Art App Test 2

Gold Leaf

22K gold pounded into extremely thin sheets, to be applied selectively to areas of 2-d or 3-d objects

3.5

The invention of the potter's wheel allowed artists to "throw" the clay on a rotating platform the artist operated by hand or powered with a kicking motion. When and where the potter's wheel rst appeared is much debated, but it was widely used in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Southeast Asia before 3,000 BCE. Using a potter's wheel allowed the artist to turn vessels with thinner walls, a greater variety of and more uniform shapes and sizes, and a larger array of painted and incised decorative elements for additional aesthetic appeal. They could, as well, make molds for serial production of commonly used types of pots. By the time of the Ming Dynasty in China (1368-1644), vases such as this from the Xuande period (1426-1435) painted in imperial (cobalt) blue and white display both the technical inno- vations and the remarkable degree of re nement achieved. (Figure 3.5) The development of such mineral resources as kaolin and petuntse allowed ceramicists to create porcelain, one of the most re ned and hardest types of pottery, which became known as "china" because of the origins of the materials and processes; chinaware was soon emulated the world over for its beauty and utility as tableware and décor. Traders from Portugal returned from China with chinaware (porcelain vessels) in the sixteenth century. The semi-translu- cent material, elegant shapes, and glass-like, intricately dec- orated surfaces of the pots were unlike anything produced in Europe at that time. The demand for such wares quickly spread throughout Europe, and ceramicists on that continent spent the next two centuries trying to unlock the secret of how to create such smooth, white, and hard pottery.

Contrapposto

an asymmetrical arrangement of the human gure in which the line of the arms and shoulders contrasts with and balances the line of the hips and legs

Idealized

an image that is represented as being ideal or perfected.

Non-Representational

artwork which intentionally avoids the strategy of representation, instead selecting only novel and original experience as subject matter.

Vellum

calfskin, prepared for use in luxury manuscripts, more highly prized than the rougher, less expensive parchment

Porcelain

highly refined ceramic ware, initially produced in China, with select materials like petuntse and kaolin, to create semi-translucent material, with elegant shapes, and glass-like, intricately decorated surfaces, and high-temp fired for hardened finishes

Abstract

in art, the property of representing selected essential features of a particular subject instead of relying on objective appearance alone.

Representation

in art, the use of signs or images which stand in for or take the place of something else.

Naturalistic

of or pertaining to the appearance of nature, without idealization.

Earthenware

or objects made from clay: such as vessels that are formed for specific uses and hardened either by drying in the air or by baking in high heat. Often, earthenware goods are distinguished from more refined clay-based objects that are creating with additional processing of the material or di erent/more complex firing methods. See porcelain

Parchment

sheepskin, prepared for use in manuscripts—less refined than vellum, used for finer and more expensive works.

Heirarchial Proportions

the condition in which the size of gures is determined by social importance rather than observation.

Monetary Value

the worth of materials or objects, in terms of "market value." This might be determined by the value of the materials use or of the finished art object, considered differently from the cost of the materials.