Basilica plan
Rectangular building with a central nave flanked by side aisles, ending in a semicircular apse. Adapted from Roman secular buildings for early Christian worship. Santa Sabina is the key AP example.
Pendentive
Curved triangular surface that transitions between a square base and a circular dome. Hagia Sophia's dome appears to float because its pendentives make the structural support nearly invisible.
Squinch
Arch or series of arches built across a corner to support a dome over a square or polygonal space. An alternative to pendentives — more common in Byzantine and Islamic architecture.
Encaustic
Painting technique using pigments mixed with hot wax. Durable and luminous — used in Byzantine icons. The Virgin and Child icon at St. Catherine's Monastery (Sinai) is the AP exam example.
Hieratic scale (Byzantine)
In Byzantine mosaics, size conveys spiritual importance, not spatial position. Christ, the Virgin, or the emperor are always the largest figures regardless of where they stand in the composition.
Gold ground
Gold tesserae (mosaic tiles) or gold leaf used as the background in Byzantine and medieval art. Represents divine light — the eternal, timeless realm of God, not earthly space.
Tessera / Tesserae
Small individual tiles of glass, stone, or ceramic used to create a mosaic. Set at slight angles so they catch and reflect light irregularly, enhancing luminosity.
Iconoclasm
Byzantine controversy (726–843 CE) over whether religious images should be made or used at all. Iconoclasts destroyed images; iconophiles defended them. Icons survived and their style was partly shaped by the debate.
Interlace
Knotted, interwoven pattern of ribbons, animals, or vegetal forms with no beginning or end. Signature design of Insular art (Lindisfarne Gospels, Book of Kells) — derived from Celtic and Germanic metalwork traditions.
Carpet page
Full-page decorated page in an Insular manuscript featuring dense geometric and zoomorphic interlace — no text. The pattern covers the page like a woven carpet. Lindisfarne Gospels contains several.
Romanesque
European architectural and artistic style c. 900–1200 CE. Features round arches, thick walls, small windows, barrel vaults, and sculptural programs on church portals. Name means "Roman-like."
Tympanum
Semicircular decorative area above a door, below the arch, in Romanesque and Gothic churches. Often carved with the Last Judgment or Christ in Majesty — the first thing worshippers see entering the church.
Flying buttress
External arched support that transfers the lateral thrust of a Gothic vault to an outer pier, freeing the wall for large windows. Essential to Gothic architecture — enabled the stained glass walls of Chartres.
Pointed arch
An arch that comes to a point at its apex rather than a semicircle. Distributes weight more efficiently than a round arch, allowing taller, thinner walls. The defining structural feature of Gothic architecture.
Ribbed vault
A vault (arched ceiling) reinforced by thin stone arches (ribs) that define and distribute weight along the ribs' lines to specific piers. Lighter and more flexible than barrel vaults — key to Gothic construction.
Rose window
Large circular stained-glass window, typically at the west end of a Gothic cathedral. The Chartres rose windows are the canonical AP examples — depicting the Virgin, the Last Judgment, and scenes from the Old Testament.
Linear perspective
System where all parallel lines converge to a vanishing point on the horizon, creating the illusion of three-dimensional depth on a flat surface. Developed by Brunelleschi c. 1420; first applied in painting by Masaccio.
Atmospheric perspective
Distant objects appear lighter, less detailed, and bluer than foreground objects — mimicking how the atmosphere scatters light. Leonardo perfected this technique; it creates landscape depth without geometric construction.
Chiaroscuro
Gradual transition from light to dark used to model three-dimensional form on a flat surface. All painters use it to varying degrees; Leonardo and Raphael are the standard examples of subtle, blended chiaroscuro.
Sfumato
Leonardo's technique of blurring outlines into imperceptible smoky gradations. Forms emerge from shadow with no hard edges — creates psychological mystery and atmospheric depth. "Sfumato" means "smoked" in Italian.
Tenebrism
Extreme version of chiaroscuro with near-total darkness interrupted by a single harsh light source. Associated with Caravaggio and his followers. Creates theatrical, dramatic effects — used to heighten emotional and devotional impact.
Foreshortening
Depicting a figure or object at an angle so it appears to recede into space — the part closest to the viewer appears largest. Mantegna's Dead Christ is the canonical example; it requires mastery of perspective.
Contrapposto (Renaissance)
Weight-shift pose revived from Classical antiquity. Michelangelo's David is the defining Renaissance example — one leg bears weight, the other relaxes, creating a dynamic S-curve through the body.
terribilità
Italian for "terribleness" or awesome power — used to describe the overwhelming emotional and physical force projected by Michelangelo's figures. The Sistine ceiling ignudi and the Moses sculpture exemplify this quality.
Fresco (buon fresco)
Painting into wet plaster — pigments bond permanently as the plaster dries. Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling and Raphael's School of Athens are both buon fresco. Durable but unforgiving — no corrections once plaster sets.
Mannerism
Post-High Renaissance style (c. 1520–1600) characterized by elongated figures, unstable compositions, acidic colors, and self-conscious artifice. A deliberate reaction against Classical harmony. Key artists: Pontormo, Parmigianino, Bronzino.
Altarpiece / Polyptych
Painting or sculpture placed behind or above an altar. A polyptych has multiple hinged panels. The Isenheim Altarpiece (Grünewald) has three sets of wings that open to reveal different scenes — designed for a hospital chapel.
Vanishing point
The point on the horizon where parallel lines appear to converge in a linear perspective system. In Leonardo's Last Supper, Christ's head is the vanishing point — compositionally centering him as the most important figure.
Counter-Reformation
Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation, formalized at the Council of Trent (1545–1563). Art was to be emotionally accessible, doctrinally clear, and devotionally effective. Caravaggio's work exemplifies Counter-Reformation priorities.
Baroque
European style c. 1600–1750 characterized by dramatic light, emotional intensity, theatrical composition, movement, and grandeur. Developed partly in response to the Counter-Reformation. Key artists: Caravaggio, Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez.
Trompe l'oeil
French: "deceives the eye." Hyper-realistic painting that creates the illusion of three-dimensional objects or spaces on a flat surface. Common in Baroque ceiling paintings and Dutch still life.
Colonnade
Row of columns supporting an entablature or arches. Bernini's colonnade embracing St. Peter's Square in Rome is a Baroque example — designed to "welcome" visitors with the Church's open arms.
Syncretism
Blending of different religious, cultural, or artistic traditions into a new hybrid form. Colonial Americas produced syncretic art that combined European Catholic iconography with Indigenous visual traditions and materials.
Casta painting
Genre of paintings produced in colonial New Spain (c. 1711–1790s) depicting racial mixtures in a hierarchical series. Each panel shows a couple of different racial backgrounds and their offspring. Classified 16 racial categories; functioned as visual documentation of colonial social order.
Mestizo
Person of mixed Spanish and Indigenous American ancestry. A social and racial category in the casta system. The production of casta paintings was partly driven by colonial anxiety about increasing populations of mixed-race individuals outside established categories.
Venus pudica
Latin: "modest Venus." Classical pose in which a female nude covers her genitals and breasts with her hands. Botticelli's Birth of Venus uses this pose — connecting the pagan goddess of love to classical antiquity while acknowledging Renaissance modesty conventions.
Neoplatonism
Renaissance philosophical movement reviving Plato's ideas, especially the concept that earthly beauty is a reflection of divine perfection. Medici circle philosopher Marsilio Ficino promoted it. Botticelli's Venus as ideal beauty reflects Neoplatonic thought.
Predella
Narrow horizontal strip at the base of an altarpiece, containing small narrative scenes related to the main image. A standard part of Italian Gothic and Early Renaissance altarpiece design.
Humanism
Renaissance intellectual movement that valued the study of classical texts, the dignity of human beings, and secular subjects alongside religious ones. Shaped the subject matter and outlook of Renaissance art — portraits, mythological scenes, and classical allegories all reflect humanist values.