vocab. - Chapter 14

Predella

The narrow ledge on which an altarpiece rests on an altar.

Renaissance

French, “rebirth.” The term used to describe the history, culture, and art of 14th- through 16th-century western Europe during which artists consciously revived the classical style.

Duecento

Italian, “200”—that is, the 13th century (the 1200s) in Italy.

Pulpit

A raised platform in a church or mosque on which a priest or imam stands while leading the religious service.

Renovatio

Latin, “renewal.” During the Carolingian period, Charlemagne sought to revive the culture of ancient Rome (renovatio imperii Romani).

Trefoil

A cloverlike ornament or symbol with stylized leaves in groups of three.

Ogive

The diagonal rib of a Gothic vault; a pointed, or Gothic, arch.

Sarcophagus

Greek, “consumer of flesh.” A coffin, usually of stone.

Gold leaf

Gold beaten into tissue-paper-thin sheets that then can be applied to surfaces.

Stigmata

In Christian art, the wounds Christ received at his crucifixion that miraculously appear on the body of a saint.

Tempera

A technique of painting using pigment mixed with egg yolk, glue, or casein; also, the medium itself.

Mendicants

In medieval Europe, friars belonging to the Franciscan and Dominican orders, who renounced all worldly goods, lived by contributions of laypersons (the word mendicant means “beggar”), and devoted themselves to preaching, teaching, and doing good works.

Trecento

Italian, “300”—that is, the 14th century (the 1300s) in Italy.

Maniera greca

Italian, “Greek manner.” The Italo-Byzantine painting style of the 13th century.

Humanism

In the Renaissance, an emphasis on education and on expanding knowledge (especially of classical antiquity), the exploration of individual potential and a desire to excel, and a commitment to civic responsibility and moral duty.

Rinascità

Italian, “rebirth.”

Grisaille

A monochrome painting done mainly in neutral grays to simulate sculpture.

Revetment

In architecture, a wall covering or facing.

Arriccio

In fresco painting, the first layer of rough lime plaster applied to the wall.

Buon fresco

Painting on wet lime plaster. For this method, the pigments are mixed with water and become chemically bound to the freshly laid lime plaster. Also, a painting executed in either method.

Cartoon

In painting, a full-size preliminary drawing from which a painting is made.

Foreshortening

The use of perspective to represent in art the apparent visual contraction of an object that extends back in space at an angle to the perpendicular plane of sight.

Giornata

Italian, “day.” The section of plaster that a fresco painter expects to complete in one session.

Intonaco

In fresco painting, the last layer of smooth lime plaster applied to the wall; the painting layer.

Sinopia

A burnt-orange pigment used in fresco painting to transfer a cartoon to the arriccio before the artist paints the plaster.

Campo

Italian, “field.”

Chiaroscuro

In drawing or painting, the treatment and use of light and dark, especially the gradations of light that produce the effect of modeling.

Punchwork

Tooled decorative work in gold leaf.

Sacra rappresentazione

Italian, “holy representation.” A more elaborate version of a mystery play performed for a lay audience by a confraternity.

Guild

An association of merchants, craftspersons, or scholars in medieval and Renaissance Europe.

International gothic

A style of 14th- and 15th-century painting begun by Simone Martini, who fused the French Gothic manner with Sienese art. This style appealed to the aristocracy because of its brilliant color, lavish costumes, intricate ornamentation, and themes involving splendid processions of knights and ladies.

Triptych

A three-paneled painting, ivory plaque, or altarpiece. Also, a small, portable shrine with hinged wings used for private devotion.

Campanile

A bell tower of a church, usually, but not always, freestanding.

Palazzo pubblico

Italian, “public palace.” City hall.

Battlement

A low parapet at the top of a circuit wall in a fortification.

Corbel

A projecting wall member used as a support for some element in the superstructure. Also, courses of stone or brick in which each course projects beyond the one beneath it. Two such walls, meeting at the topmost course, create a corbeled arch or corbeled vault.

Machicolated gallery

A gallery in a defensive tower with holes in the floor to allow stones or hot liquids to be dumped on enemies below.

Parapet

A low, protective wall along the edge of a balcony, roof, or bastion.

Duomo

Italian, “cathedral.”

Florin

The denomination of gold coin of Renaissance Florence that became an international currency for trade.

Quatrefoil

A shape or plan in which the parts assume the form of a cloverleaf.

Doge

Italian (Venetian dialect), “duke.”

Ogee arch

An arch composed of two double-curving lines meeting at a point.