AP Art History: Unit 1

acropolis

A "high city" - generally the most important area of the city which would be built on a hill

lintel

A beam used to span an opening.

frieze

A broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration near the top of the object

cromlech

A circle of monoliths. Also called henge.

ground

A coating applied to a canvas or some other surface to prepare that surface for painting; also, background.

monolith

A column that is all in one piece (not composed of drums); a large, single block or piece of stone used in megalithic structures.

sarsen

A form of sandstone used for the megaliths at Stonehenge.

Trilithon

A pair of monoliths topped with a lintel; found in a megalithic structure

burin

A pointed tool used for engraving or incising.

menhir

A prehistoric monolith, uncut or roughly cut, standing singly or with others in rows or circles.

provenance

A record of ownership of a work of art used as a guide to authenticate it.

ideogram

A simple, picture like sign filled with implicit meaning.

slip

A suspension in water of clay and/or other materials used to coat the outer part of a piece of pottery in the production of ceramic ware.

mural

A wall painting; a fresco is a type of mural medium and technique.

twisted perspective

AKA Composite View - a convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and other part of the same figure is shown frontally.

pigment

An insoluble powder that is mixed with water, oil or another base to produce paint

abstraction

Art that does not depict an actual person, place or thing as it looks in the real world.

Sculpture in the round

Freestanding figures, carved or modeled in three dimensions - not attached to another surface (except a base)

monumental

In art criticism, any work of art of grandeur and simplicity, regardless of its size.

ground line

In paintings and reliefs, a painted or carved base line on which figures appear to stand.

megalith (adj., megalithic)

Literally, "great stone"; a large, roughly hewn stone used in the construction of monumental prehistoric structures. See also cromlech, dolmen, menhir.

Popul Vu

Mayan creation story

radiocarbon dating

Method of measuring the decay rate of carbon isotopes in organic matter to provide dates for organic materials such as wood and fiber.

handthrown

Pottery object not made on a pottery wheel.

Subtractive sculpture

Sculpture technique in which materials are taken away from the original mass, i.e., carving

composite view

See twisted perspective.

dolmen

Several large stones (megaliths) capped with a covering slab, erected in prehistoric times.

11. Terracotta fragment Location: Lapita Islands, Solomon Islands, Reef Islands Artist: N/A Date: 1,000 B.C.E Culture: (probably) ancient Oceania Period/Style: Prehistoric, Neolithic Medium/Material: incised terracotta Theme(s): storage, ??? Form: Patterns which include faces and figures, and a red, vibrant color Function: piece of pottery used for cooking, serving, and storing Content: Geometric patterns, lines, and shapes. Context: Lapita art is known for ceramics, which have intricate repeating geometric patterns that sometimes include anthropomorphic faces and figures.

Terracotta Fragment

Mesolithic

The "middle" prehistoric period, between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic ages.

Neolithic

The "new" Stone Age, approximately 7000-3000 B.C.

Paleolithic

The "old" Stone Age, during which humankind produced the first art objects beginning ca. 30,000 B.C.

stylization

The decorative generalization of figures and objects by means of various conventional techniques. In other words, a repetition of the same look, whether within a geographic area or by a particular artist.

naturalism

The doctrine that art should adhere as closely as possible to the appearance of the natural world. Naturalism, with varying degrees of fidelity to appearance, recurs in the history of Western art.

medium (media)

The substance or agency in which an artist works; also, in painting, the vehicle (usually liquid) that carries the pigment.

incise

To cut into a surface with a sharp instrument; also, a method of decoration, especially on metal and pottery.

silhouette

a portrait in profile showing the outline only and filled in with black

anthropomorphic

ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things

sympathetic magic

magic predicated on the belief that one thing or event can affect another at a distance as a consequence of a sympathetic connection between them -like a voodoo doll.

contour line

outline of a figure or shape

Stele

stone markers to denote important religious or civic sites or to be used as burial markers