Art History Terminology

Pareidola

A random pattern the human brain tends to ascribe meaning to

Sculpture in the Round

3D work of art

Post-and-Lintel

Architectural structure

Relief Sculpture

Flat, projects forward

Animation/Animism

Moving with the light to make appear alive

Giving life to inanimate objects

Belief image has a life or spirit in it

Conceptual image/Composite view/twisted perspective

multiple perspectives in the same image (like the 5 legged animal)

Apotropaic

Ward off evil by bringing

Megalith

Giant stone/sculpture

Hieriatic Scale

Not meant to be realistic depictions, show importance based off of size

Register

Artwork with different sections/levels like a comic that tell a story

Ziggurat

Temple with stairs up. Built like a mountain

Votive Offering

Statue to the gods with the hands up

Artistic gift to the gods

Lamassu

Winged lion or bull with a human head

Cuneiform

Historic writing

Verism/realism

Close imitation of real world appearance. Unembellished, flawed

Idealism

Close to real world, but omits flaws

Expressionism

More about emotion and is exaggerated

Abstraction

Iconic - simplified, schematized

Non objective

Symbolic