Test 3 (terms) Flashcards
(34 cards)
Narthex
And entrance hall or vestibule preceding the nave of a church
Nave
The large central hall of the church made for use by the congregation
Transept
In a cruciform church, the whole arm set at right angles to the nave
Crossing
The area in a church where the transept crosses the nave
Apse
A large niche facing the nave of a church. Usually in the form of a 1/2 cylinder covered with a 1/2 dome.
Clerestory
An area elevated above adjacent rooftops usually along a central axis. It’s purpose is to allow light into the interior (nave) and it has Windows.
Syncretism
A fusion of differing systems of belief
Attribute
The symbolic object or objects that identify a particular deity saint or personification in art ex: zuse with thunderbolt/ keys with St. Peter
Halo
A controversial symbol of radiant light place places around the heads of Saints as an indication of their holiness. Ordinarily it was a mark of distinction placed around the heads of gods and kings. The tradition also survives in representations of Buddha.
Pendentive
The curving triangular surface used to link a dome to a space below of a square plane. The Byzantines main contribution to structural engendering
Tessera
The individual cut pieces of stone, glass or other material used in the mosaic medium
Icon
An image; especially in a Greek church, A panel with a painting of sacred personages that are objects of veneration
Very popular
Designed to serve as a means of communication between the worshiper and the deity
often produced in monasteries (sales equals income)
Fixed patterns that were repeated
Noteworthy for craftsmanship rather than inventiveness
Iconoclasm
A period in eighth century Byzantium in which a series of calamities irrupt it, indirectly bringing about an empirical ban on images- The destruction of which we call iconoclasm
Repoussè
A technique for hammering metal from behind to create a protruding image
Cabochon
Gem that is smooth and rounded rather than faceted
Esque
Esque=like
Ambulatory
The walkway around an apse in a church
Radiating chapels
In medieval church’s, chapels for the display of relics that opens directly onto the ambulatory and transept
Ribs
In architecture, raised surface elements that outline and help support a vault
A French invention
Buttress
The projecting support build against an exterior wall that counteracts the outward thrust of an arch, wall, and/or roof. (It allows for greater height)
Portal
A grand entrance, door or gate, uaually to an important public building, and often decorated with sculpture.
Stylization
A manner of representation that conforms to an intellectual artistic idea rather than to naturalistic appearances (non-organic surface detail)
Scholasticism
The Gothic school of philosophy in which scholars applied Aristotle’s system of rational inquiry to the interpretation of religious believes
Flying buttress
A structural element in the form of an arch or half arch transmitting the thrust of a vault or roof from the upper part of the wall to an outer support then to the ground. (Allows for windows)