Module 2 art history terms

Cuneiform

A writing system with wedge shaped characters

foreshortening

a method of depicting a 2d figure or object as if it is projecting or receding into space, by manipulating a diagonal line

Heraldic Composition

a figure flanked by 2 symmetrical objects

Lapis Lasuli

a blue rock

Mesopotamia

historical region of southwest asia

Narative scene

a scene in which continuois action occours, a story

Regester

horizontal bands of decoration

Stele

An upright stone slab or piller with writing or imagery that commemorates an event

cartouche

faience

a glazed non-clay form of ceramic made from crushed quartz and or sand which has a green or blue color when fired

fresco secco

painting of plaster with dry powders

hieroglyphs

formal writing system that uses characters and symbols

Idealism

to make somehting look better then it does, to make someone look youthfull and muscualr for example

Ka

belived ot be someones life force in ancient egypt

Mastaba Tomb

eyptcian tomb for the rich people that didn’t get pyramids

Realism

baced on what is real and posibule

Serdab Statue

A statue of the decesed, included in a tomb to house the individuals ka if needed

sphinx

body of a lion face of a man, could be pheros kafrs face

Ushabti

A figure placed in a tomb to act as servants in the after life

Buon Fresco

painnting on plaster with wet pigment

Megaron

the central hall of a mycenaean palace, often containing a hearth

Repousse

the technique of hammering a thin sheet of gold into a relief, often over a mold

ziggurat

bace of a temple, sloped on each side and flat on the top