HUM 310 Final Terms Flashcards

Flashcards for reviewing key terms and concepts from HUM 310 lecture notes, covering chapters 17-22, Spring 2025. These flashcards focus on definitions of terms related to Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionism eras, as well as key art movements and concepts discussed in class.

Baroque Music

Characterized by ornate melodies, driving rhythm, polyphonic texture, and terraced dynamics.

Oratorio

An unstaged opera that tells a story (often religious) through singing and instrumental music, without acting, costumes, or sets.

Fugue

A polyphonic composition in which a theme is introduced by one instrument and then repeated by each successively entering instrument.

Concerto

A musical piece for one or more soloists and orchestra.

Enlightenment

The Age of Reason (1700-1789) where people believed in the power of knowledge to improve both the individual and society.

Philosophes

The leaders of the Enlightenment, a small band of writers/philosophers.

Salon

A gathering, often hosted by upper-class women, where enlightened thinkers and their admirers met to dine and converse.

Rococo

A style more intimate than the baroque, committed to frivolous subjects and themes.

Neoclassicism

A backward glance to the restrained style of antiquity; rejection of the rococo style, fascination with new archaeological discoveries.

Fête galante

A theme or scene of aristocrats being entertained or simply enjoying their leisure and other worldly pleasures.

Chinoiserie

A style and taste in the West for Chinese culture, embracing the decorative arts.

Classical Music

Characterized by clear melodies, homophonic texture, structured forms, and gradual dynamics.

Symphony

A long and complex sonata, usually written in three or four movements, for large orchestras.

Chamber Music

Music for a small ensemble of instruments or voices.

Industrial Revolution

a period of economic, technological, and social change that transformed agrarian societies into industrialized ones

Romanticism

A movement characterized by love of the exotic, cult of the hero, emotional and lyrical expression in landscapes and other art forms.

Picturesque

Aims to capture nature scenes that are beautiful with a charming quality.

Sublime

Aims to depict nature's grandeur and power in a way that evokes feelings of awe, wonder, and fear.

Utilitarianism

The doctrine that the final goal of society and humans is “the greatest good for the greatest number.”

Realism

An artistic style that focused on the everyday lives of the middle and lower classes, portraying their world in a serious, accurate, and unsentimental way; opposed to romanticism.

Impasto

In painting, the application of thick layers of pigment.

Daguerreotype

An early photographic process producing a highly detailed image on a silver-coated copper plate.

Social Gospel

Stressed social betterment rather than personal piety.

Impressionism

Focused on depicting transient moments and the play of light over objects.

Post-Impressionism

French movement reacting against Impressionism's naturalism. Emphasized subjective vision and symbolism.

Pointillism

A style of painting in which tiny dots of paint are applied to the canvas to create recognizable objects when viewed from a distance.

Symbolism

An artistic movement that rejected literal representation and aimed to express emotions, ideas, and spiritual truths through symbolic imagery.

Expressionism

A literary and artistic movement characterized by the expression of highly personal feelings rather than of objective reality.

Fauvism

An early-twentieth-century art movement led by Matisse and favoring exotic colors and disjointed shapes; from the French fauve, 'wild beast'.

Cubism

Presented all angles of reality. Complete view. Solve et Coagula, Dissolve and Coagulate Take apart and reconstruct, Analyze and synthesize

Collage

Applying bits and pieces of other objects to the canvas.

Futurism

Celebrated the dynamism, speed, energy, and technology of the modern world.

Ragtime

Syncopated music perfected by black pianist and composer Scott Joplin, based on a blend of African American rhythms and Western harmony.

Serial Music

A type of musical composition based on a twelve-tone scale arranged any way the composer chooses; the absence of a tonal center in serial music leads to atonality.

Dada

An early-twentieth-century artistic movement that was rooted in a love of play, encouraged deliberately irrational acts, and exhibited contempt for all traditions.

Readymade

An art style where ordinary, mass-produced objects are selected and presented as art, often with minimal alteration.

Surrealism

An early-twentieth-century movement in art, literature, and theater, in which incongruous juxtapositions and fantastic images produce an irrational and dreamlike effect.

Harlem Renaissance

A 1920s cultural revival in the predominantly black area of New York City called Harlem.

Abstract Expressionism

A non-representational artistic style characterized by randomness, spontaneity, and an attempt by the artist to interact emotionally with the work as it was created.

Action Painting

An artist’s use of agitated motions while applying paint to canvas, inspired by surrealism’s reliance on automatic responses.

International Style (architecture)

A style and method of construction that capitalized on modern materials, such as ferro-concrete, glass, and steel, and that produced the popular “glass box” skyscrapers.

Color Field Painting

A style of abstract art characterized by large areas of flat, solid color spread across the canvas.

Pop Art

An artistic style in which commonplace commercial objects drawn from mass culture became the subjects of art.

Feminist Art

Art created with the conscious aim of challenging the historical dominance of men in art and society.

Conceptual Art

Art in which the concept or idea of the proposed art is more important than the means for its execution.

Earthworks

A postmodern art form that uses the environment to create a natural-looking artwork.

Site-Specific Art

Artwork created for a particular location, where the location is integral to the meaning and experience of the work.

Mary Wollstonecraft

English writer

In A Vindica-

tion of the Rights of Woman (1792), used Enlightenment

­ideals to urge the liberation of her own sex.

Mozart, Abduction from the Seraglio

Theme of Enlightenment. Feminism. Freedom of choice. Equality. Be humane and kind.

Beethoven, Eroica Symphony

A groundbreaking work that exemplifies the ideals of heroism and individualism while reflecting the spirit of the Enlightenment.

Wordsworth, “Tintern Abbey”

A poem that reflects on nature, memory, and the passage of time, highlighting the importance of human experience and emotion.

Nietzsche

A German philosopher known for his critique of traditional morality and religion, emphasizing individual will and the concept of the "Übermensch," or "Overman," as a goal for humanity.

Freud

An Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, he developed theories about the unconscious mind, dream interpretation, and the significance of childhood experiences in shaping personality.

Jung

A Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology, he introduced concepts such as the collective unconscious, archetypes, and introversion versus extroversion.

Chopin, Raindrop Prelude

Known for its melancholic melody and repeated notes that evoke the sound of raindrops, often seen as a reflection of the emotional turmoil experienced by the composer.

Debussy, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

An orchestral piece evoking the sensual and dreamlike atmosphere of a faun waking up in the forest and musing about nymphs.

Die Brücke (The Bridge)

They wanted to break away from traditional German art and create a more direct and emotional form of expression.

Their art is characterized by bold, often clashing colors, distorted figures, and rough, energetic brushstrokes.

They often depicted urban life, nature, and the human figure in raw and intense ways, exploring feelings of alienation and the anxieties of modern life.

Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)

An art movement that focused on abstraction, emphasizing the use of color and form to express emotions rather than represent the physical world. Its members sought to convey spiritual truths through their art, often exploring themes of nature and the inner self.

Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring

A groundbreaking ballet score that caused a riot at its premiere in 1913, known for its complex rhythms, dissonance, and innovative orchestration, depicting pagan rituals and the awakening of spring.

Joplin, “The Chrysanthemum”

A ragtime composition characterized by its lyrical melodies, emotional depth, and syncopated rhythms.

Schoenberg

An influential composer and painter known for developing the twelve-tone technique and for his pioneering work in atonal music, which rejected traditional harmony and tonality.

Florence Price, “Fantasie Negre”

A composition blending classical music forms with African American musical elements such as spirituals and folk songs.

William Grant Still, Afro-American Symphony

A groundbreaking symphonic work that incorporates elements of African American musical traditions, including blues and spirituals, while displaying classical forms and orchestration.

Morton Feldman, “Rothko Chapel”

A composition written in response to Mark Rothko's chapel paintings, known for its reflective, meditative character and sparse textures, reflecting the emotional impact of visual art. It explores themes of spirituality and introspection through unconventional use of time and silence.

Alvin Ailey, The River

A choreographic work that features a series of dances symbolizing the passage of life, with Duke Ellington's music enhancing its narrative about transformation and continuity.