Art Terminology and Key Artists in History

These flashcards cover important vocabulary terms and concepts related to art history, techniques, styles, and notable artists.

Tenebrism

A painting technique using strong contrasts of light and dark to create a dramatic effect.

Di sotto in su

A perspective technique where the viewer looks up at the figures or objects, often used in ceiling paintings.

Vanitas

A genre of still-life painting symbolizing the fleeting nature of life, often including symbols of mortality like skulls or hourglasses.

Camera Obscura

An early optical device that projects an image of its surroundings onto a screen through a small hole.

Foreshortening

A technique used in art to create the illusion of an object or figure receding into the distance.

Woodcut

A print made from a carved image on a block of wood.

Engraving

A printmaking technique where an image is carved into a surface, often metal, to create a design.

Etching

A printmaking technique where an image is created by scratching onto a metal plate coated with acid-resistant material.

Impasto

A painting technique where paint is applied thickly, creating texture and dimension on the surface.

Genre Scene

A painting depicting scenes of everyday life or common people in ordinary settings.

Still-Life

A genre of art that focuses on depicting inanimate objects, often with symbolic meanings.

Fête Galante

A type of painting that depicts outdoor scenes of romantic or festive gatherings, often associated with the Rococo style.

Basilica

A large, rectangular building originally used for Roman public affairs, later adapted for Christian churches with a central nave and aisles.

Central Plan

A building design where the layout is symmetrical around a central point, often used in religious architecture.

Broken Entablature

A decorative architectural feature where the horizontal elements (architrave, frieze, cornice) are interrupted or missing.

Broken Pediment

A triangular section of a pediment that is open or incomplete, often used for stylistic effect.

Doric

The simplest of the Classical orders of columns, characterized by sturdy, plain columns without a base.

Ionic

A Classical column style with elegant proportions and scroll-shaped decorations on the capital.

Corinthian

The most elaborate Classical column style, with an ornate capital decorated with acanthus leaves.

Pilaster

A flat, rectangular column-like structure attached to a wall, often decorative.

Pediment

A triangular section above a building's entrance, often adorned with sculptures, part of Classical architecture.

Attic

The uppermost story of a building, sometimes used for decorative or functional purposes.

Ellipse

An elongated circle, often used in art and architecture to create a sense of perspective.

Humanism

A cultural and intellectual movement during the Renaissance that emphasized the study of classical antiquity and the value of human experience and reason.

Protestantism

A branch of Christianity that emerged from the Reformation, emphasizing individual faith and scripture over church tradition.

Counter-Reformation

The Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation, aimed at reforming the Church and reaffirming Catholic doctrines.

Absolutism

A political doctrine where a monarch holds absolute power, often seen in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Michelangelo: Church of St. Peter, Rome

plan, exterior

1500 late Renaissance Italy

1500

Giorgione/Titian, Pastoral Concert 1500 late Renaissance Italy

1

Titian, Venus of Urbino 1550 late Renaissance Italy

1

Matthias Grünewald. Isenheim Altarpiece

• Closed, open views

1500 Northern European Renaissance

1500

Albrecht Dürer. Adam and Eve 1500 Northern European Renaissance

1

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Return of the Hunters 1550 Northern European Renaissance

15

Caravaggio. The Calling of St. Matthew 1600 Baroque Italy

16

Gentileschi. Judith Beheading Holofernes 1600 Baroque Italy

Gaulli. Triumph of the Name of Jesus, Il Gesù, Rome 1700 Baroque Italy

1

Bernini. David 1600 Baroque Italy

1600

Bernini, Cornaro Chapel (St. Teresal 1650 Baroque Italy

)

1650

Bernini: Piazza of Church of St. Peter, Rome 1650 Baroque Italy

1650

Baldacchino, Church of St. Peter 1600 baroque italy

160

Carlo Maderno. Façade of St. Peter’s, Rome 1600 Baroque italy

1600

Rubens, Raising of the Cross 1600 Baroque Netherlands

16

Rubens, Henry IV receiving a portrait of Marie de’Medici 1600 Baroque Netherlands

1600

Van Dyck, Charles I at the Hunt 1650 Baroque Netherlands

1650

Frans Hals, Officers of St. Hadrian 1600 Baroque Netherlands

1600

Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait 1650 Baroque Netherlands

16

Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance 1700 Baroque Netherlands

Rembrandt, Three Crosses 1650 Baroque Netherlands

16

Rembrandt, Self-Portrait 1658 (1650) Baroque Netherlands

1650

Van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem from Overveen 1650 Baroque Netherlands

1650

Rachel Ruysch, Flower Still-life 1700 Baroque Netherlands

1700

Fragonard, The Swing 1750 Rococo

1750

Watteau, Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera 1700 Rococo

1700

Hogarth, The Marriage Contract 1750 rococo

175