Western Art History - Vocab

Contour line

to outline and shape

to create depth and texture

to suggest direction and movement

(Horizontal lines communicate stability and calm)

(Vertical lines suggest strength and authority)

(Diagonal Lines tend to represent movement)

Hue - refers to the general colours of the spectrum - eg red, green, blue

Intensity / Saturation - is the brightness or dullness of a colour

Value - refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour

Shades - dark values of a colour

Tints - light values of a colour

Actual Texture - tactile, it is more than visual information

Visual Texture - illusion of texture

Subversive Texture - contradicts our past visual experience by using texture in ways that are unexpected

Organisation of form and line to create the illusion of depth

biomorphic: A shape that is naturalistic or organic

geometric: A shape that is regular and predictable

form: refers to 3D shapes

related to the amount of space a form uses

Acutal: has measurable volume and weight

Implied: illusion of volume and weight

Use of elements which have difference in their visual elements

Imbalance to make the viewer un-easy with an image.

Highlighting difference of elements

Considers the artist's life as well as the social context in which they existed to interpret their work.

Evaluation of an artwork based on the ideals of beauty and the stylistic and technical ability of the artist

The study of the elements of a work of art such as form, line, colour.

Iconographic element refer to those which have a textual basis such as Scripture or mythology

refers to symbolism whether derived from a specific text or not

The study of how art can be tied to specific class systems, contain economic information of a particular time and place and are ideologically driven

Assumes the making of art and its Reception by viewers is influenced by gender

Attempts to understand the particular psychic state, neuroses, sexual preferences, repressions and desires of the artist and how these are relevant to understanding their creative work

The study of how meaning is created through interpretation of signs (visual elements/objects)

Exposes the exploitation and exoticisation of non-western cultures by Eurocentric points of view in creating and interpreting art

Made from terracotta, painted vases were made in specific shapes for daily use and for ritual occasions

storing and transporting food and wine

vessel for mixing and drinking wine or water

flask for storing and pouring oil

* Veristic

* Idealization

* Funerary Alters

* Honorific portrait

* Imperial portraits

reflected imperfections and expressions to convey personality and admirable character traits

emphasize youth, beauty and dignity

tombs adorned with portrait reliefs

statues of political officials and military commanders

propaganda tools used to support the legitimacy of the emperor

* Cloissoné

* Filigree

* Animal style

* Interlace style

decoration formed by adding compartments to the object by soldering wire and then filling with enamel or inlays

form of metalwork usually of gold and silver made with beads or twisted threads soldered on the surface of an object

characterised by emphasis on animal motifs

band or portions of motifs looped and braided in complex patterns

fr: rebirth

General category of art that came after the Gothic

Rebirth of European society after disease (plagues)

Rebirth of the philosophical, political and artistic ideas, values, beliefs, methods of Greece and Rome (classical)

applied in the 18 and 19th C. focus on the human body. Notion of the individual as a conduit for understanding the world and cosmology (God). Blending of Greek Platonic ideals (the metaphysical) and classical concepts of civic virtue and learning (being a good citizen wherever you lived and contribute and Christian ideology)

a person or organisation that commissioned works of art, esp. churches and later on rich middle class people

important for the wealthy to support the arts

method of creating a 3 dimensional illusion on a 2 dimensional plane

when more air or atmosphere is added to the thing you are looking at things tend to shift towards cooler temperatures, lighter, less distinct.

use this to make things look further away

it: light and dark

method in painting and drawing using extreme contrast of light and dark values to model 3D forms

it: smokiness

method used in oil painting using haze through a technique called glazing

fresco - painting on wet plaster (plaster wall, ceiling). Adv ... the paint bonds with the plaster as it dries and lasts a very long time.

fresco secco - painting on dry plaster

arriccio - rough coat of plaster (goes on first)

sinopia - drawing in red chalk goes on the rough plaster

intonaco - smooth finish coat of plaster that goes on the surface

giornata - the amt of plaster that could be painted in one day

painted on wooden panels

huge

covered in a fine layer of linen

animal based glue combined with chalk (gypsum) ... makes a dense, opaque, chalky substance

sanded after each layer

makes the surface smooth as glass

egg based paints

uses a drying oil (linseed oil)

Oil paints came into wide use during the Renaissance

full sized drawing to be transferred to a painting

(few have survived)

pouncing - poke tiny holes along the lines

chalk powder

fr: to fool the eye

painting in a hyperreal way

architectural features painted to give the illusion of real architecture

study of symbols and content of a work of art

painting representing a religious subject and placed behind the altar of a Christian church

a work of art divided into three hinged sections

monochrome painting, usually shades of grey and brown

optical device consisting of a box or room with a hole in one side

refers to the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium

coastal region of north-western Europe, consisting of Belguim, the Netherlands and Luxembourg