AP ART History terms

Apadana

Audience hall in Persian palaces (esp. Persepolis).

Bas-relief

Low relief sculpture where figures project slightly from the background.

Capital

Topmost part of a column, often decorative.

Frieze

Horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration.

Ground line

Baseline that figures stand on in art.

Negative space

Empty space around or between objects.

Register

Horizontal band used to organize scenes in art.

Relief sculpture

Sculpture that projects from a flat background.

Sarcophagus

Stone coffin, often decorated.

Triclinium

Roman dining room with three couches.

Tufa

Soft volcanic stone used in Roman architecture.

Tuscan Order

Simplified Roman column order (like Doric but plain, unfluted).

Acropolis

High city; elevated area with temples (esp. Athens).

Agora

Public marketplace and civic center in Greek cities.

Amphora

Tall two-handled jar for storage (wine, oil).

Archaic

Early period of Greek art (600–480 BCE).

Black-figure painting

Greek vase technique with black figures on red clay.

Canon

Ideal mathematical proportions of the human body.

Cella

Main chamber of a temple, housing the cult statue.

Chryselephantine

Sculpture made of gold and ivory.

Cire perdue (lost wax process)

Casting method for bronze sculpture.

Classical

Period/style of Greek art (480–323 BCE), balanced and idealized.

Colonnade

Row of columns supporting a structure.

Column

Upright post, usually supporting a beam/arch.

Contrapposto

Naturalistic stance with weight on one leg.

Doric

Earliest Greek order; plain capital, no base.

Ionic

Greek order with scroll-like volutes on capital.

Drum

One of the stacked circular blocks making a column shaft.

Flute/Fluting

Vertical grooves carved into a column shaft.

Gigantomachy

Mythological battle between gods and giants.

Hellenistic

Later Greek art (323–31 BCE), emotional and dramatic.

Kore

Archaic Greek statue of a young woman.

Kouros

Archaic Greek statue of a young man.

Krater

Large Greek vessel for mixing wine and water.

Order

Architectural system (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, Composite).

Orientalizing

Early Greek style influenced by Near Eastern motifs.

Pediment

Triangular gable at the end of a roof, often sculpted.

Peplos

Simple wool garment worn by women in Greece.

Plan

Architectural drawing showing layout from above.

Red-figure painting

Vase technique with red figures on black background.

Sanctuary

Sacred space, often with temple and altar.