AP Art History Terms

Terms	Definitions
cuneiform	-wedge-shaped script -Ancient Near Eastern Art
cylinder seal	-Ancient Near Eastern Art
negative space	-empty space around an object or a person, such as the cut out areas between a figure's legs or arms of a sculpture
hierarchy of scale	important figures were the largest and most centrally placed in a given composition (Standard of Ur)
Ancient Near Eastern Art	Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Hittite, Assyrian, Persian Art
Lamassu	colossal winged human-headed bull in Assyrian art
Relief sculpture	sculpture that projects from a flat background
stele	a stone lab used to mark a grave or a site
ziggurat	a pyramid like buildng made of several stories that indent as the building gets taller
stele	stone markers to denote important religious or civic sites or to be used as burial markers
pyramids	-massively built monuments to the dead
Imhotep	history's first recorded artist (Egyptian) also erected the first and largest pyramid ever built (Stepped Pyramid)
necropolis	-complexes dedicated to the worship of the spirits of the dead and the preservation of an individuals' ka (soul)
mastabas	simple tomb that has four sloping sides and an entrance for mourners to bring offerings to the deceased
hypostyle hall	forest of columns
Egyptian Architecture	pyramid, mastaba, necropolis, hypostyle
Egyptian Architecture	columns
Egyptian Sculpture	sarcophagus, heiroglyphics, papyrus
Egyptian Painting	Canon, grid-like, Amarna Period (more relaxed and realistic)
engaged column	a column that is not free standing but attached to a wall
ka	the soul or spiritual essence of a human being that either ascends to heaven or can live in an Egyptian status of itself
pylon	a monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple marked by two flat sloping walls between which is a smaller entrance
reserve column	a column that is cut away from rock but has no support function
sarcophagus	a stone coffin
Aegean Architecture	cyclopean masonry, corbelled arch
Aegean Painting	fresco
Aegean Sculpture	repousse
Cycladic Art	-women=nude men=harpists......geometric
Minoan Art	-incredibly small waists...pure landscape
Mycenean Art	cyclopean masonry...corbelled arches...narrow waist broad shoulders
fresco	a painting technique that involces applying water-based paint onto a freshly plastered wall. paint forms a bond with the plaster that is durable and long lasting
repousse	"to push back" a type of metal relief sculpture in which the back side of a plate is hammered to form a raised relief on the front
Greek Sculpture	contrapposto (classical and Hellenistic), nudity
Greek Archaic	kouros, kore, marble, archaic smile, curl rows
Greek Classical Sculpture	contrapposto, heroic bodies, Polykleitos (sculptor),
Greek Hellenistic Sculpture	more movement that Classical, emotions
Greek Architecture	post and lintel system, pediments
Greek Pottery	amphora, krater, kylix, black figure, red figure
acropolis	"high city" a Greek temple complex built on a hill over a city
Amphora	a two handled Greek storage jar
architrave	a plain unornamented lintel on the entabulature
caryatid	a building column that is shaped like a human figure
cella	the main room of a greek temple where the god is housed
contrapposto	a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees
cornice	a projecting ledge over a wall
entabulature	upper story of a Greek temple
frieze	a horizontal band of sculpture
kiln	an oven used for making pottery
kouros	an archaic greek sculpture of a standing youth
krater	a large greek bowl used for mixing water and wine
kylix	a Greek drinking cup
metope	a small relief sculpture on the facade of a Greek temple
mosaic	a decoration using pieces of stone marble or colored glass
pediment	the triangular top of a temple that contains sculpture
propylaeum	a gateway leading to a Greek temple
shaft	the body of a column
Tholos	an ancient Greek circular shrine
triglyph	a projecting grooved element alternating with a metope on a Greek temple
Etruscan Art	terra cotta, sarcophagus
Roman Architecture	barrel vault, groin vault, piers, spandrels, atrium, impluvium, cubicula, peristyle, forum, composite columns, tuscan columns
Roman Painting	encaustic, atmospheric perspective, foreshortening
Roman Sculpture	veristic, idealized, age of poser enhanced (form of idealization) ((wisdom, determination, experience))
aqueduct	an overground water system
atrium	a courtyard in a romanhouse or before a christian church
basilica	in roman architecture, a large axiallly planned building with a nave side aisles and apses
bust	a sculpture depicting a head, neck, and upper chest of a figure
coffer	a sunken panel in a ceiling
cubiculum	a roman bedroom
cupola	a small dome rising over the rood of a building a cupola is achieved by rotating an arch on its axis
encaustic	an ancient method of painting that uses colored waxes burned into a wooden surface
foreshortening	a visual effect in which an object is shortened and turned deeper into the picture plane to give the effect of receding in space
forum	a public square or market place in a Roman city
impluvium	a rectangular basin in a Roman house that is placed in the open air atrium in order to collect rainwater
keystone	the center stone of an arch that holds the others in place
oculus	a circular window in a chrch or a round opening at the top of a dome
peristyle	an atrium surrounded by columns in a roman house
pier	a vertical support that holds up an arch or a vault
spandrel	a triangular space enclosed by the curves of arches
vault	a roof constructed with arches
barrel vault	a vault that is like a tunnel
groin vault	when two barrel vaults intersect at a right angle
veristic	sculptures from the Roman Republic characterized by extreme realism of facial features