| |
| Greece
and Rome |
|
| Acropolis |
The fortified upper part of a Greek city;
literally, city on a hill. |
| Amphitheater |
A round or oval open-air theater with an arena
that is surround by rising tiers of seats. |
| Aqueduct |
A bridge like structure that carries a canal
or pipe of water across a river or valley. From Latin roots
meaning to carry water. |
| Archaic period |
A period of Greek art dating roughly 660-480
bce. The term archaic means old and refers to the art
created prior to the Classical period. |
| Architectural style
|
A style of Roman wall painting in which walls
were given the illusion of opening onto a scene. |
| Architecture |
The art and science of designing aesthetic
buildings, bridges, and other structures to help people meet
their personal and communal needs. |
| Athena |
The Greek goddess of wisdom, skills, and war.
|
| Canon of proportions
|
A set of rules governing the proportions of
the human body as they are to be rendered by artists. |
| Capital |
In architecture, the area at the top of the
shaft of a column, which provides a solid base for the horizontal
elements above. Capitals provide decorative transitions between
the cylinder of the column and the rectilinear architrave above.
|
| Classical Art |
Art of the Greek Classical period, spanning
roughly 480-400 bce; also known as Hellenic art, after Hellas,
the Greek name for Greece. |
| Coffer |
A decorative sunken panel. Used in ceilings
to reduce weight |
| Doric order |
The earliest and simplest of the Greek architectural
styles, consisting of relatively short, squat columns, sometimes
unfluted, and a simple square-shaped capital. The frieze of
the Doric order is usually divided into triglyphs and metopes.
|
| Equestrian portrait
|
A portrait on horseback. |
| Forum |
An open public space, particularly in ancient
Rome, used as a market and a gathering place. |
| Frieze |
In architecture, a horizontal band between
the architrave and the cornice which is often
decorated with sculpture. |
| Geometric period
|
A Greek art style that spanned roughly the
years from 900 to 700 bce. During this period, works of art
emphasized the geometric patterns suggested by forms. |
| Gild |
To apply gold leaf of thin sheets of a goldlike
substance to a surface. |
| Golden section |
Developed in ancient Greece, a mathematical
formula for determining the relationship of the parts of a work
to the whole. |
| Hellenism |
The culture, thought, and ethical system of
ancient Greece. |
| Herringbone perspective
|
A method of portraying perspective in which
orthogonals vanish to a specific point along a vertical
line that divides a canvas. |
| Humanism |
A system of belief in which mankind is viewed
as the standard by which all things are measured. |
| Idealism |
In art, the representation of forms according
to a concept of perfection. |
| Ionic order |
A moderately ornate Greek architectural style
introduced from Asia Minor and characterized by spiral scrolls
(volutes) on capitals and a continuous frieze.
|
| Kore figure |
A female clothed figure of the Greek Archaic
style that is often adorned with intricate carved detail. A
counterpart to the male kore figure. |
| Kouros figure |
The male figure as represented in the sculpture
of the geometric and Archaic styles. The Greek word meaning
youth. |
| Monolith |
A single large block of stone; in sculpture,
the term monolithic refers to a work that retains much
of the original shape of the block of stone. |
| Mural painting |
A painting literally painted on a wall or
intended to cover a wall completely. |
| Naturalism |
Art that strives to imitate nature rather
than express intellectual theory. |
| Nave |
The central aisle of a church constructed
for use by the congregation at large. |
| Neoclassical style
|
An eighteenth-century style of art that revived
the Classical character of Greek and Roman art and is characterized
by simplicity and straight lines. |
| Oculus |
In architecture, a round window, particularly
one placed at the apex of a dome. Latin for eye. |
| Orthogonal |
A line placed at right angles to another line.
|
| Painting |
The application of a pigment to a surface;
a work of art created in this manner. |
| Pediment |
In architecture, any triangular shape surrounded
by cornices, especially one that surmounts the entablature
of the Greek temple portico façade. The Romans frequently
placed pediments without support over windows and doorways.
|
| Rationalism |
The principle that ethical conduct is determined
by reason; in philosophy, the view that knowledge is derived
from the intellect, without the aid of the senses. |
| S-curve |
Developed in the Classical style as a means
of balancing the human form, and consisting of the distribution
of tensions such that tension and repose are passed back and
forth from one side of the figure to the other, resulting in
an S-shape; contrapposto. |
| Sarcophagus |
A coffin or tomb, especially one made of limestone.
|
| Sculpture |
The art of carving, casting modeling, or assembling
materials into three-dimensional figures of forms; a work of
art made in such a manner. |
| Slip |
In ceramics, clay that is thinned to the consistency
of cream for use in casting or decorating, or as cement. |
| Venus |
The Roman goddess of beauty; a prehistoric
fertility figure such as the Venus of Willendorf. |
| Weight shift principle
|
The situating of the human figure so that
the legs and hips are turned in one direction and the chest
and arms in another. This shifting of weight results in a diagonal
balancing of tension and relaxation. |
