Art History Midterm other terms

yay!!

convention

generally accepted way of describing a form or a thing

findspot

where an object is found

prehistoric

before written history

post-in-lintel architecture

2 vertical objects with 1 horizontal object on top (ex. stonehenge)

ziggurat

man-made stepped pyramid used as a temple to connect the world with heaven

cult statue

object that serves as phyical dwelling place for a deity w/in religious tradition

lapis lazuli

precious blue stone uses as pigment

cuniform

writing system of ancient mesopotamia

stele

upright stone/wooden slab commemorating the dead and/or military victories

votive

small gift/offering left in temple to establish a personal relationship with a deity

relief sculpture

3d artwork sculpted figures and designs remained attached to a solid background

apkallu

7 demi-gods in ancient mesopotamian religion — protective

standard inscriptions

lists kings on relief sculptures of Assurnasirpal , repetitive text

lamassu

doorway sculpture of human-headed animal used to protect against evil-spirits

lower egypt

red crown

upper egypt

white crown

osiris, isis, seth, nepthys

osiris - afterlife (wings/green)

isis - mothehood, magic (woman)

seth - chaos (hybrid animal)

nepthys - war (falcon)

ka

life force

ka statue

houses ka after death

mastaba

flat, rectangular tomb

serdab

hollowed out chamber housing ka statue

capital

top of column

nemes headress

important headress worn by pharoh - symbol of kindship

false beard

symbol of kingship

shabiti figure

small, funerary statuette placed in tombs acting as magical servants for deceased in afterlife

wedjat eye

symbol of healing, devine protection

false door

theoretical doorway allowing ka to go back and forth between realworld and underworld

canopic jars

stores organs before embalming, stays in the tomb

Thutmose ii

hatshepsuts husband, when he died, she took over the throne

hatshepsut

1st female pharaoh, in sculptures she’s represents in male body — male body connected to power

Thutmose iii

son of hatshepsut, reestablished masculinity in eqypt, destroyed sculptures of hatshepsut

iconoclasm

deliberate destruction of an icon

damnatio memoriae

to erase the memory of someone

akhanaten

shifted egypt towards monotheism

amarna style

more stylized, less naturalist — tied to akhanaten’s rule

aukh

symbol representing life

papyrus

made from plant, paper material

ashlar masonry

cutting stones into specfici geometric shapes

relieving triangle

triangle wedged inbetween arched stones to take weight off, normally lighter and with designs carved into it

polis

ancient greek city state

metopes/triglyphs

alternating decorative units making up the frieze in doric order/3 lines, with a picture in between

entablature

horizontal structure sitting on top of the structures

pediment

triangle placed on top of entablature

volute

thin, spiral scrolls on captials

slip

water-down paint used to paint vases

kouros

nude, youth, male figure

koro

female version of kouros, but clothed

archaic smile

slight upturned parting of the lips

controposto

stance of figure (one foot in front of the other)

cyryatid

replacement of columns w/ human female figure — erechtheion

nike figure

personification of victory, winged female

foreshortening

representing 3d on a 2d surface

winkelmann

art historian who differentiated between greek, roman, and greco-roman art

realism

non-idealized, demonstrating reality, unembellished

verism

hyper-realistic style of art

voussoir

wedge-shaped bricks in arches

barrell vault

extended arch tunnel

granulation

decorative element on jewlery, small balls of metal

trompe l’oeil

to deceive the eye, realistic imagery to create illusion

still life

inanimate object painting

plimy

guy who wrote natural history (see reading)

atmospheric perspective

background objects blurry, foreground sharp

mimesis

illusionistic depiction of nature

octavian

octavian turned augustus

kleopatra and mark antony

allied, depicted in sculptures often, fought augustus

31 bce

battle of actium

27 bce

octavian becomes augustus

corinthian captial

type of capital with an acanthus plant on it — product of the corinthian order

corbeling

masonry technique where successive courses (layers) of stone, brick, or wood step upward and outward from a vertical wal