AHI 1A Key Terms

Representational

of, based upon, or of the nature of representation

Stele

Carved stone slab used to mark a grave or commemorate an event

Register

Band of decoration

Cuneiform

Wedge-shaped

Passage Tomb

Long corridor leading to a burial chamber

Post and lintel

Two upright stones supporting a horizontal block

Megalith

“Great stone”, large stone used to build monumental prehistoric structures

Naturalism

Naturalism in art is the style of depicting objects, people, and nature as they appear in the real world, without idealization, stylization, or dramatic distortion

Idealized

The process through which artists strive to create images that approach perfection, according to the ideals of their culture and time.

Narrative

art that tells a story, either as one captured moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time.

Hierarchy of scale

a compositional technique in art where an artist uses unnatural size to show the relative importance of figures or objects

Megaron

the great hall in very early Mycenean and ancient Greek palace complexes.

Ziggurat

a raised platform with four sloping sides that looked like a tiered pyramid

Clerestory

formed an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows.

In profile

a side-view representation of a person, animal, or object, emphasizing the outer contour and silhouette rather than frontal features

In the round

a freestanding sculpture that is completely three-dimensional and designed to be viewed from every angle, rather than attached to a flat background

In relief

a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material

Ground line

a line representing the ground level on which figures appear to stand

Incised

the technique of cutting, scratching, or gouging shallow linear designs or surface marks into a hard or semi-hard material like clay, metal, stone, glass, wax, or paper

Fresco

Fresco

Repousse

shaped or ornamented with patterns in relief made by hammering or pressing on the reverse side —used especially of metal.