Art History
What is Primitivism? Shown in Les demoiselles d'Avignon, Picasso.
A term used with various meanings in the history and criticism of the arts.
What is abstract expressionism?
Abstract Expressionism is a conceptual representation of an artist's emotional state.
Artworks in Kasimir Malevich and Suprematism.
Black Square. This picture can be viewed two ways - as a black square on top of a white ground or a black hole surrounded by a white border.
What is Chiaroscuro? Shown in transfiguration, Raphael.
Chiaroscuro (Italian for light-dark) is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark.
What is classicism?
Classicism encompasses several ideas, two of the main ones being Humanism and Idealism.
Artworks in Mondrian and De Stijl.
Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red, Piet Mondrian.
What is Contrapposto? Shown in David, Michelangelo.
Contrapposto is an Italian term meaning "counterpoise" used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs.
Feminism shown in Jaqueline Fahey, Fraser sees me, I see myself.
Feminist artists began to express their sense of oppression in a male dominated world. They shared many of the same aims and used many of the same strategies as the American women did to 'challenge the patriarchy'.
What is analytical cubism? Shown in Braque, Violin and Candlestick.
Fragmented pieces, Multiple viewpoints, Monochromatic colour, 'tangible' space. Analytical Cubism is about Deconstruction of the form into fragments.
Who created cubism?
Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.
What does the Transfiguration, Raphael show?
Heightened colour, Drama and movement, Crowding of figures in foreground, Dramatic 'stage' lighting - intense Chiaroscuro, Contortion of figures.
What is shown in Sistine Madonna, Raphael?
High Renaissance Elements: Symmetry, Harmony through, Pyramidal Structure, Madonna's contraposto, Serene and Idealised. Mannerist Elements: Shallow space, Theatrical setting, Putti and Pope hat breaking the barrier between painting and viewer.
How is John the Baptist often identified?
His crucifixion stick.
What is iconography?
Iconography is a term used in Art History which identifies symbols and images that represent/symbolise meaning.
What is humanism? Shown in David, Michelangelo.
It is the study that states, "man is man." it assigned God less of a role in human life.
What idealistic features are shown in Pieta by Michelangelo?
Mary is portrayed as young and beautiful rather than the 50 year old she would have been. Harmony through the pyramidal composition. Softness in stone.
What is idealism? shown in Pieta, Michelangelo.
Not reality but what people as humans believe to be perfect - the ideal.
How is Jesus often identified?
Often shown in red and blue robes, red = blood, blue = heaven. Long brown hair. Bearded. Halo. Crown of thorns. Sign of blessing, as an infant.
Whats common iconography in New Zealand art?
Red, Green, Koru, Fern, Landscapes.
What is Sfumato? Shown in Mona Lisa, Da Vinci
Sfumato is the Italian term for a painting technique which overlays translucent layers of colour to create perceptions of depth, volume and form. In particular, it refers to the blending of colors or tones so subtly that there is no perceptible transition.
What is mannerism? Shown in Baptism, El Greco and The Last Judgement, Michelangelo.
Style characterized by distortion and use of acidic colors
What is synthetic cubism? Shown in Picasso, Still Life with Violin and Fruit.
Synthetic Cubism is Construction through the process of collage.
What is futurism? Shown in Balla, Dynamism Light and Gino Severini, Red Cross Train Passing a Village
The Futurists admired speed, technology, youth and violence, the car, the airplane and the industrial city, all that represented the technological triumph of humanity over nature. They were also passionate nationalists.