ARTH Week 1-8 Midterm Terms

Iconography

The study and interpretation of symbols, themes, and imagery within a work of art to understand their symbolic meaning and cultural significance.

Patronage & patrons

Patronage is the financial or other support provided by wealthy or influential individuals (patrons) or institutions (like the church or guilds) to artists to create works of art.

Mosque

The Muslim gathering place for prayer.

Sahn

Courtyard - an open space surrounding a mosque, typically used for communal activities or as an area for prayer.

Minaret

Tower - A tower adjacent or attached to a mosque, from which the call to prayer is announced.

Mihrab

Niche - A niche in the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca, towards which all Muslims pray.

Minbar

An elevated pulpit in a mosque, used by an imam to deliver sermons to the congregation, particularly during Friday prayers.

Qubba

Dome - A symbolic representation of the vault of heaven.

Qibla wall

The wall in a mosque that faces mecca, and is the direction toward which Muslims turn during their daily prayers.

Archive

A curated collection of unique primary source documents and unique records.

Pueblo

The art of Native American people of the Southwestern United States who live in the Pueblo villages. Means “people.”

Ming Dynasty

A major Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 1368 to 1644. Known for the Forbidden City, ceramics and paintings for the imperials, calligraphy and landscape paintings, scholarly arts, portraits, blue and white porcelain, and so on.

Dougong

An ancient Chinese system of interlocking wooden brackets used in traditional architecture to join pillars tot he roof frame, proving structural support, flexibility against earthquakes, and a decorative aesthetic. 

Tempera

Characterized by pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder, typically egg yolk, resulting in durable, matte-finished artworks with a characteristic fast-drying property.

Buon Fresco

A mural painting technique where water-based pigments are applied to a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster (intonaco), allowing the pigments to bond with the plaster as it dries and cures through a chemical reaction.

Oil painting

An art technique using oil as a binder for pigments to create luminous, realistic images with rich detail and texture. 

Hierarchical scale

A technique where the size of figures or objects within a composition is used to convey their relative importance or significance, with larger figures representing higher status, power, or divinity.

Superimposition

The creative technique of placing one or more images, shapes, or layers on top of another, allowing elements to remain visible and creating a new, combined composition. This adds depth and contrast.

Diminution of scale

The principle that objects appear smaller the farther away they are from the viewer, creating an illusion of depth and volume on a flat surface.

Chiaroscuro

An artistic technique using strong contrasts between light and shadow to create a sense of volume and three-dimensionality on a two-dimensional surface. Prominent during renaissance and Baroque periods.

Picture plane

The imaginary, flat, transparent surface, like a window or a plate of glass, that lies between the viewer and the depicted scene.

Foreground

The section of an artwork that appears closest to the viewer, serving as the most immediate and detailed part of the composition.

Often features larger, brighter elements and serves to engage the viewer, establish depth, guide focus, and convey the main subject or narrative of the piece.

Midground

The area of a composition located between the foreground and the background.

It serves to create a sense of depth and spatial relationships, guiding the viewer’s eye through the artwork and helping to organize elements into a balanced and coherent visual experience.

Background

The area behind the main subject in an artwork, which provides context, depth, and mood, or the historical, social, and cultural information used to understand an artwork.

Intuitive perspective

An artistic method for depicting depth and space on a flat surface, relying on the artist’s observation and skill rather than the mathematical principles of linear perspective, which became prominent during the Renaissance.

Atmospheric perspective

An art technique that creates an illusion of depth and distance by altering the visual qualities of objects as they recede.

This is achieved by depicting distant objects as lighter, less saturated, and with less detail and contrasts than closer objects, mimicking the effects of the atmosphere.

One-point linear perspective

A drawing technique that creates the illusion of depth on a flat surface by having parallel lines converge at a single vanishing point on the horizon line.

This method, notably codified during the Renaissance, relies on objects appearing smaller as they recede from the viewer, creating a realistic, three-dimensional effect crucial for depicting spatial relationships and forms accurately.

Orthogonals

Imaginary diagonal lines drawn from the edges of objects to a vanishing point on the horizon line, used to create the illusion of depth and three-dimensional space on a flat surface through the principles of linear perspective.

Horizon line

An imaginary horizontal line in a two-dimensional artwork that represents the viewer’s eye level, establishing the viewer’s position and creating the illusion of depth and spatial relationships.

Vanishing point

A point on the horizon line where receding parallel lines in a linear perspective drawing appear to converge, creating the illusion of depth and three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface.

Foreshortening

A visual art technique that creates the illusion of an object extending into or receding from space by distorting its proportions to appear shorter and compressed. 

Diptych

An artwork composed of two panels, historically joined by hinges, that can be used for religious alter-pieces, devotional works, or secular portraits and narratives.

Triptych

A work of art, typically a painted alterpiece or carving, that is divided into three panels.

Polytych

A work of art, typically a panel painting, divided into several connected panels—four or more—that are often hinged to fold together like a book.

Disguised symbolism

The use of realistic, everyday objects and settings within a painting that also hold a deeper symbolic or spiritual meaning.

Contrapposto

A pose where a standing figure’s weight is shifted onto one leg, creating a dynamic, asymmetrical balance with the other leg and corresponding body parts, such as the hips and shoulders,

this creates a naturalistic S-curve in the body, giving the figure a more relaxed, lifelike, and expressive quality, and was a revolutionary invention of ancient Greek sculptors. 

Free-standing sculpture

A three-dimensional artwork designed to be self-supporting and viewed from all sides.

Dome

A hemispherical or rounded vaulted roof or ceiling, a prominent architectural feature symbolizing power, status, and the heavens, prominently used in ancient Roman, Byzantine, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture.

Drum (dome)

A cylindrical or polygonal upright wall that supports a dome. The drum raises the dome higher , provides a solid base for the dome’s structure, and can incorporate windows to allow light into the interior.

This architectural element is prevalent in various periods, including Roman and Renaissance architecture, with examples like the drum supporting the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Ribs (dome)

The arched structural elements, often in a lattice-work framework, that form the skeleton of the dome, converging at the crown and providing support to the surrounding lighter infill.

Span (dome)

The horizontal distance or width it covers, representing the opening it encloses or the clear space it spans without internal supports.

Oculi (dome)

A circular opening at the apex of a dome, serving as a source of light and connecting the interior to the sky.

A prime example is the famous oculus in the Pantheon’s dome in Rome, which allows natural light to flood the interior.

Lantern (dome)

A small, decorative structure placed atop a dome or other roof, featuring windows or openings to admit light and promote ventilation while also serving as a proportional and aesthetic element of the overall design.

Allegory

A symbolic narrative or image that conveys a deeper, often hidden, meaning beyond the literal surface, typically to communicate moral, political, spiritual, or philosophical messages.

Manuscript or codex

A manuscript is a handwritten document, while a codex is a specific format of ancient manuscript that consists of pages bound together into a book-like form, replacing the earlier scroll format.

Aztec

Encompasses the artistic achievements of the Aztec civilization, which flourished in Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries, characterized by its use of monumental stone carvings, vibrant murals, intricate featherwork, and decorated codices (manuscripts) to express religious beliefs, cosmic concepts, and political power.

Nahuatl

The study and understanding of the visual and material culture produced by the Nahua people, particularly those of the Aztec Empire, using their traditional Nahuatl language as a critical lens for interpretation.

Chinampa

A term for the ancient Aztec agricultural method of creating artificial islands on shallow lake beds, formed by layering mud, roots, and vegetation on a mat of twigs. (floating gardens)

Inka

Encompasses the ceremonial, utilitarian, and symbolic artistic expression of the Inca Empire, primarily seen in textiles, metalwork, ceramics, and architecture, which served to reinforce royal authority, honor deities, and fulfill social functions within a society that lacked a formal writing system.

Quechua

The artistic expressions, particularly textiles and other visual arts, created by the Indigenous Quechua-speaking people of the Andean region, characterized by rich symbolism, storytelling, and strong ties to their cultural values and environment.

All-t’oqapu

A finely woven garment, characterized by its abundance of small geometric square motifs (t’oqapu), used by the Inka elite to display social and political status, express power, and symbolize mastery over the diverse peoples and lands of the vast Inka empire.

Sfumato

A painting technique from the Italian Renaissance that creates soft, hazy transitions between colors and tones, eliminating harsh lines and giving a “smoky” effect.

Trompe l’oeil

“Fool the eye,” an artistic technique that uses realistic imagery to create an optical illusion of three-dimensional depth or three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface.

Neo-Platonic

A philosophical system that emerged in the 3rd century AD, rooted in the ideas of Plato but expanded to inlcude the metaphysical and mystical elements. It emphasizes the existence of a single source of all reality, known as the One or the Good, from which everything emanates.

This worldview greatly influenced the artistic and intellectual climate of the Italian Renaissance, as it encouraged artists and thinkers to explore the relationship between the divine and the material world.

Renaissance

A European movement, spanning the 14th to 17th centuries, characterized by a renewed interest in classical antiquity and humanism, which led to innovations in artistic techniques like linear perspective, foreshortening, and sfumato, and focused on realistic depictions of human anatomy and dynamic space.

Ottoman Empire

The diverse visual and decorative arts produced under the Ottoman Empire (c. 1299-1922), characterized by its opulence, sophisticated craftsmanship, and religious influence from Islam.

Key forms include architecture (mosques, palaces), calligraphy, manuscript illumination, textiles, ceramics (like Iznik tiles), metalwork, and miniature painting, which often featured botanical patterns and intricate designs while generally avoiding figural representation in religious contexts.

Benin

The artistic tradition of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Benin (present-day Nigeria), characterized by sophisticated lost-wax metalcasting of brass and bronze, as well as carved ivory, wood, and textiles, primarily produced by royal guilds for the court of the Oba (king).

Oba

Refers to the title of the king of the Benin Empire. Oba art signifies the historical art commissioned by these Obas to commemorate their reigns, embody their authority, and uphold the cultural and spiritual values of the kingdom. 

Iyoba

The title for the Queen Mother, a highly influential political and spiritual figure who held a position of power second only to the Oba.

High relief

A sculptural technique where figures or elements project significantly from the background, with more than half of the object’s depth visible.

Low relief

A form of three-dimensional art where the sculpted elements project only slightly from a flat background plane, retaining a visible connection to their origin.

Repatriation

The return of stolen or looted cultural materials to their countries of origin.

Cultural patrimony

Refers to the cultural heritage and property that is significant to a community, group, or nation, often embodying historical, artistic, and spiritual importance.