Midterm Flashcards
(118 cards)
1
Q
colonialism
A
the conquest of one society by another
2
Q
cultural legitimation
A
Cultural Legitimation is a process by which a group or an entity gains credibility by adopting or seeming to adhere to the traditions or rules of a given community.
3
Q
transnational elite
A
A social elite that has ties to both an indigenous culture as well as foreign institutions, practices and knowledge. For Dirlik this is the group that has replaced colonial elites in the post-colonial ara.
4
Q
basic chronology of the gallo roman period
A
735 BCE - Founding of Rome
Republic 509 BCE -27 BCE
Empire 27 BCE - 330 CE
58-50 BCE Conquest of Gaul
50 CE development of urban centers
100 CE uniform urbanization of Gallic provinces
476 CE – Collapse of Western Empire
5
Q
Pax Romana
A
Literally the “Roman Peace”: two centuries long period of stability and prosperity (27 BCE to 180 CE) during which the Roman Empire reached its peak. Its population grew to 70 million people.
6
Q
Gallo Roman Period
A
Gaul – the people living roughly in the territories of present-day France + Roman. The period of lasting from around 80 BCE to 300 CE when Gaul was fully integrated into the Roman empire.
7
Q
Bridge City
A
Paris’s reason for being, its role in the Gallo-Roman and Imperial road network.
8
Q
Forum
A
from Latin, forum “public place outdoors: an enclosed public square serving as a marketplace and a center of religious and civic life. The forum was surrounded by shops and the stoas (covered arcades) used for open stalls, andwould have included a temple (typically of Jupiter) and a basilica. Each fora is loosely modeled on the forum at the heart of the city of Rome.
9
Q
Basilica
A
a large roofed building in the midst of the Forum, serving as a meeting hall, and a site for legal matters to be carried out and a place for business transactions. Architecturally, a basilica typically had a rectangular base that was split into aisles by columns and covered by a roof. Its interior was comprised of an immense central called the nave. Side aisles were divided by colonnades (rows of evenly spaced columns). At the centre of the wall opposite the entrance was an apse (see below).
10
Q
apse
A
A rounded recess or projection in the wall opposite the entrance of a Basilica (and later a church) where the magistrate was seated or where a statue of the emperor was placed.
11
Q
arcquated
A
An architecture composed of Arches, Vaults and domes. Generally constructed of cement, and derived from Persian architectural traditions.
A Persian architectural tradition
12
Q
trabeated
A
An architecture composed of columns and beams (post and lintels to be exact). Derives from the wooden architectural forms developed by Egyptians and Greeks.
13
Q
Barrel Vault
A
a roof in the form of an arch or a series of arches.
14
Q
Groin vault
A
A roof in the form of two Barrel Vaults intersecting perpendicularly…
15
Q
Cardo Maximus
A
A term generally used for the main North-South axis of a Roman camp or settlement. All principal buildings we be arranged on this axis.
16
Q
portico/temple front
A
The porch marking the entrance of a sacred building in the Greco-roman tradition. Composed of columns, an entablature and pediment.
17
Q
Column
A
A free-standing vertical supporting element in architecture
18
Q
capital
A
The ornamented top of a column where it meets the entablature. If the column generally evokes a human form, the capital is the head or the hair
19
Q
shaft
A
The vertical element of a column
20
Q
entablature
A
assemblage of horizontal moldings and bands supported by and located immediately above the columns of Classical buildings or similar structural supports in non-Classical buildings.
21
Q
Doric order
A
The architectural order from the City-state of Doria, held to be the most ancient of the architectural orders. Its proportion is 1:6, roughly the ratio of an adult male body. Embodying ideas of strength, it is generally associated with masculine deities and military purposes.
22
Q
Ionic order
A
The architectural order associated with the City-state of Ionia. Its distinguishing feature is the twin volutes, or spiral scrolls, of its capital. According to Vitruvius, these are associated with the hairstyle of middle-aged Roman woman, matrons. For this reason it is associated with mature female deities, such as Juno, and motherly saints.
23
Q
Corinthian order
A
The architectural order from Corinth. For Vitruvius, its proportions, 1:8, is associated with the elongated-form of adolescent girls. Corinth was the city-state with the closest ties to Persia, and was renowned for its wealth and opulence. For this reason, the Corinthian order is associated with monarchs and palaces, but its elongated proportions are also meant to evoke young women – thus it is associated with virgin deities and saints, such as the greco-roman goddess Diana, or the Christian Virgin Mary.
24
Q
Triumphal Arch
A
A free-standing ornamented monumental entrance. Triumphal Arches were originally erected on the approaches to the city of Rome on the occasion of a “Triumph”, a parade by a victorious army with all of its loot, held to mark a distant victory and glorify a successful general. Initially built as ephemeral structures in wood, around the year 200 CE they were built in a more permanent form in stone.
25
Hierarchy of material
The prestige (or lack thereof) of certain construction materials… just as today, concrete and wood have little prestige, whereas cut stone and sometimes brick are associated with high prestige structures.
26
Cement work
hydraulic setting cement. A borrowing from Syrian and Persian architecture. Roman concrete is durable due to its incorporation of volcanic ash, which prevents cracks from spreading.
Leads to a “Concrete Revolution”
27
Cladding
A thin non-structural skin of a superior material (stone, brick, plaster) used to hide an inferior material beneath (such as cement and rubble stone construction.
28
Ashlar
Precision-cut masonry (stone). The most costly and prestigious form of construction, in the Gallo-Roman period, this was generally only used on temples or palaces.
29
Capet, capetian
The dynasty that ruled France from the mid-10th c. until the mid-14th c.
30
Romanesque
An architectural style that developed in Europe between roughly 950 and 1150. It is chiefly characterized by round-arch windows, barrel vaults and heavy masonry walls.
31
opus francigenum
"French style work" – a combination of Roman, Saracen and Norman forms. A political hallmark of the Capetian monarchy. Erroneously called Gothic, given a fictional association with the Germanic tribes that were reputed to have overwhelmed the empire.
32
Feudalism
A system of land-holding or tenury in which a king or overlord granted lands (fiefs or manors) to knights, nobles and religious institutions in exchange for a vow of obedience and military service. Those living on these lands (serfs) were obliged to pay a portion of their production to their lord.
33
Society of orders
Under feudalism medieval society was divided into a rigid hierarchy of “orders” or “estates”, namely – the first order, those who prayed (clerics), the second order, those who fought (kings, knights and nobles) the third order, those who produced (serfs or peasants).
34
Tripartite division of paris
1. Ile de la Cité – the center of the civic and religious authority, with its two poles, the cathedral and the palace.
2. Right bank – the center for trade, focusedupon the port, which occupies the sight of the parvis of the hôtel de ville.
3. Left bank – the religious and academic heartof Paris with its colleges and powerfulabbeys.
35
relic, reliquary
A preserved body part of a saint, venerated for its miraculous capabilities. Housed within a reliquary, an elaborately decorated container.
36
pilgramage
In the medieval Christian tradition, a journey undertaken to sites associated with Christ or the saints, ie. great churches or monasteries, or to revere holy relics. Pilgrimages offered a means of obtaining the grace of god, forgiveness of sins and lessening of time spent in purgatory.
37
Cathedral
A large church that served as the seat of the Bishop and his chapter (50 or so men who serve as advisors). It derives from the term Cathedra: A cathedra (Latin, "chair", from Greek, καθέδρα kathédra, "seat") or bishop's throne is the seat of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church.
38
Buttress
A support, built perpendicular to a wall, reinforcing its strength.
39
Lancet Window
A tall but extremely narrow window, often used in defensive structures (for shooting arrows). Often used in churches to symbolize the battle between good and evil.
40
Golden ratio
The ratio of 1: 1.618. Pythagorus recognized that it occurs frequently in nature (the so-called Fibonacci sequence). It is rediscovered in the medieval period and frequently used in architecture.
41
Nave
The main body of a church, the term derives from the Latin word Navis, or ship, supposedly because of the resemblance of a church roof to an upturned hull.
42
Aisles
The circulation spaces on either side of the nave, separated from it by a row of columns.
43
Transept
The space between the nave and the choir, in the traditional cross form of the church, the transept is the horizontal member of the cross.
44
Chancel
The space at the far (generally eastern) end of the church, surrounding the altar. This is the holiest space, generally accessible only by priests and other holy persons.
45
Choir
The eastern end of the church comprising the chancel and the ambulatory
46
Jube
The decorative screen the separates the transept from the choir. In France, Jubes, seen as symbols of exclusion of commoners, were often removed from churches during the Revolution.
47
pointed arch window
A hallmark of "French style work", the pointed arch window is much stronger than the round-arch window.
48
Flying buttress
A hallmark of "French style work", the flying buttress is a bridge-like span between a buttress and the wall it supports. It allows light to penetrate to the window.
49
Harmonic facade
A harmoniously composed facade, a hallmark of Opus francigenum (French-style work), it is first used at Notre Dame. It is symmetrical and includes simple geometric forms (circles, squares, isosceles triangles). Throughout the façade, the golden ratio is used (1 : 1.618). This is illustrated in the second diagram (blue and white bars).
50
westwork
The paired towers on a cathedral facade, vestiges of its defensive function, and its symbolism as a fortress of god.
51
Rose window
The round window at the center of many church fronts.
52
Portal
A large, elaborately decorated ceremonial doorway. Notre Dame de Paris has three, each used at a specific moment of the year.
53
Gallery of kings
28 -statues of Ancient Testament kings, intended to recall Mary and Jesus's distinguished royal lineages, but also to evoke contemporary secular power, and the role of the king as intercessor between his people and the divine
54
Gargoyle
A grotesquely sculpted figure hiding the spout of a drain, serving to drain water from the roof of a building.
55
Grotesque
A fantastic or horrifying sculpted figure intended to represent or to ward off evil.
56
Atrotropaic figure
Apotropaic (from Greek αποτρέπειν "to ward off" from από- "away" and τρέπειν "to turn") an image intended to turn away harm or evil influences.
57
Collegium
A community of monks or students living under a rule, generally gathered together for purposes of study. In medieval Paris some 50 collegium allowed monks and students to live in Paris safely during their studies with the theological masters who taught on the Left Bank.
58
Polychrome
Multi-colored, used especially in reference to architecture
59
Tracery
In medieval architecture, the stone bars or ribs that divide windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) into sections of various proportions. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the glass in a window. The term probably derives from the tracing floors on which the complex patterns of windows were laid out in late Gothic architecture. Tracery can add structural support to a large window opening, or simply be ornamental.
60
Saracenic
Of the Saracens. Saracens were primarily Arab Muslims, but also Turks, Persians or other Muslims as referred to by Christian writers in Europe during the Middle Ages.
61
Divine right of kings
The principle that the king rules because he has been chosen to do so by god. That the king is a divine instrument and that faithfulness to one's monarch is a religious duty. The nobility in general contest this viewpoint, seeing the king as foremost amongst equals, whose authority derives from the acquiescence of the nobility, whose role is more administrative and pragmatic.
62
Crusades
A church-sanctioned religious war -- these can be foreign, as was the case with the "liberation" of Jerusalem from the Muslims, or domestic, as in the brutal repression of the Albigensian heresy.
63
Honor court
The courtyard before the entrance of a palace or nobleman's house. It was the setting where the lord would receive his guests.
64
Crenellation
The battlements of a castle or manor or even church
65
Tourelle
A small tower, generally round or polygonal, often used for defense or simply decoration, sometimes housing a staircase.
66
Dias
A raised platform, often covered by a canopy, for the seat of a notable person, such as a monarch in their throne room.
67
Donjon/keep
The place of last resort in a medieval castle / palace. A highly defensible tower, generally kept empty during time of piece, or used for the storage of archives or the treasury. A highly symbolic building on the skyline -- embodying the lord or ruler's authority.
68
Fortified hall
The residence of a lord or monarch, usually consisting of two halls -- one atop the other, one for nobles above and one for non-noble members of the household below. These are the setting for meetings, but also communal meals and entertainment, and even sleeping for the vast majority of the household. The lord or monarch also had a series of private chambers from which to retreat.
69
Great Hall
The principal reception room of a monarch, noble, or even institution (such as the Parliament).
70
Etienne Marcel's revolt
1356: the siege and takeover of the Palace of the City by the provost of merchants Etienne Marcel. He then attempted to impose a charter of rights for the merchants of Paris on the then regent Charles V, a child who was governing in the place of his father. This was the impetus for the abandonment of the Palace of the City in favor of the Louvre as the principal royal residence.
71
Parlements
France's senior judiciary, their authority is delegated to them by the monarch, in whose name they act. Charles V installs them in the Palace of the City.
72
Microarchitecture
A form of ornament, most often in the late medieval period, where objects are decorated so as to resemble miniature buildings or cityscapes. They often are meant to evoke the City of God, or the "new Jerusalem", the earthly paradise to be established after the apocolypse.
73
the antique taste
[Al Antico, Italian] a genre of classical architecture that corresponds to the re-discovery of Greco-Roman forms and motifs in the early 16th century.
74
sources of antique taste
1. Empirical observation of Roman structures.
2. Archaeological discoveries
3. Pattern Books
75
Grotesque (2)
A style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature. The genre derived from Ancient Roman models first discovered at Nero's Domus Aurea in Rome and then copied by Raphael.
76
Planar relief
The slight advancement or recessing of vertical planes on a facade to add emphasis normally at the center or ends.
77
pilaster
a flattened representation of a column
78
Rustication
Exagerated treatment of masonry to give it an effect of strength, or an unfinished, rough character. Usually used on the ground-level of buildings.
79
apartment
A suite of rooms dedicated to the use of one person in a château, palace or hôtel particulier. An apartment is generally composed of an antichamber / salon / bedchamber / and cabinet.
80
hotel particulier
A townhouse belonging to a rich individual.
81
between court and garden
[entre cour et jardin] the typical arrangement of an hotel particulier [see above], where the Logis or main apartments of the owner and his/her family are placed between a walled-courtyard opening onto the street and a private garden.
82
honor court
[cour d'honneur] the courtyard before the entrance of an hôtel particulier / château or palace. It serves to isolate the residence from the street and is generally accessible to the public.
83
fox wall
A wall with no rooms behind it, ornamented with architectural moldings, sometimes false windows, to appear as an extension of the house.
84
orangerie
A free-standing structure, with a southern exposure and large glazed openings, used to protect orange trees over winter.
85
counter reformation
Counter-reformation: the celebratory reaffirmation and re-consolidation of traditional power structures: the church, the monarchy, the state, in the wake of the crises provoked by the intellectual revolution that was Humanism. This is an attempt by the hierarchy to retake control by making people feel inspired by the grandeur of the collective.
86
baroque
Artistic and design movement of the 17th and 18th centuries characterized by exuberant decoration, curvaceous forms, a delight in large scale, sweeping vistas.
87
grand manner classicism/ Louis XIV syle
A French alternative to the Italian Baroque, characterized by its stateliness, regularity, grand scale, regularity of ornament and lack of dramatic gestures (such as domes), also by its flat roofs (à l’italienne).
88
Absolutism
A system of monarch in which there are no institutional checks on the monarch's power. In practice, in France, the monarch's power was constrained by his oath to protect the rights and property of his subjects and the kingdom's corporate institutions and bodies (the parlements, guilds etc.)
89
Colonnade
A row of columns supporting an entablature. (As in the East Front o of the Louvre)
90
arcade
A row of arches (as in Les Invalides)
91
academies
Learned bodies convened by the king to formulate rules and advise the state on its policies. There were academies of painting, sculpture, belles lettres, dance, the sciences etc. These contributed to the formation of an instantly recognizable office taste (Louis XIV-style).
92
italian style roof
Flat roofs, covered in lead, highly characteristic of the Grand Manner classicism or Louis XIV style (as opposed to the exaggerated pitched-roofs of the medieval or antique style.
93
axis, axiality
An imaginary line that constitutes the central spine of an architectural or design composition. On either side of an axis the composition should be perfectly symmetrical.
94
caryatid
A column in the form of a female figure. Commemorates the women of the Greek island Caria, who were enslaved after that island allied with the Persians against the Greeks.
95
panopticon
Generally, a building or setting that can effectively be observed or dominated from one vantage point.
The panopticon is a type of institutional building and a system of control designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The concept of the design is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single security guard, without the inmates being able to tell whether they are being watched. Although it is physically impossible for the single guard to observe all the inmates' cells at once, the fact that the inmates cannot know when they are being watched means that they are motivated to act as though they are being watched at all times. Thus, the inmates are effectively compelled to regulate their own behaviour. The architecture consists of a rotunda with an inspection house at its centre. From the centre, the manager or staff of the institution are able to watch the inmates.
96
place royal
An urban square, centered on a royal statue, surrounded by an harmonious architecture (as in Place des Vosges, Place Vendôme, Place des Victoires).
97
French east india company
A trading corporation re-established by Colbert under Louis XIV in 1664. It enjoyed a monopoly on trade with Asia. Principal products imported by this company included porcelain, tea and silk from China, and cotton from India. The French East India Company would lose out to the British East India Company which would become the de facto ruler of today's India and Pakistan by the end of the 18th century. It was nationalized in 1769, although later re-established under a different form.
98
Vauban fortres
One of a network of star-shaped fortresses designed by military engineer Sebastien de Vauban under Louis XIV to resist improved artillery barrages. The externalization of the kingdom's defenses to its outer frontier allowed for the removal of city defenses and the consolidation of French territory in its current borders. The network of Vauban fortresses constitutes a UNESCO World Heritage site.
99
mercantilism
The state's attempt to control all aspects of the economy and build up national wealth by ensuring a trade surmplus
100
mansard roof
type of roof having two slopes on either side, the lower one being considerably steeper than the other. The purpose was to create occupiable space in the attic while also reducing fire risk by reducing the proximity of wooden timbers to candles.
101
asiento
A monopoly granted by the Spanish on the supplying of enslaved people to the Spanish Empire. France held the Asiento from 1701-1713.
102
chinese export goods
Tea, Porcelaine, Lacquer, silk.
China's ability to mass-produce high-quality goods created a strong market in Europe. Trade was handled by state-sponsored monopolistic trading companies (the French Compagnie des Indes).
These goods are fundamental to the development of a consumer society in Western Europe, and the democratization of imported goods.
Motifs and images copied from these goods reinvigorate European arts (particularly by legitimizing assymetry and irregular forms) and inspire Chinoiserie.
103
chinoiserie
European artworks and design made in the style of Chinese models. These sometimes caricatured Chinese society as indolent, silly, decadent.
104
Rococo
In French, style rocaille, is a light-hearted, dynamic style that developed in opposition to the Louis XIV Grand Manner. It is characterized by asymmetry, curvilinear forms, and often derived its inspiration from either Chinese art or natural history specimens from the tropics (shells, palms, etc). It began in the 1720s and was largely out of fashion by the 1760s. The salon of the hôtel de Soubise is a perfect example.
105
Enfilade
An arrangement of rooms in a linear sequence, so that when their doors are open one can see down the entire length of an apartment (as we say at the hôtel de Soubise).
106
salon
Salon
The final room in the enfilade, in the early 1700s it evolved from a small personal cabinet or retreat into an opulent room designed for conversation.
A salon is also the term of a gathering of aristocrats for learned and improving conversation.
107
ornamentalist
An artist specializing in producing drawings of extravagant objects that will be produced by artists and artisans. As it is easier to draw complex and curvilinear forms then to produce them in wood, bronze, etc. the ornamentalists are considered catalysts in the development of the Rococo style.
108
regency
From 1715-1722, the reign of the duc of Orléans, who ruled on behalf of the infant Louis XV. It was a period known for its relaxed morality and love of luxury -- as witnessed in the apartments of the hôtel de Soubise.
109
encyclopedie
1751-1772. Denis Diderot and Jean Le rond d'alembert principal editors
110
exoticism
the Western European fascination for distant cultures and peoples, becomes an important motif in the decorative arts (particularly Rococo).
111
neo-classicism
A return in architecture, art and design to simpler and more correct use of ancient architectural precedents, especially influenced by the re-discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Naples.
112
Bas relief
A sculpted panel on which forms stand out only slightly against the flat surface.
113
empire style
The predominant style in France roughly from the years 1790-1820. It is notably more sober than the Louis XIV Grand Manner or Rococo that preceded it. It was heavily inspired by the archaeological discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum and Egypt. It is characterized by smooth unornamented surfaces. What few decorative flourishes present are generally of a mythological or martial character. The rue de Rivoli is the best example we've seen of Empire style.
114
egyptomanie
the fashion for Egyptian-inspired goods and buildings following Bonaparte’s Egyptian Campaign
115
picturesque
"Worthy of a picture", a style of design inspired by the precepts of landscape painting... becomes in the 1750s an aesthetic used in gardens. In architecture, it introduces an irrational, surprising note. We have discussed this in relation to gardens like the Petit Trianon and the cemetery of Père Lachaise
116
sublime
A concept in the 18th and 19th c. architecture and the arts that refers to the aesthetic pleasure derived from experiences of scenes of a vast scale, mystery or even terror. An example of the search for sublime effects in the buildings we have seen is the Madeleine church, with its dark interior lit only by small skylights (zenithal light).
117
Historicism
Succeeds neo-classicism as the principal style of the second half of the 19th c. Architects aimed to work in the spirit of a style or a time-period, taking care to observe its rules and imitate its ornament. Aided by a growing number of books and museum collections (Victoria & Albert, Met, Arts Décoratifs). The choice of style (Gothic, neo-Greek, Egyptian, etc.) was often made in function of the use of the building or the character of the patron.
118
Neo-gothic
The revival of the Gothic Style (seen at Père Lachaise with the tomb of Abelard & Héloïse.
