Art History Lecture Notes Review

Flashcards generated from lecture notes to help review key concepts and terms in art history, covering visual elements, analytical approaches, and historical periods from Prehistoric to Roman art.

Color

The result of light interacting with objects and our eyes' ability to perceive it.

Primary colors

Colors that cannot be created.

Secondary colors

Colors created by mixing two primary colors.

Tertiary colors

Colors created by mixing a primary color with an adjacent secondary color.

Complementary colors

Colors that are positioned directly across from each other on the color wheel.

Analogous colors

Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.

Warm colors

Reds, oranges, and yellows that are considered warm.

Cool colors

Include blue, green, and purple.

Optical color mixing

Where two or more colors are placed next to each other as small dots or lines.

Form

The visible shape or configuration of something.

Relief sculpture

Has a two-dimensional background and is meant to be viewed from the front.

In-the-round sculpture

Fully three-dimensional, freestanding, and can be viewed from all sides.

Volume

The amount of three-dimensional space that an object occupies.

Mass

The amount of matter an object contains.

Line

A mark connecting two points.

Actual Line

A physical, continuous, and uninterrupted mark that exists.

Implied Line

A series of points, shapes, or even a viewer's perceptual tendency to connect them.

Directional Line

Actively leads the viewer's eye from one point to another within a composition.

Contour Line

A perceived or actual line that marks the outer edge, or the edges of surfaces, of a figure or an object.

Shape

A two-dimensional enclosed area with height and width.

Implied Shape

A shape not explicitly drawn but is suggested.

Space

A three-dimensional area that exists within and around objects in a composition.

Foreground

The area closest to the viewer in a composition.

Middle ground

The area containing the main object or subject in a composition.

Background

The area furthest from the viewer in a composition.

Perspective

The representation of a three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface.

Atmospheric Perspective

Describes how the atmosphere affects the appearance of objects, especially in the distance.

Linear Perspective

A mathematical system that uses vanishing points and converging lines to create the illusion of depth.

Foreshortening

An artistic method to create the illusion of depth by shortening the length of an object or figure.

Texture

The perceived surface quality of an object.

Implied Texture

A two-dimensional surface where the artist simulates a surface quality without actually creating it physically.

Actual Texture

The real, physical texture of an object.

Subversive Texture

Texture that deliberately contradicts or undermines our normal or expected ideas about the surface of an object.

Time & Motion

How artists represent movement and the passage of time, whether through actual movement or visual cues.

Continuous Narrative

Multiple scenes or actions of a story are depicted within a single artwork or frame.

Implied Motion

The suggestion of movement within an artwork.

Illusion of Motion

Artwork that tricks the viewer's eyes into perceiving movement.

Value

The importance, worth, usefulness, or desirability of something.

Chiaroscuro

An artistic technique using strong contrasts between light and dark areas to create a sense of three-dimensional volume.

Balance

A principle of design that creates stability and harmony.

Symmetrical Balance

Elements are mirrored on either side of a central axis.

Asymmetrical Balance

Achieves equilibrium using different elements with contrasting visual weights and properties.

Radial Balance

Arranges elements around a central point.

Contrast

The arrangement of opposing elements to create visual interest.

Silhouette

A dark outline of an object or figure against a lighter background.

Figure-ground reversal

The viewer's perception of a composition alternates between two possible interpretations, foreground and background.

Emphasis

To draw the viewer's eye to a particular part of the composition.

Focal Point

A specific center of interest or activity in an artwork where the viewer's attention is drawn.

Pattern

A repeated decorative design.

Proportion

A mathematical statement that two ratios are equal.

Golden Ratio

A mathematical proportion used to create aesthetically pleasing and harmonious compositions.

Rhythm

An organized pattern of sounds and silences.

Scale/Size

The size of an object or element in relation to another object.

Monumental Scale

An extremely large size, significantly exceeding human dimensions.

Hierarchical Scale

An artistic technique where the size of figures or objects is intentionally altered to communicate their relative importance.

Unity

When things come together as one whole piece.

Variety

Being different or diverse.

Formal Analysis

Closely examining an artwork's visual elements and principles of composition.

Stylistic Analysis

Examining the linguistic choices and literary devices an author uses to convey meaning.

Iconographic Analysis

The study and interpretation of the symbolism, themes, and motifs in an artwork to understand a culture's beliefs and values.

Contextual Analysis

Examining the surrounding circumstances and influences that shaped an artwork's creation and meaning.

Religious Context

Unique beliefs and practices that shape an artwork or text.

Historical Context

Specific social, cultural, and political events surrounding a time or text that influence its meaning.

Biographical Context

An author's or figure's life story, circumstances, and experiences that shape their perspective.

Feminist / Gender Studies Analysis

An interdisciplinary approach that examines how gender, race, class, sexuality, and other identities intersect to create systems of power, inequality, and social change.

Psychological Analysis

The process of examining and interpreting a person's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to gain insights into their mental state and underlying motivations.

Prehistoric

Before written records.

Lascaux & Chauvet caves

French prehistoric sites containing some of the world's most significant Paleolithic cave art.

Kinds of images found in caves

Detailed representations of animals and humans to abstract symbols.

Hall of Bulls

Located in the Lascaux Cave system in southwestern France, known for remarkably preserved, intricate cave paintings.

Innovations for cave paintings

Using hollowed bones or reeds as sprayers to apply pigments.

How they painted walls in caves

Used animal hair or moss.

Significance of cave imagery

Provides invaluable insight into the culture, cognitive development, and daily lives of early humans.

Venus figurine

A small, Upper Paleolithic statue of a voluptuous woman, often with exaggerated breasts, hips, and belly, and poorly defined arms and legs.

Theory behind Venus figurines

Suggested as totems of survival representing an idealized form in times of famine, symbols of fertility or beauty, or even religious objects, likely made by various Paleolithic peoples.

Cycladic figure

A small-scale, often nude, marble sculpture from the Early Cycladic period (roughly 3200–2300 BCE), originating from the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea.

Fresco

Painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling.

Four Mesopotamian cultures

Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian, and Babylonian.

Ziggurat

A rectangular stepped tower, sometimes surmounted by a temple.

Mesopotamian culture credited with writing

The Sumerians.

Cuneiform

The first writing system.

Ceremonial bull lyre

An artifact from Sumerian culture.

Significance of bulls in Mesopotamian culture

Symbolized immense strength, fertility, and divine power.

Stele

Central core of the stem and root of a vascular plant, consisting of the vascular tissue (xylem and phloem) and associated supporting tissue.

Lamassu

Monumental hybrid figures found in King Ashurnasirpal's Palace of Nimrud.

Ishtar Gates

Created by Babylonian culture.

Location and significance of pyramids

Located in Giza, Egypt, significant for ensuring pharaohs' afterlife.

Beliefs of death and dying in Ancient Egypt

Was a transition to an afterlife, shown through artwork depicting the deceased's life, providing magical protection, and equipping them materially and symbolically for the afterlife.

Significance of the imagery in the Book of the Dead

Providing the deceased with a visual roadmap of the afterlife, illustrating protective spells and enabling their successful rebirth.

Buried in the three great pyramids of Giza

Three Fourth Dynasty pharaohs: Khufu (the Great Pyramid), Khafre (the Second Pyramid), and Menkaure (the Third Pyramid).

King Tut

An ancient Egyptian boy king who ruled from 1333 to 1323 BCE, famous due to the discovery of his largely intact tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter, containing thousands of priceless treasures.

Rosetta Stone

A fragment of an ancient Egyptian stele inscribed with a decree in three scripts (hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek), key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Organs put into canopic jars

Liver, stomach, intestines, lungs.

Canon of proportion in Ancient Egypt

A grid system based on an 18-unit height, used to create consistent, idealized figures, often reflecting social hierarchy through size and placement, and ensuring artistic and cultural stability.

Canon of proportion in Ancient Rome

Sought to idealize beauty through symmetrical and balanced mathematical ratios of the human body, exemplified by the influential, though lost, canon of the sculptor Polyclitus.

Egyptian paper-like material

Papyrus from the Cyperus papyrus plant.

Significance of the pyramidal shape in Ancient Egyptian culture

A symbol of the primordial mound from which the earth was believed to have been created and as a representation of the rays of the sun.

Three basic periods of Ancient Greek culture

Archaic Period, Classical Period, and Hellenistic Period.

Archaic Period (Greek)

Approx. 800–500 BC, featuring stiff, stylized sculptures that show Egyptian influence.

Classical Period (Greek)

Approx. 500–323 BC, a time of artistic perfection focused on balanced and harmonious depictions of the human form.