17th c. Southern & Northern Art Vocab

Balustrade - a railing supported by balusters (molded shafts); typical ornamental on a balcony, bridge, terrace

Baroque classism - a style within the Baroque period that purposefully recalls art from Ancient Greece and Rome

Decorative Program - work of art with multiple components, panels, or images that are all united through subject matter

Di sottu in su: “from the bottom up”, ceiling paintings seem to be hovering above the viewers; space moves vertically

Gestural: vigorous application of paint where the movements of the artist’s hand are visible

Impasto: thick and very visible application of paint on the painting surface

Painterly: the look of a painting with thick vigorously applied paint

Radical naturalism: Everyday characteristics; figures are not ennobled; they are gritty, dirty, realistic

Rosette: rose-shaped decoration

Tenebrism: a dramatic dark and light contrast in a painted; created by Caravaggio

Trompe l’oeil: “trick of the eye”; artwork that is painted illusionistically to trick the viewer into thinking it is real

Biombo: Latin American colonial folding screen

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

Lacquer: clear, think, highly glossy wood finish that dries clear

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.

Etching: a metal plate is covered with a waxy coat and dipped into acid

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

Grand Manner: art that is painted with grandiose subjects, such as battles, royalty, heroic actions, or religious or classical themes

Memento mori: artistic or symbolic reminders of mortality

Vanitas: a type of symbolism especially associated with Dutch and Flemish still lifes in the Baroque period; used to indicate vanity, futility, and human excess

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

Hierarchy of Genre: organized by the Academie: history painting, portraiture, genre, landscape, animal scenes, still life

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

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