AP Art History Greek Art Vocabulary Parts 1 and 2

acropolis

means "high city" in Greek

agora

an open marketplace found in Greek city-states where people would shop for goods from merchants along with exchanging ideas and discussing issues.

Archaic Smile

refers to the shared smile that nearly all Archaic sculptures contain. The intent of the sculptor's inclusion of ________ is believed to show that the subject is alive. Statues dated after "Calf bearer" (560 BC) nearly always have the smile. This leads to

Base

bottom of ionic columns

Battle of Salamis

a decisive victory by the Greek city-states over the Persian Empire. The city-states had united to beat back the looming threat of Persian invaders led by Xerxes. The win was considered the introduction of the Classical Period, in which the Greeks held a

Black figure painting

A form of painting invented by the Corinthians in which black silhouettes are painted on clay surfaces. A sharp point is used to add red and white details.

canon of proportion

The Ancient Greeks believed that beauty could be found in perfect, harmonious numerical ratios. Artists applied these ratios to statues and used these proportions like a formula. They didn't necessarily rely on their eye to judge beauty, but instead relie

capital

The uppermost part of a column. These can help us identify what kind of column it is (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian).

caryatid

female sculptued figures in the place of a column. These are present in the Erechtheon at the Acropolis. There are 6 of them holding up the roof.

cella

A room in a temple that housed the cult statue of a deity. It usually had no windows.

Contrapposto

meaning counterbalance, describes the pronounced weight shift in sculptures as they began to represent humans as more natural. Artists at this time wanted to depict humans as they actually stand.

cult statue

A statue offering to a god, typically placed in the cella of a Greek Temple.

Dark Age of Greece

This refers to the time after the Myceneans and before the 8th Century BCE when Greeks started to flourish again. During the time of the "______", there was a lack of art, reading, writing, etc. There was also poverty.

The Delian League

was an alliance created between Greek city-states in order to defend themselves from future attacks from the Persians after the Greeks had fought off the Persian navy at the Battle of Salamis. After a short amount of time, Athens became the dominant power

democracy

A form of government where the country is ruled by the people. "Demos" means people in greek.

doric order

one of the three orders of Greek architecture (the others being Ionic and Corinthian). has a lower part (echinus) that is "convex and cushionlike." It also had a frieze divided into triglyphs and metopes. Most importantly, it is massive, with sturdy colum

drum

the circuluar thick disks of a column that are stacked to make-up the total column.

Early Classical Period

The beginning of the Classical Age is marked by Greek naval victory over the Persians. The decades following in this period mark the high point of Greek Civilization. This is the era of many famous Greek philosophers, artists and statesmen.

Elgin Marbles

a set of classical sculptures. They were originally from the Parthenon, the major temple located on the Athenian Acropolis.

Encaustic

a painting technique where the painter mixes the pigment with wax. The mixture is applied to marble or wooden statues while it was still hot. This technique is used in Egyptain and Greek art.

entablature

on a temple is the space between the triangular pediment and the columns.

Exekias

is acknowledges as the black figure master. His vases were very popular and often copied. Breaking from the traditional partitioned bands that appeared on vases before him, _____ employed the technique of having one monumental figure in one panel. His det

flutes

Depending on the order, columns have two or three parts. The shaft, is marked with vertical channels called _____.

frieze

a long stretch of painted, sculpted, or calligraphic decoration. Typically the ____ is located under the cornice. In a Doric style, metopes and triglyphs cover the ____ whereas the Ionic order ____ is left open to provide a continuous area for relief work

Geometric style

is the use of geometric designs that are placed in bands across a vase. These bands can be on the rim of the vase or throughout the vase to divide groups of figures.

gigantomachy

a theme in Greek art that used the battle between gods and giants to represent the victory of order (civilization) over chaos (barbarians)

High Classical Period

Period of classical Greek art after the era of Persian threats. It was a period of great Greek painting, sculpture, and architecture.

humanism

Greeks said, and specifically Protagoras, that humans are believed to be the measure of all things. In light of this, ______ represents the concept that Greeks emphasized the individual.

Ionic Order

refers to one of the three orders of Greek architecture. The other two are Doric and Corinthian. _____ order architecture is characterized by being more slender and sleeker than the bulky Doric order. _____architecture was, as the book puts it, "light, ai

kore

is a sculpture of a goddess or maiden that where characterized with triangular flat-topped head and long braided hair. Historians are unsure if they refer to morals or deities.

Kouros

refers to life-size marble statues of Greek youth. It literally means "youth" in Greek. _____ were heavily influenced by Egyptian statues, with the boys depicted in a rigidly frontal manner. Like the Egyptian statues, the statues always have one foot stan

Lord Elgin

was the British ambassador to Ottoman court in Istanbul in 1803. He was permitted to dismantle the statues and eventually sold the statues. He is credited with saving the sculptures from almost certain ruin is he had left them in the building.

lost wax method

is a technique used by Greek artists to create bronze statues where the parts were cast separately due to the grand size of the work. A clay master model was made around a clay statue. This model was covered with wax and they clay over it. The wax was mel

metope

A subdivision in a Doric frieze. It is a part of the beam ends in the wooden structure.

Orientalizing Period

defines the period of Art that came after the Geometric Period. In this period, the Greeks became fascinated with the representations of the Near East. This is apparent in their art, i.e. an amphora with Easter monsters.

Panathenaic Festival

a festival held every four years in Athens that celebrated the goddess Athena. Part of the festival included a procession from the Dipylon Gate, through the agora, and into the acropolis to place a new peplos (female garment) on the wooden statue of Athen

pediment

The triangular space at the end of a building formed by the roof. It was often decorated or filled with sculptures.

Pericles

He was the leader of Athens at the beginning of the Classical period. He wanted to rebuild the Acropolis, and is responsible for making the rebuild possible!

peristyle

a structure consisting of rows of columns that define a space.

Phidias

was the chief artistic advisor to Pericles (the leader) during the building of the acropolis. He was the overseer of the Parthenon's sculptural decoration and is also credited with sculpting the Athena Parthenos statue that no longer exists (except in rep

red-figure painting

Developed in Athens, _____ was the replacement for black-figure painting and looks like a "negative" of the previous style. Red figure painting depicts characters in red (really, the natural color of the clay) cast against a black background.

Sculpture in the round

Free standing and fully formed sculptures.

severe style

Also known as "early classic style", in Greek art shows a new interest in representing human form and nature in art. (Contrast this, perhaps, with early Helladic and Minoan sculptures and paintings which depicted humans as geometric forms with single eyes

shaft

The portion of a column in Greek architecture between the base and the capital. It is the "column" part of the column.

symposium

is the word for a Greek drinking party. They were frequently places where Greek men could discuss ideas, share drinks, and be entertained. were also frequently attended by prostitutes. were a very popular subject on Greek painted vases.

treasury

Greek ____ is a small building set up to store votive offerings. were part of the Ionic order or Greek architecture. The ______ at Delphi was one of the most notable works of Ionic architecture. were often highly elaborate in construction, with sculptured

Triglyphs

Friezes in temples in the Doric order were subdivided in ______ and metopes. ______ are though to be derived from the cross end of beams that rest on the main horizontal support.

wet drapery

A style in sculpture where clothing is depicted as tightly hugging the form of the subject, depicting the subject's body underneath.