Unit 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Man Is the Measure of All Things
A
A statement made by the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras, often interpreted to mean that human beings, rather than the gods, determine the ultimate value of all things in the world.
2
Q
Abstraction
A
The process of extracting parts of an idea or concept, not specific or detailed.
3
Q
Abstraction (of the Human Figure)
A
A type of art that involves a simplification, usually into geometric shapes, of objects (bodies) seen in lived experience.
4
Q
Aegean
A
Relating to the Aegean Sea and/or the Bronze Age civilizations that flourished there.
5
Q
Agrarian
A
Farming or relating to land.
6
Q
Amphitheater
A
An open-air building with rounded edges and tiered seating that is used for entertainment.
7
Q
Ankh
A
Egyptian key of life or the key of the Nile
8
Q
Aphrodite
A
The Greek goddess of love.
9
Q
Apotheosis
A
The elevation of a person to the status of a god, often seen in ancient Rome in portraits of emperors and busts of deceased family members.
10
Q
Aqueduct
A
An architectural structure built to move large quantities of water from one place to another.
11
Q
Archaeology
A
The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and analysis of artifacts.
12
Q
Archaic
A
Period of Greek art that literally means “old-fashioned” and refers to depictions of the human figure from this period that are stiff and unnatural in appearance.
13
Q
Archaic Smile
A
The stiff, unnaturalistic facial expression seen in many archaic Kouros and Kore figures.
14
Q
Artifact
A
An object made by a human being, in particular, an object of historical or cultural importance.
15
Q
Ashlar Masonry
A
Stonework made of large, rectangular cut stones.
16
Q
Athena
A
The Greek goddess of wisdom.
17
Q
Aton
A
Or Aten
18
Q
Atrium
A
An open-roofed court in the center of an ancient Roman house.
19
Q
Axial Plan
A
The horizontal arrangement of the elements of a building or town along a central axis.
20
Q
Barrel Vault
A
A type of vault consisting of a rounded arch extended forward in space.
21
Q
Basilica
A
A columned meeting hall in ancient Rome, later a church with columns.
22
Q
Beehive Tombs
A
Large, round rooms found at Mycenae.
23
Q
Black-Figure
A
A type of ancient Greek ceramic painting involving painting black figures on a red background.
24
Q
Bronze Age
A
A prehistoric period between the Stone Age and the Iron Age when many tools and weapons were made of bronze.
25
Buon Fresco
A type of fresco in which the plaster is still wet and the paint bonds with the plaster.
26
Bust
An image of a person that consists of the head and upper torso.
27
Canon of Polykleitos
A system of ideal proportions for the human figure, seen in the Doryphoros by Polykleitos, in which the size of the head was 1/8 of the total height of the figure.
28
Canon of Proportions
An Egyptian rule that mandated dimensions and scale.
29
Capital
The top of a column.
30
Chryselephantine
A type of sculpture made of gold and ivory.
31
Clerestory
A part of a building that rises above the roofs—basically, windows above eye-level, primarily allowing for light and ventilation.
32
Coffers
Square-shaped elements in the surface of a ceiling or dome, with both a decorative function and a practical one of lightening the weight.
33
Colonnade
A series of columns.
34
Concrete
A building material made from cement and crushed stone or sand.
35
Contrapposto
A naturalistic pose in which the human figure places most of the weight on one foot, resting the other foot and creating a slight tilt in the pelvis.
36
Controlled Space
A type of civic design intended to impress or intimidate the viewer.
37
Corbel Arch
A type of support in which stones are arranged in a series of steps.
38
Corbel Vault
The simplest type of vault, involving step support elements.
39
Corinthian Order
The most recent of the three classical orders of column and also the most refined and decorative, marked by acanthus leaf decorations at the capital.
40
Cubicula
Square-shaped rooms in a Roman house.
41
Cycladic
Relating to the Cyclades, a group of islands in the Aegean Sea
42
Cyclopean Construction
Construction done with masonry, consisting of blocks so large that they appeared to have been built by Cyclops (a huge, one-eyed, humanoid monster).
43
Descriptive Point of View
An approximate representation of a three-dimensional form on a flat, two-dimensional surface.
44
Dome
A vaulted roof element, having a rounded, semicircular or elliptical shape.
45
Domus
An ancient Roman house, usually for the wealthy.
46
Doric Order
The simplest and oldest style of Greek column, marked by an undecorated capital.
47
Drum
A cylindrical stone that forms part of a column.
48
Dynasty
A series of rulers from the same family.
49
Entablature
The upper section of a classical Greek temple that rests on the columns.
50
Entasis
A slight bulging, most commonly associated with the Parthenon, that is meant to offset the optical illusion of sagging of perfectly straight lines, particularly along the entablature.
51
Fertile Crescent
An agricultural region in the Middle and Near East
52
Foreshortening
The depiction of objects further back as a little bit shorter or smaller.
53
Fresco Painting
Painting in water-based paints on fresh plaster.
54
Fresco Secco
Dry fresco, so-called because it involves painting on the wall after the plaster has already dried.
55
Frieze
A band of sculpture or relief that runs horizontally around the building.
56
Geometric
A style of Greek vase painting, characterized by an emphasis on geometric shapes.
57
Hieratic Scale
A system that represents sizes of things according to importance and based on fixed religious traditions.
58
Horus
Egyptian sun deity, represented by a falcon or as a man with the head of a falcon.
59
Hypostyle
A form of architecture that has a roof supported by columns.
60
Idealism
A style of portraiture that reduces a person’s physical imperfections, giving an appearance of youth and athleticism.
61
Impluvium
A rectangular basin for collecting rainwater, usually located in the middle of an atrium.
62
Individualism
In art and portraiture, the emphasis placed on a person's unique physical characteristics.
63
Ionic Order
A style of Greek column where the volute is shaped like scrolls or spirals.
64
Isis
Egyptian goddess of fertility, represented as a woman with cow’s horns and a solar disk between them, also worshiped in ancient Rome and Greece.
65
Ka
One aspect of the soul, according to ancient Egyptian religion. The ka needs a vessel in which to be housed. This could be a mummy or a sculpture.
66
Keystone
The stone that lies at the top of an arch and holds the entire arch together.
67
Kore
An archaic Greek sculpture of a young woman wearing loose robes.
68
Kouros
An archaic Greek sculptural image of a young athletic man, usually nude, standing with one foot in front of the other.
69
Labyrinth
A maze, or series of intricate and confusing passageways, so-called because of the labrys (double-headed axe) symbols found on walls of structures of Crete.
70
Lamassu
A deity of Sumerian origin, usually depicted with a bull’s or lion’s body, eagle’s wings, and a human head.
71
Lares and Penates
Minor deities associated with the home in ancient Rome.
72
Low Relief
A type of relief sculpture in which the three-dimensional element only extends from the wall surface a little bit.
73
Masonry
Stonework.
74
Mastaba
A type of Egyptian tomb, rectangular, made of brick or stone, flat-roofed with sloping sides built over a tomb and connected to it by a shaft.
75
Megalith
A very large stone.
76
Memory Image
An image of something previously experienced that remains in the mind.
77
Mesopotamia
Ancient area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
78
Metope
A square element between triglyphs (three bands) on a Doric frieze.
79
Minoan
Relating to the Bronze Age civilization that existed on the island of Crete, named after the mythological King Minos.
80
Minotaur
A mythological half-man, half-bull that lived on Crete.
81
Monotheism
The belief in one god.
82
Monument
A statue, building, or other structure that commemorates an important event or person.
83
Naturalism
In a work of art, the quality of appearing lifelike and natural.
84
Necropolis
A large cemetery or burial ground
85
Neolithic
The Stone Age, 7000–3000 BCE, when humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer societies to agrarian societies.
86
Nile River
The longest river in the world, located in East Africa and flowing from the Mediterranean Sea.
87
Ochre
A pigment made from clay containing ferrous oxide, which can range in color from mustard yellow to a deep, rusty red.
88
Oculus
An “eye” or round hole in the top of a dome that lightens its weight and allows in natural light.
89
Optical Perspective
Viewed from a fixed perspective.
90
Orientalizing
A style of Greek ceramic painting influenced by the ancient Near East and characterized by floral and animal motifs.
91
Osiris
Egyptian god and judge of the dead, represented as a man partly wrapped as a mummy with a beard and wearing a crown.
92
Paleolithic
Early stage of prehistory characterized by the development of stone tools, sculpted figures, and paintings on cave walls.
93
Panathenaic Procession Sculpture
Sculpture on the frieze of the Parthenon celebrating a festival honoring Athena and involving the ritual of bringing a new peplos, or cloak, to the statue of Athena.
94
Peplos
A robe or shawl worn by women in ancient Greece.
95
Peripteral Temple
A type of ancient Greek or Roman temple surrounded by a row of columns.
96
Peristyle
An architectural space, such as a court, that is surrounded by columns.
97
Peristyle Garden
A garden located near a columned porch in a Roman house.
98
Petroglyph
Images made by carving lines into the surface of a rock.
99
Phidian Wet Drapery
A type of drapery first used by the sculptor Phidias that clings to the human figure and appears to be wet.
100
Pictograph
A record that is made up of symbolic representations.
101
Podium
An elevated platform.
102
Portrait
An image of an individual person.
103
Poseidon
The Greek god of the sea.
104
Post and Lintel Construction
simple construction consisting of two vertical beams, or posts, and one horizontal beam, or lintel.
105
Pseudoperipteral
Appearing to have columns extending around all four sides, when in fact some of the columns are not freestanding, but rather attached and decorative.
106
Pylon Temple
In architecture, i.e., Egyptian temple, a large opening, doorway or entrance.
107
Ra
Egyptian sun god, a universal creator, typically represented as a hawk-headed man with a solar disk and uraeus, or cobra, on his head.
108
Red-Figure
A type of ancient Greek ceramic painting involving painting red figures on a black background.
109
Register
The division of a composition into bands.
110
Relief Sculpture
A sculptural technique in which the carved image projects outward from a flat surface.
111
Ridgepole
The ridged element at the top of Etruscan temples.
112
Rock Art
Any type of art made on stone, including paintings, petroglyphs, carvings, and other forms of art.
113
Rosettes
Rose-shaped elements, often in the middle of coffers.
114
Round Arch
A type of arch that consists of a semicircle.
115
Sarcophagus
A stone coffin, often decorated with sculpture.
116
Sculpture in the Round
A type of sculpture that is completely freestanding, not attached to another surface.
117
Serdab
Used during the Old Kingdom, a cellar and a chamber in a tomb for the ka statue of a deceased person.
118
Seth
Egyptian god of deserts, storms, and foreigners
119
Shaft
The main body of a column
120
Spolia
Sculptural elements taken from the buildings of a place that has been conquered and often incorporated into triumphal arches.
121
Stele
A slab of stone or terracotta, usually oblong and carved.
122
Stucco
A plaster used for coating wall surfaces.
123
Sunken Relief
A design cut into the surface where there is no point or part higher than the surface itself.
124
Triumphal Arch
A type of monument, originating in ancient Rome, that consists of an arch built to commemorate a military victory.
125
Twisted Perspective
When you view a form where the upper half is a frontal pose, and the lower half is in a side view.
126
Veristic Style
A style of ancient Roman portraiture that emphasized a person’s age and physical imperfections as a reference to wisdom and experience.
127
Votive Figures
Sculptures placed in a shrine in fulfillment of a vow.
128
Voussoirs
The stones that make up an arch.
129
Zeus
The Greek father of all the gods.
130
Ziggurat
A Mesopotamian temple shaped as a pyramid tower that is winding and round, having a number of stories.
