ART 100 Midterm Terms/Movements

Pulpit

A raised platform in which priests delivered sermons with wraparound narrative reliefs depicting biblical themes

Renaissance

Philosophical, artistic, and cultural movement in 15th century Europe marked by growing concern with the natural world, the individual, and the ancient classics

Humanism

A code of conduct with chief concerns surrounding human values and interests being distinct from (but not opposed to) religious values; pointed to classical cultures and praiseworthy

Fresco

Painting with augmented plaster, useful for large areas, colors tend to be less saturated because of mixture with while plaster

Tempera

Pigment mixed with water and egg whites, durable with more saturated color compared to fresco

Burgundy

A powerful and fertile east-central region of France most prominent during the 15th century; cultural center for art commissions

Polyptychs

Hinged, multi paneled painting or relief panels typically used in altarpiece

Oil Painting

A characteristically Northern European painting technique that developed in the 15th century; could create richer colors and more subtle graduations of tone which gave the illusion of glowing light and glistening surfaces

Book of Hours

Manuscript commonly owned by 14th-15th century European aristocracy where prayers were assigned to certain times of year

Print

Artwork created by transferring a design on a metal plate, wood, or stone block onto a sheet of paper; includes relief and engraving techniques

Linear Perspective

The projection of measurable objects on flat surfaces that converge on a vanishing point on an axis of the composition

Imitation

The starting point for young artists training with a basis of copying, Renaissance artists thought the best way to learn and develop a style was through this technique

Emulation

The step after imitation, using features and techniques of other artists as a springboard for individual improvements or innovations

Triumphal Arch

In Roman Architecture, a free standing arch commemorating an important event like a military victory; popularity grew again during the Renaissance

Neoplatisism

The Dutch artists Pier Mondrains theory of ‘pure plastic art’: an ideal balance between the universal and the individual by using abstract formal vocabulary

Doric

Type of Greek/Roman architectural system characterized by capitals with funnel shapes and columns without bases

Ionic

Type of Greek/Roman architectural system characterized by capitals, columns with bases, and an uninterrupted frieze

Capital

The uppermost section of a column that transitions the shaft to the lintel

Cornice

Any crowning projection; a projecting and crowning piece of an entablature that frames the pediment

Pediment

The triangular space at the end of a building formed by the ends of the sloping roof above the colonnade

Barrel Vault

A vaulter masonry roof or ceiling

Nave

A central area of a church demarcated from aisles by piers or columns

Transept

The part of a church where an axis crosses the nave at a right angle (forming a cross shape)

Apse

A recess (usually semicircular) in the end wall of a church

Relief (Woodcut)

Type of printmaking where ink does not go in rivets, crosshatching is used to create contrast/shadow, and has limitations on thickness/thinness of lines because of fragile material

Intaglio (Engraving)

Printmaking technique where ink goes in rivets that were cut on a smallish plate, able to create thin lines, plate surface gets covered in ink which is then wiped away to reveal the design

Portraiture

Type of secular art form that grew popular during the Renaissance, was a way for artists to both assert themselves as individuals and demonstrate their talents to possible clients

Lunette

A semi-circular area/painting in a wall over a door, niche, or window

Central Plan Church

Horizontal arrangement of the parts of a building where parts of the structure are of equal or almost equal dimensions around the center

Sfumato

The technique of allowing tones and colors to shade gradually into one another, producing a softened and smoky effect

Spandrel

The almost triangular space between the shoulders of adjoining arches and the ceiling or molding above them

Paragone

Debate in the Renaissance in which painting, sculpture, and (to an extent) architecture were each championed as forms of art superior and distinct from one another

Chiaroscuro

Shading/contrast technique in painting, Italian for ‘the play of light and dark’

Reformation

A 16th century religious, political, and cultural movement beginning in Northern Europe with reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin questioning the church's ability to define Christian practices

Protestantism

A branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenants of the Protestant Reformation, believed that salvation is attained only through faith in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice

Counter Reformation

Efforts in the 16th century to oppose the Protestant Reformation and reestablish the Catholic Church, art served to emphasize hierarchy, involve viewer in the art, and creating a sense of potential movement

Indulgence

A distinctive feature of the Catholic Church that granted full/partial remission of punishment for sins through some sort of payment (mainly monetary)

Iconoclasm

The destruction of religious or sacred images during the Protestant Reformation

Idolatry

The worship of someone or something other than God as if it were God

Anamorphic Image

Type of image common in the mannerist movement; deliberate image distortion that requires a special device like a cylindrical mirror or looking at the piece from an acute angle to recognize the image

Colonnade

A series or row of columns (usually spanned by a horizontal support) across the top of a door or window

Baldacchino

A canopy on top of columns, frequently built over an altar

Genre Painting

A form of genre art that depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities

Momento Mori

An artistic/symbolic trope with roots on classical philosophy that acts as a reminder of the inevitability of death

Tenebrism

Technique associated with Caravaggio; painting in a ‘shadowy manner’ using violent contrasts of light and dark that create a sort of spotlight effect

Quadro Riportato

Transported painting, refers to the form of a wall painting for a ceiling design in which a painted scene created in a panel resembles a composition on the surface of a shallow curved vault

Stucco

A plaster like material consisting of lime, sand, water, and other ingredients; can be used for covering walls or for architectural decoration

Medieval Art Characteristics

Heavy focus on religious content, not trying to represent an individual or an aesthetic through painting but more of a concept/narrative for educational purposes, stiff and elongated figures, repetitive patterns, emphasis on hierarchy

Renaissance Art Characteristics

Exploration of the individual and their traits becoming as important as religious art, artistic looking back on techniques of classical cultures, more naturalistic depictions of details and size through mathematical techniques like linear perspective

Reformation Art Characteristics

Distrust in religious art with covert religious content, interested in Protestant values (less emphasis on hierarchy, act of physically reading the bible) beginnings of genre type paintings