renaissance in northern europe and quattrocento italy

Feudalism

a social system in medieval Europe where nobility gave lands for military services, and peasants (serfs) were obliged to live on their lord’s land for their labor.

Chartreuse

a Carthusian monastery.

Fons vitae

a fountain of everlasting life

Polyptychs

hinged, multipaneled paintings or carved relief panels

Lancet

tall, narrow window with a pointed arch.

Tracery

ornamental stonework in Gothic windows

Oil paint

powdered pigments mixed with linseed oil.

Matte

dull

Sfumato

a technique that uses subtle blending to create a smoky effect.

Donor portrait

portraits of individuals who commissioned the work.

Diptych

two-panel paintings. 

Recto

refers to the right-hand side of a book page.

Verso

refers to the left-hand side of a book page. 

Pieta

an event in Christianity in which the Virgin Mary cradles the dead body of her son.

Deposition

an event in Christianity in which Jesus is taken down from the cross after his crucifixion.

Vanishing point

a point on the image plane where parallel lines appear to converge.

Perspective

a method of presenting an illusion of the 3-D world on a 2-D surface. 

Orthogonal

converging diagonal lines are imagined to be behind and perpendicular to the image plane.

Horizon line

an imaginary line that falls on the horizon of the landscape.

Lunette

crescent-shaped, semicircular architectural spaces. 

Engraving

the process of cutting a design into a hard surface.

Print

artwork created by transferring a design from a metal plate or a wood or stone block to a sheet of paper.

Cross-hatching

the use of overlapping lines to fill shaded areas.

Parallel hatching

the use of short, vertical lines to fill shaded areas.

Cherub

winged child in painting and sculpture.

Quattrocento

refers to the 15th century in Italy.

Neo-Platonism

a school of thought that believed that everything emanates from “the One” and the soul’s journey of “outgoing and return”.

Sacrifice of Isaac

A scene in Christianity in which God orders Abraham to sacrifice his son to demonstrate his devotion before being stopped.

David

the youthful slayer of Goliath in Christianity

Pilasters

rectangular columns that project from a wall.

Tondo

circular works of art.

Frieze

a continuous horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration.

Equestrian statue

statues of a rider mounted on a horse.

Contrapposto

describes a naturalistic human pose where most of the figure’s weight is on one leg.

Portico

porches that lead to the entrance of a building.

Cloister

a covered walk or gallery that surrounds an open courtyard.

Loggia

open-sided galleries or porches

Refectory

the dining hall in an educational or religious institution.

Pediment

a triangular, decorative architectural element found above a building’s entablature, door, and window.

Oculi

a round or eye-like opening or design. 

Central plan

a building in which the parts radiate from a central point.

Longitudinal plan

building developed along a horizontal axis. 

Barrel vault

semi-cylindrical ceilings or roofs formed by a series of arches placed one after another.

Pendentive

structural devices that permit the placement of a circular dome over a square room.

Roundel

decorative circular plate or panels.

Rustication

rough, unfinished masonry.

Cornice

ornamental molding around the wall of a room just below the ceiling.

Engaged column

columns partially embedded into a wall.

Trompe l’oeil

refers to illusionistic painting that aims to deceive the viewers into believing that they are seeing real objects.