Art History Cards

Mastaba

an ancient Egyptian mudbrick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof

Cotrapposto

an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms and shoulders contrasts with, while balancing, those of the hips and legs.

Lux nova

"New light;" emphasized the glory of God through light; feature of Gothic architecture

Reliquary

A container for holy relics

Ka

In ancient Egypt, the immortal human life force.

Stylobate

The uppermost course of the platform of a Greek temple, which supports the columns.

Capital (architectural element of the column)

In architecture the capital (from the Latin caput, or "head") or chapiter forms the topmost member of a column (or a pilaster). It mediates between the columnand the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column'ssupporting surface.

Versailles decorations, Charles le Brun, French Baroque, begun 1669, commissioned by Louis XIV to completely renovate Versailles, then a tiny palace, into an opulent dwelling. Le Brun headed the work down to the most minute details of arrangement and presentation and filled the palace with classical paintings and depictions of Louis' reign; the structure and its decorations were intended to awe visitors. The Escalier des Ambassadeurs was the main staircase at the entryway to Versailles from its completion in 1679 until its destruction in 1752. The king was so pleased that he referred to it as "Monsieur Le Brun's staircase" when he showed it to an ambassador from Spain in 1679.

(One Versailles salon decorated by le Brun)

Rosetta Stone

a huge stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and a later form of Egyptian that allowed historians to understand Egyptian writing.

Amarna Period (Colossal Statues of Akhenaten are part of this period): an era of Egyptian history during the later half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten ('Horizon of the Aten') in what is now Amarna. Marked by the reign of Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten (1353-1336 BC) to reflect the dramatic change of Egypt's polytheistic religion into one where the sun disc Aten was worshipped over all other gods. The Egyptian pantheon was restored under Akhenaten's successor, Tutankhamun.

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Humanism (Renaissance)

A Renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements

Rose window

A circular stained-glass window with mullions or tracery radiating in a form suggestive of a rose.

Herringbone

A pattern consisting of rows of short, slanted parallel lines with the direction of the slant alternating row by row

Hierarchy of Scale/Hierarchical perspective

A person's importance relates to his size relative to others in an artwork

Edict of Milan (313)

A proclamation that permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire, issued by Constantine in 313 AD

Apse (ecclesiastical architecture)

A recess, usually semicircular, in the wall of a building, commonly found at the east end of a church.

Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Sfumato

A smokelike haziness that subtly softens outlines in painting; particularly applied to the painting of da Vinci and Correggio. Italian for "smoky."

Pointed arch

An arch with a pointed crown, characteristic of Gothic architecture.

Mandoria

An elliptical, pointed figure used esp. In early christian art as an emblem of Christ.

Pendentive

An inverted, concave, triangular piece of masonry serving as the transition from a square support system to the circular base of a dome.

Relic

An object considered holy because it belonged to, or was touched by, a saint or other holy person

Golden Ratio

Approximately 1.618, believed to be aesthetically pleasing in art and architecture

Flying Buttress (Gothic)

Arch built onto the exterior of a building that transfers the thrust of the roof vaults at important stress points through the wall to a detached buttress pier

Stained glass

Colored glass used to form decorative or pictorial designs, notably for church windows, both by painting and especially by setting contrasting pieces in a lead framework like a mosaic.

Kritios Boy; Early Classical Greek, marble, about 480 BC, first statue from classical antiquity known to use contrapposto, thus named because it is attributed, on slender evidence, to Kritios who worked together with Nesiotes (sculptors of Harmodius and Aristogeiton) or their school.

Contrapposto: an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms and shoulders contrasts with, while balancing, those of the hips and legs.

National Parks Service

Created in 1916 as a new federal bureau in the Department of Interior. Given the responsibility to administer the national parks and monuments. Currently administers 385 sites.

Hudson River School

Founded by Thomas Cole, the first native school of landscape painting in the United States; lasted ca. 1825-1870; attracted artists rebelling against neoclassical tradition, painted many scenes of New York's Hudson River

Ionic (one of three column types)

More slender and more ornate than the masculine Doric style, this type of column has scroll-shaped ornaments on the capital, which sits at the top of the column shaft. These columns are said to be a more feminine response to the earlier Doric order.

Iconophile

Persons who favored the production of religious images as an aid to devotion

Aisles (ecclesiastical architecture)

Portion of a church or basilica that parallels or encircles the major sections of the structure, such as the nave, choir, or apse (when around the apse, these are usually called ambulatories). Often set off by columns or by an arcade.

Three Revelers (attributed to Euthymides) Archaic Greek, discovered in an Etruscan tomb in Vulci, Italy, and now housed at the Staatliche Antikensammlungen in Münich, Germany; painted around 510 BCE in the red figure pottery style, shape like an amphora (or storage jar) but thought to be more decorative than functional, shows three nude partygoers and Hector arming on the reverse, remarkable for early use of foreshortening (3/4 views).

Red-figure technique: AFTER black-figure painting and a step forward; artist sketches figures on newly formed vessel, then covers the background areas with a slip (diluted clay). Upon firing, the background turns black and details can be added to the figures with more slip before another firing. The freedom given to artists who could use this technique (painting with slip was easier than cutting or incising details as with black-figure painting) led to more naturalistic, innovative depictions.

Stele of Hammurabi (front view), Babylonian, diorite stone stele 7.4 feet tall containing most of the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient Babylonian code of law inscribed in the Akkadian language; also contains a stone relief at the top, discovered 1901 in Sumeria (modern UAE and Oman; now at the Louvre)

Secondary card to show front view

Christ Pantocrator, St. Catherine's Monastery (additional card because I wanted to show you this fantastic image that's a mirrored composite of the left and right sides of the image, showing its pretty extreme duality)

Secondary view with mirrored composite

Verism

Style in which artists concern themselves with describing the exterior likeness of an object or person, usually by rendering its visible details in a finely executed, meticulous manner.

Counter Reformation

The Catholic Church's attempt to stop the protestant movement and strengthen itself. Reaffirmed veneration of saints and authority of the Pope, to which Protestants objected

Nave (ecclesiastical architecture)

The central area of a church

Corinthian (one of three column types)

This style of column has elongated capitals that are decorated with leaves. With Doric and Ionian, this style of Hellenistic architecture is the most ornate of the three styles.

Westwerk (ecclesiastical architecture)

The narthex, chapels, and towers set at the entrance end of churches of the Carolingian and later periods.

Transept (ecclesiastical architecture)

The part of a church with an axis that crosses the nave at a right angle.

Realism of particulars

The practice of depicting objects with minute attention to details

Iconoclasm/iconoclast

The rejection or destruction of religious images as heretical; the doctrine of these believers. The First (word), as it is sometimes called, existed between about 726 and 787. The Second (word) was between 814 and 842. According to the traditional view, Byzantine version was started by a ban on religious images by Emperor Leo III and continued under his successors.

Archaic smile

The smile that appears on all Archaic Greek statues from about 570 to 480 BCE. The smile is the Archaic sculptor's way of indicating that the person portrayed is alive.

Evangelist symbols

The symbols of the four apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew=human/angel, Mark=lion, Luke=ox, John=eagle

Clerestory (ecclesiastical architecture)

The upper part of the nave, choir, and transepts of a large church, containing a series of windows. It is clear of the roofs of the aisles and admits light to the central parts of the building.

Foreshortening

The use of perspective to represent in art the apparent visual contraction of an object that extends back in space at an angle to the perpendicular plane of sight

Tenebrism

The use of strong chiaroscuro and artificially illuminated areas to create a dramatic contrast of light and dark in a painting

Doric (one of three column types)

This style of column features simple, heavy columns without bases. This style of architecture is characterized by a sturdy fluted column and a thick square abacus resting on a rounded molding.

Columns

Vertical element, usually a rounded shaft with a capital and a base; in most cases serves as a support. May also be nonstructural, used for decoration or as a freestanding monument.

Canon of proportions

a set of ideal mathematical ratios in art based on measurements of the human body

Cunieform

a system of writing with wedge-shaped symbols, invented by the Sumerians around 3000 B.C.

Pediment

the triangular upper part of the front of a building in classical style, typically surmounting a portico of columns.