art notes

1. Altarpiece: A large painting or sculpture placed behind an altar, often featuring religious scenes.

2. Triptych: A three-paneled artwork, often a painting or an altarpiece, with hinged panels that can be opened or closed.

3. Vellum: A fine-quality, smooth surface made from animal skin (often calfskin), traditionally used for manuscripts.

4. Fresco: A technique of painting directly onto wet plaster, allowing the paint to absorb into the wall surface as it dries.

5. Tempera: A fast-drying painting medium made from pigment mixed with water and egg yolk, often used in early Renaissance paintings.

6. Ultramarine Blue: A vivid blue pigment originally made from lapis lazuli, used in Renaissance and Baroque painting.

7. Relief Sculpture: Sculpture in which the figures or forms are raised from a flat background.

8. Grisaille: A monochrome painting technique, often using shades of gray to mimic sculpture or create depth.

9. Contrapposto: A pose in sculpture where the weight is shifted onto one leg, creating a sense of movement and realism.

10. Sfumato: A painting technique of blending colors and tones so that there are no harsh lines, creating soft transitions.

11. Chiaroscuro: The use of light and shadow to create depth, contrast, and volume in artwork.

12. Heroic Nudity: The depiction of human figures, especially in classical art, in the nude to convey idealized or heroic qualities.

13. Hierarchic Scale: The use of scale to indicate the relative importance of figures or elements in a composition.

14. Iconography: The study of symbols and themes in art and their meanings.

15. Idealization: The portrayal of subjects in an ideal, often exaggerated, form, typically seen in classical art.

16. Stylization: The abstraction or simplification of forms to fit a particular artistic style, often seen in non-realistic depictions.

17. Naturalism: The attempt to depict subjects as realistically and accurately as possible.

18. Portraiture: The art of creating likenesses of individuals, often focusing on their face and expression.

19. Atmospheric Perspective: A technique that uses color and light to create the illusion of depth by mimicking how the atmosphere affects distant objects.

20. Linear Perspective: A technique that uses converging lines to create the illusion of depth and distance.

21. Vanishing Point: The point in a composition where parallel lines appear to converge in linear perspective.

22. Orthogonals: The diagonal lines that lead to the vanishing point in linear perspective.

23. Foreshortening: A technique used to depict an object or figure in perspective, often making parts of it appear larger or smaller depending on its position.

24. Modeling: The use of light and shadow to create the illusion of three-dimensional form on a flat surface.

### Architectural Terms:

1. Byzantine: Refers to the style of art and architecture from the Eastern Roman Empire, characterized by domes, mosaics, and religious themes.

2. International Gothic: A late Gothic style characterized by elegant, detailed, and often ornate forms, seen across Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries.

3. Classical: Referring to the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, emphasizing symmetry, proportion, and balance.

4. Humanism: A Renaissance intellectual movement that emphasized human potential and achievements, focusing on classical antiquity and individualism.

5. Neoplatonism: A philosophical system that merged elements of Platonic philosophy with religious thought, often influencing Renaissance art.

6. Doric, Ionic, Corinthian: The three classical orders of architecture in Ancient Greece, distinguished by their column styles and proportions.

7. Architrave: The horizontal beam that rests on top of columns in classical architecture.

8. Frieze: The decorative horizontal band, often sculpted, found along the top of a building or around a structure.

9. Pediment: The triangular section of a building's facade, often above a portico or columns, typically decorated with sculptures or reliefs.

10. Pilaster: A flattened column attached to a wall, often for decorative purposes.

11. Coffers: Sunken, square or rectangular panels in a ceiling or vault, often used in architecture to reduce weight.

12. Modular: A system of design based on a standard unit or module, often used in classical architecture.

13. Arcade: A row of arches supported by columns, often used as a passageway or decorative feature.

14. Barrel Vault: A continuous series of arches forming a tunnel-like structure.

15. Nave: The central, often largest, part of a church, running from the entrance to the altar.

16. Transept: The crosswise part of a church, intersecting the nave, often forming a T or Latin cross shape.

17. Apse: The semi-circular or polygonal recess at the end of a church, often housing the altar.

18. Basilica: An early Christian church with a central nave, aisles, and an apse, originally modeled after Roman public buildings.

19. Medici: A wealthy Italian family who were significant patrons of the arts, especially during the Renaissance.

20. Engaged Columns: Columns that are partially embedded into a wall and do not function as structural supports.

21. Vitruvius: An ancient Roman architect and engineer, whose treatises on architecture greatly influenced Renaissance architects.

### Cultural & Philosophical Influences:

1. Humanism: A Renaissance intellectual movement focusing on the study of classical texts and the promotion of human achievements.

2. Neoplatonism: A philosophical system combining Platonic ideas with religious elements, influencing Renaissance art and thought.

Late Gothic Italy (foreshadowing the Renaissance, with key characteristics like the emergence of prominent artists like Giotto, a growing focus on depicting the human form with greater realism, and the incorporation of classical elements into religious themes, all while still maintaining the spiritual focus of the Gothic style;)

Giotto, Madonna Enthroned1300

Giotto, Arena Chapel, Padua1300

 - Lamentation 1300

Lorenzetti. “Good Government” frescoes 1350

Duccio, Maestà Altarpiece 1300

Simone Martini, The Annunciation

Chapter 19: Early Renaissance Netherlands (characterized by a meticulous attention to detail, highly realistic depictions of everyday objects and people, rich colors, and a focus on religious themes, often presented in complex altarpieces)

Limbourg Brothers, Les Tres Riches Heures

feb  1400

jan  1400

Master of Flémalle. Mérode Triptych  1450

Jan Van Eyck. Arnolfini Portrait 1450

Van der Weyden. Descent from the Cross.1450

Hans Memling. Diptych of Martin van Nieuwenhove1450

Chapter 20: Early Renaissance Italy a period marked by a fervent revival of classical learning and artistic expression, where scholars and artists focused on studying and reinterpreting ancient Greek and Roman texts, leading to a shift towards more naturalistic and human-centered themes in art, literature, and philosophy, often centered around the intellectual movement known as Humanism

Brunelleschi. Dome, Florence Cathedral 1450

Brunelleschi. Church of San Lorenzo 1400

• interior, plan

Donatello. David 1450

Ghiberti. “The Gates of Paradise”

• Jacob and Esau 1450

Masaccio. The Tribute Money 1450

Botticelli. The Birth of Venus  1500

Chapter 21: High Renaissance Italy a period roughly spanning from the late 1490s to the 1520s, considered the pinnacle of artistic achievement during the Italian Renaissance, marked by the works of renowned artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, where classical ideals were combined with a deep understanding of human anatomy and perspective, resulting in highly realistic and harmonious artworks, particularly in painting, sculpture, and architecture

DaVinci, Mona Lisa1500

DaVinci, The Last Supper 1500

Raphael, School of Athens1500

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling1500

• Creation of Adam 1500

Michelangelo, David 1500

Titian, Venus of Urbino 1550