APAH Unit 23: Southern & Northern Baroque VOCAB

Camera Obscura

Latin, “dark room;” a lens projects an image on a wall of a box; used by artists as an aid in drawing from nature - Example is Woman holding a balance.

Etching

a metal plate is covered with a waxy coat; the artist scratches into the wax the design; the plate is dipped into acid; wax is cleaned off the plate; ink is applied into the lines, paper is laid down, and pressure is applied to transfer the ink to the paper - Example is self-portrait with Saskia.

French garden

a 17th c. style of gardening that promoted a controlled and constructed look; not constructed to look natural but to show how man can manipulate nature to match his will - Example is Palace at Versailles.

Grand Manner

art that is painted with grandiose subjects, such as battles, royalty, heroic actions, or religious or classical themes - Example is Henry IV (receives the portrait of Marie de' Medici).

Memento mori

artistic or symbolic reminders of mortality - Example is Woman holding a balance.

Vanitas

symbolism for showing “Vanity”, to show yourself in upper-class way, better than others.  - Example is Woman holding a balance.

Balustrade

a railing supported by balusters (molded shafts); typical ornamental on a balcony, bridge, or terrace - Example is il Gesu.

Baroque classicism

a style within the Baroque period that purposefully recalls art from ancient Greece and Rome - Example is il Gesu.

Decorative program

a work of art with multiple components, panels, or images that all are united through subject matter - Example is il Gesu.

Di sottu in sù

“from the bottom up;” ceiling paintings seem to be hovering above the viewers; space moves vertically - Example is il Gesu.

Gestural

vigorous application of paint where the movements of the artist’s hand are visible - Example is Las Meninas.

Impasto

thick and very visible application of paint on the painting surface - Example is Las Meninas.

Painterly

the look of a painting with thick vigorously applied paint - Example is Las Meninas.

Radical naturalism

Everyday characteristics; figures are not ennobled; they are gritty, dirty, realistic - Example is Calling of St. Matthew.

Rosette

rose-shaped decoration - Example is Nave View: San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane.

Tenebrism

a dramatic dark and light contrast in a painting; created by Caravaggio - Example is Calling of St. Matthew.

Trompe l’oeil

literally in French, “trick of the eye”; artwork that is painted illusionistically to trick the viewer into thinking it is real - Example is il Gesu.

Biombo

Latin American colonial folding screen - Example is Screen with the Siege of Belgrade.

Enconchado

placing tiny fragments of mother-of-pearl or other shell onto a wooden support or canvas, and then covering with thin glazes of paint - Example is Virgin of Guadalupe.

Lacquer

clear, thick, and highly glossy wood finish that dries clear; popular in Japanese decorative arts; copied in the Latin American enconchado technique - Example is Virgin of Guadalupe.

Classicists

artists who believed in subdued painting, with a controlled use of line

no example

Hierarchy of Genre (HP GL AS)

organized by the Académie; 1) history painting; 2) portraiture; 3) genre; 4) landscape; 5) animal scenes; 6) still lifes
no example

Naturalists

artists who believed in intense imagery, with a dramatic use of color

no example

Poussinistes vs. Rubenistes

debate regarding line vs. color; Poussinistes argue for a linear rationalism whereas Rubenistes valued evocative and dramatic colors

no example