stepped Pyramid

A pyramid consisting of several stacked platforms, forming a step-like structure. Example: The Step Pyramid of Djoser.

Twisted Perspective

A style in which figures are shown in a combination of profile and frontal views. Example: The depiction of animals in prehistoric cave paintings.

Polytheism

The belief in or worship of multiple gods. Example: Ancient Egyptian religion, worshiping gods like Ra and Osiris.

Monotheism

The belief in or worship of one god. Example: The belief system of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Column

A vertical, cylindrical support structure in architecture. Example: The use of columns in Greek temples.

Capital

The topmost part of a column, often decorated. Example: Corinthian capital, known for its ornate acanthus leaves.

Pediment

A triangular upper part of a building front, above the columns. Example: The pediment of the Parthenon.

Archaic

An early period of ancient Greek art, marked by stiff, formalized figures. Example: The Kouros statues from the Archaic period.

Contrapposto

A pose in sculpture where the weight is shifted to one leg, giving a sense of movement. Example: The sculpture of David by Michelangelo.

Buddhism

A religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), focusing on the path to enlightenment. Example: The spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road.

Porcelain

A type of fine, high-fired ceramic known for its strength, translucency, and delicate appearance. Example: Ming dynasty porcelain.

Haniwa

Terracotta clay figures placed around Japanese burial mounds, used in funerary practices. Example: The Haniwa figures from the Kofun period.

Bodhisattva

In Buddhism, a being who has attained enlightenment but chooses to remain in the world to help others achieve enlightenment. Example: Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion.

Haboku

A Japanese painting technique using splashes of ink, creating abstract, expressive landscapes. Example: Haboku landscapes by ink painter Sesshū Tōyō.

Wabi Sabi

A Japanese aesthetic that values simplicity, imperfection, and the beauty of natural aging. Example: Wabi-sabi aesthetics in traditional tea ceramics.

Scale

The relative size or proportion of objects in a work of art or architecture. Example: Scale differences in figure sculptures in Gothic cathedrals.

Linear Perspective

A technique in art that creates the illusion of depth by using converging lines toward a single point. Example: The use of linear perspective in Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper'.

Aerial Perspective

A technique that shows depth by depicting distant objects with less detail and paler, bluer colors. Example: Aerial perspective in landscape paintings by Caspar David Friedrich.

Chiaroscuro

The use of strong contrasts between light and shadow to give the illusion of volume in painting. Example: Caravaggio's dramatic use of chiaroscuro in his works.

Fresco

A method of painting on freshly applied wet plaster, allowing the pigments to bond with the wall surface. Example: Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Triptych

A three-paneled artwork, often used in altarpieces, with central and side panels that are related thematically. Example: The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald.

Diptych

A two-paneled artwork, usually hinged, often used for portable religious devotion. Example: The Wilton Diptych.

Mannerism

A style that emerged after the High Renaissance, characterized by elongated figures, unusual compositions, and exaggerated poses. Example: The Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino.

Serpentine

A style of composition in art where figures are arranged in a twisting, snake-like pose to create dynamic movement. Example: In the Pietà by Michelangelo, the figures exhibit a serpentine composition.

Carascuro

The method of creating art work that depicts an artificial light on one side of the painting and shadows on the other.