Art Appr.

Linseed Oil

The paint binder that is a by-product of the flax plant; first came into common use during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Northern Europe.

Encaustic

A painting medium that uses beeswax as the binding agent

Fresco

A painting technique made by applying pigment onto wet lime plaster (e.g., Giotto’s Lamentation).

Impasto

Paint applied in thick, heavy layers that stand out from the surface (e.g., Van Gogh's Starry Night).

Load-bearing

An architectural term describing a structure created from a stack of material, thicker at the bottom and thinner at the top.

Post-and-Lintel

An architectural construction method consisting of two uprights and a horizontal crossbeam.

Rounded Arch

A structural innovation perfected by the Ancient Romans to span wider spaces than post-and-lintel.

Corinthian

The most ornate Greek architectural order, identified by a column capital decorated with acanthus leaves.

Flying Buttress

A feature of Gothic architecture that transfers the weight of the ceiling away from the walls to allow for larger stained-glass windows.

Woodcut

A relief printmaking process where the artist carves an image into a block of wood (e.g., Hokusai’s Great Wave).

Parthenon

An Ancient Greek temple on the Acropolis in Athens dedicated to the goddess Athena.

Pantheon

A Roman "pagan" temple dedicated to "all the gods," featuring a massive dome and an oculus.

Doryphoros

A marble sculpture by Polykleitos representing the "ideal" Greek proportions of the human body.

Villa of the Mysteries

A site in Pompeii containing frescoes that suggest the residents worshipped Dionysus (Bacchus).

Hagia Sophia

A 6th-century structure in Istanbul originally built as a Christian church, later converted to a mosque.

Christ Icon (St. Catherine's)

A 6th-century encaustic painting intended to show the dual nature of Christ as both human and divine.

San Vitale

A church in Ravenna, Italy, famous for its glass mosaics depicting Emperor Justinian.

Chartres Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral in France where height and stained glass were used to symbolize a connection to the heavens.

Giotto

The artist of the Lamentation fresco; his work is part of a larger narrative cycle in the Scrovegni Chapel.

Brunelleschi

The Renaissance architect who invented linear perspective and designed the massive dome for the Florence Cathedral.

Michelangelo’s David

A High Renaissance marble sculpture representing a static, intellectual moment before battle.

Bernini’s David

A Baroque marble sculpture representing dynamic movement and physical action.

The Arnolfini Portrait

A Northern Renaissance oil painting by Jan van Eyck known for its intense detail and symbolism.

Seated Buddha

A 5th-century Indian sculpture that uses specific gestures (mudras) and accessories to communicate identity.

Angkor Wat

A 12th-century Cambodian temple complex where height symbolizes a connection to the heavens, similar to Gothic cathedrals.

Great Mosque at Djenné

Located in Mali, it is the largest mud-brick building in the world.

Luncheon on the Grass

An 1863 painting by Edouard Manet that shocked audiences by depicting a nude woman in a modern setting.

En Plein Air

A French term meaning "in the open air," referring to the Impressionist practice of painting outdoors to capture light.

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

A 1907 painting by Pablo Picasso that marked the beginning of Cubism and the Modern aesthetic.

Tara Donovan (Untitled 2003)

A contemporary installation piece made of thousands of Styrofoam cups and hot glue.

Andy Goldsworthy

An earthworks artist who creates temporary sculptures using only natural, found materials.

Elements of Art

The "vocabulary" or basic tools of art: Line, Shape, Form, Volume, Mass, Texture, Value, Color, Space, and Motion.

Principles of Design

The "grammar" or how the elements are organized: Contrast, Unity, Variety, Balance, Scale, Proportion, Pattern, Rhythm, and Emphasis.

The great mosque at Djenne in Mali is

True

The Greeks often used proportions considered to be ideal in their sculpture and architecture

The style of medieval cathedral was based on the architecture of Rome

Romanesque