Art history Lecture 1,2,3

abstraction

A style of art that reduces shapes and appearances to basic (simplified, reduced, or schematic) yet recognizable forms that are not intended to mirror nature (in contrast to naturalism)

naturalism

A style of art that attempts to depict things as they actually appear in nature, lifelike in appearance, as opposed to abstraction.

composite pose or perspective

Also known as "composite profile" or "twisted perspective." Representation of a figure in which each part of the body is portrayed from its most distinct and characteristic aspect. The term describes the conventional manner of depicting animals in prehistoric cave paintings, in which some parts of a figure are shown as though seen from the front (frontally), while others are shown as though seen from the side (in profile). An animal's head may be depicted in profile, for example, with both horns visible, even though in true profile one would be hidden behind the other. The term also describes the enduring ancient Egyptian convention of figurative art in which the head is shown in profile, but with an eye as seen from the front; and a frontal torso, with legs seen from the side.

convention (artistic)

The standard, often stylized way that a culture deals with a specific image in art.

figurative

Representational: forms that are recognizably derived from life.

narrative art

Art that provides a visual representation of some kind of story

Paleolithic

"Old Stone Age": the prehistoric era of human history marked by the use of stone tools, beginning about 2.6 million years ago and extending to about 10,000 BCE.

perspective

The representation on a two-dimensional surface of three-dimensional objects in space. When all parallel lines and edges of surfaces recede at the same angle so that they converge on a single vanishing point (as in Masaccio's Trinity), the method is called linear or one-point perspective. An older pictorial device for depicting recession in space is atmospheric perspective, used by ancient Roman fresco painters, in which objects in the far distance (often shown in bluish-gray hues) are represented with blurrier outlines and fewer details than nearer objects, a technique that mimics actual optical effects. See also illusionistic perspective.

sculpture in the round

Sculpture that is self-contained and three-dimensional (in contrast to relief sculpture).

Prehistory

the millions of years of human history

before the invention of writing

(ca. 3200 BCE, or some 5000 years ago)

Archaeology

the study of human activity in the past,

primarily through the recovery and

analysis of the material culture left

behind.

Modeling

In painting, the use of

shading to create the

effect of roundness and

volume

Shaman

Person having access to and influence in the spirit world

Compositie Perspective

Also known as "composite profile" or "twisted perspective." Representation of a figure in which each part of the body is portrayed from its most distinct and characteristic aspect. The term describes the conventional manner of depicting animals in prehistoric cave paintings, in which some parts of a figure are shown as though seen from the front (frontally), while others are shown as though seen from the side (in profile). An animal's head may be depicted in profile, for example, with both horns visible, even though in true profile one would be hidden behind the other. The term also describes the enduring ancient Egyptian convention of figurative art in which the head is shown in profile, but with an eye as seen from the front; and a frontal torso, with legs seen from the side.

Double Crown of Egypt

Combination of the White Crown of Upper Egypt (the South) and the Red Crown of Lower Egypt (the North) to symbolize the unified Egypt.

Red Crown

The flat or scooped red cap with a projecting spiral symbolizing kingship in Lower Egypt (the North).

White Crown

The tall, club-like crown sometimes adorned with two plumes symbolizing kingship in Upper Egypt (the South).

faience

Also referred to as “glazed composition,” a silica material created by the Egyptians over 6000 years ago and used as a substitute for more expensive gemstones. “In ancient Egypt, objects created with faience were considered magical, filled with the undying shimmer of the sun, and imbued with the powers of rebirth.

hierarchical scale

Relative size indicates relative importance. Also hieratic or hierarchic scale.

nemes headdress

The blue-and-gold striped linen head-cloth characteristic of Egyptian royalty, covering the back of the head and nape of the neck, with flaps on each side that hang behind the ears and to the shoulders. The upright form of the cobra, the uraeus, is often included in kings’ crowns as well.

registers (register lines)

Horizontal bands used to divide and organize pictorial space. In relief sculpture, this refers to the placement of self-contained bands of reliefs in a vertical arrangement.

Royal beard

In ancient Egyptian imagery, the thick, rectangular, horizontally striated beard associated with royalty. See also divine beard.

(AKA Divine beard)

serdab

Arabic for "cellar": the small, partly or completely walled-off chamber of an ancient Egyptian tomb that houses the statue of the deceased.

Mastaba

Arabic for "bench," describing the flat, rectangular shape of the tomb's facade; a setting for the rituals of the ancestor cult.

Amun-Re

In ancient Egypt, chief god of Thebes, the sun god in human form, typically represented as blue, wearing a plumed crown.

Horus

One of the oldest and most significant of the ancient Egyptian gods, the sky god HorusDownload Horus was considered king of the earth and a force for good, as well as the patron and protector of the king. Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis (or Hathor, depending on the tradition), and he was usually portrayed as a falcon or falcon-headed man. His eyes symbolize the sun and moon.

stela

An upright stone slab decorated with inscriptions or reliefs; used as a grave marker or commemorative monument.

step pyramid

A funerary pyramid formed by six mastaba-like elements of decreasing size stacked on top of each other to constitute a metaphorical stairway to the sun god Re: the first great monumental architecture in human history to have survived. See also pyramid.

false door

Architectural feature of ancient Egyptian mortuary temples and tombs: a relief representation of an actual door, the place for presenting offerings to the tomb owner.

cavetto cornice

A large concave molding, or decorative contour, that arches outward to form a small hollow (cavetto in Italian), or quarter-circle; the crowning feature of many Egyptian buildings (hence sometimes called "Egyptian cornice").

hypostyle hall

A vast interior space characterized by many closely spaced columns supporting the stone slabs forming the roof. At the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak, the columns have flower and bud capitals suggesting the papyrus of the primordial marshland.

capital

The sculpted block that tops a column. See also bud capital and papyrus capital.

papyriform

Having the form of a papyrus (a reedlike plant that grows in flooded swamps and was once plentiful across the Nile Delta), such as the columns of the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak.

clerestory

The topmost zone of a wall that extends above the adjoining roof, with windows admitting direct light into the building.

maat

The principle that regulates ancient Egyptian culture: the concept of balance, order, law, justice--the opposite of chaos (isfet). Personified as the goddess who ordered the universe at the moment of its creation and sometimes represented as a feather, as in the Weighing of the Heart.

ankh

Egyptian hieroglyph in the form of a looped cross (like a key), signifying life.

apotropaic

Having the power to ward away evil or bad luck