patron
the institution or person who commissions or finances a work of art
iconography
identifying and studying the subject matter and conventional symbols in works of art
connoisseurship
a term derived from the french word connoisseur, meaning "an expert", and signifying the study and evaluation of art based on formal, visual, and stylistic analysis. A connoisseur studies the style and technique of an object to deduce its relative quality and identity its maker and/pr place of production through visual comparisons with other works of secure authorship and provenance
sculpture in the round (free-standing sculpture)
three dimensional sculpture that is carved free of any background or block
relief (low, mid, high sunken)
a sculpted image or design whose flat background surface is carved away to a certain depth, setting off the figure(s). Called high or low (bas) relief depending upon the extent of projection of the image from the background. Called sunken relief when the image is molded below the original surface of the background, which is not cut away.
register
a device used in systems of spatial definition In painting, a registrar indicates the use of differeing ground lines to differentiate layers of space within an image.
post and lintel
an architectural system of construction with two or more vertical elements (posts) supporting a horizontal element (lintel)
mural
literally-wall like. a large painting or decoration, created either directly on the wall, or created separately ad affixed to the wall.
cuneiform
an early form of writing with wedge- shaped marks impressed into wet clay with a stylus; used primarily by ancient Mesopotamian.
ziggurat
in Mesopotamia, a tall stepped pyramidal structure of earthen materials, often supporting a shrine.
stele
an upright stone slab articulated with inscriptions or reliefs. used as a grave marker or commemorative monument.
mastaba
a flat topped, one story building with slanted walls over an ancient Egyptian underground tomb
hieratic/hierarchic scale
the use of different sizes for significant or holy figures and those of the every day world to indicate relative importance. the larger the figure, the greater the importance
pylon
a massive gateway formed by a pair of tapering walls of oblong shape. erected by ancient Egyptians to mark the entrance to a temple complex
obelisk
a tall four sided stone shaft, hewn from a single block, that tapers at the top and is completed by a premeditation, a sun symbol erected by the ancient Egyptians in ceremonial spaces (such as entrance to temple complexes) today used as a commemorative monument
chakra
energy points or nodes in the subtle body
torana
in Indian architecture, an ornamented gateway, usually leading to a stupa.
gandhara style
style of Buddhist visual art that developed in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan between the 1st century bce and the 7th century ce.
Buddha/Buddhisattva
human being committed to the attainment of enlightenment for the sake of others.
taotie
sometimes translated as a gluttonous ogre mask) is a motif commonly found on Chinese ritual bronze vessels from the Shang and Zhou dynasty.
module
a basic unit of construction
brackets/bracketing system
an architectural element that projects from a wall and that often helps support a horizontal part of a building, such as beams or the eaves of a roof.
Archaic smile
the curved lips of an ancient Greek statue from the period c.600-480 BCE, usually interpreted as a way of animating facial features.
Doric and Ionic order
greece architecture for columns
contrapposto
the classical convention of representing standing human figures with opposing alternations of tension and relazation on each side of a central axis.
canon
established rules or standards.
Hellenistic
Alexandria and Antioch, capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria respectively.
fresco
a painting technique in which water-based pigments are applied to a surface of wet plaster and are absorbed into it, becoming part of the wall itself (called buon fresco).
engaged column
column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall,
Verism
style in which artists concern themselves with describing the exterior likeness of an object or person, usually by rendering its visible details in a finely executed, meticulous manner.
arch & vault
in architecture, a curved structural element that spans an open space
basilica
a large rectangular building. often built with a clerestory, side aisles separated from the center nave by centers for administration, later adapted to Christian church use.