Art Hum Terms

Propylaia

gateway into the Parthenon

Column

Freestanding and round support

Capital

Top of a Column

Post and Lintel

A foundational architectural system where a horizontal beam (lintel) is supported by two or more vertical uprights (posts or columns) with a space between them

Doric Order

Capitals—Square sitting on a circle, Frieze—-with Metopes

Ionic Order

Columns—Volute, Frieze—continuous

Volute

Circular spirals on a column for the Ionic order

Metope

Friezes with squares, breaks up the design

Frieze

Horizontal band of decoration

Continuous Frieze

A frieze where the design continues

Pediment

The triangle on top of the columns

Pillar

Square and set in the wall

Structure of the Parthenon

Forced to walk around the whole Parthenon from west to east and see the whole structure, the rooms are separated, so you have to exit where you enter.

Relief

A sculptural technique where figures or designs remain attached to a solid background plane rather than standing freely

Hierarchy of Scale

Whoever is more important is bigger

Voussoir

A curved structural opening made of individual wedge-shaped stones, bricks, or blocks that lock together in compression to span wide spaces without bending

Round arch

Semi-circle arch

Horseshoe Arch

The arch extends beyond a semicircle.

Pier

A thick, upright structural support that carries heavy vertical loads from arches, vaults, bridges, or building superstructures down to the ground

Arcade

Series of arches

Corinthian

The capitals would be more vegetation-like and leafy.

Spolia

Architectural elements, stones, or art pieces taken from an older structure and reused in a new building or monument.

Qibla Wall

Wall that faces towards Mecca

Relic

A holy object

Mihrab

A niche that tells you what direction Mecca is.

Masquara

A spot reserved for high-ranking officials to pray

Gothic

Tall and Light

Sanctuary

The space in the church for the high altar and the clergy

Flying Buttress

A support system that carries the weight of the building from the exterior.

Portal

The entrance of the church, where one leaves behind material objects

Ribbed vaults

A self-supporting arch that is stretched out and in a spider-like shape.

Pointed Arch

An arch with a point on the top.

Pilgrams

People who travel to see the relic

Ambulatory

Side part of the church that allows you to walk around mass to not disrupt it

Nave

The central and principal part of a Christian church where the congregation gathers for worship

Trancept

The transverse or crosswise section of a Christian church that lies perpendicular to the main longitudinal axis (the nave), creating a cruciform (cross-shaped) floor plan

Radiating Chapels

A small, semi-circular or polygonal chapel that projects outward from the Apse chapel

Triforium

An interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level

Clerestory

A high section of an interior wall that rises above adjacent rooflines and contains windows or openings placed above eye level

Gables

The triangular wall portion or decorative canopy positioned at the end of a pitched roof, above portals, or over large windows

Tympanum

The vertical, pointed wall surface enclosed by a pointed arch and a horizontal lintel over a church portal

Atmospheric Perspective

As things get further away, the horizon turns grey

Diminution of Scale

Things that are further away are smaller

Virgin Mary

Wears blue of some kind

Cartoons

Sketches for paintings

Linear Perspective

Items converge to a vanishing point

Portraits

Emphasis on face, status, and wealth

Kouros

Symmetry, loosely defined muscle, grave marker, geometric

Illic Crest

defined V in the hip area of the body

Baroque

Drama, movement, making different textures out of marble

Contrapposto

An asymmetrical stance in the visual arts where a human figure rests most of its weight on one engaged leg while the other leg is relaxed