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INTRODUCTION TO RENAISSANCE ART, TERMINOLOGY
General Categories of Style
1. Abstraction (adj. abstract) – a reduced or paired down depiction of the object represented; may
be non-representational or non-objective.
a. non-representational: an abstraction with no concrete or tangible antecedent.
b. Non-objective: another word for non-representational art (literally, “no object” is depicted).
2. Stylization (adj. stylized) – a manner of abstraction that stresses flatness, line, and pattern.
3. Naturalism (adj. naturalistic) – demonstrating an understanding or study of objects in the
natural world.
4. Realism (adj. realistic) – a degree of naturalism; technique of representation that demonstrates a
high degree of illusionism and fidelity to the actual appearances of things. This general category is
not meant to be confused with the 19th-century art movement of Realism, found by Gustave Courbet.
5. Figural – art that depicts the human form, or figure.
6. Idealized – demonstrating the qualities of perfection according to the cultural standards of beauty
of the object or artist.
General Categories of Subjects
1. History scenes – subjects from the Bible, literature, mythology, and history.
2. Portraiture – a painting of an actual person meant to capture his or her likeness.
3. Genre scenes – scenes of everyday life, actual or invented.
4. Landscape – panoramic views of nature; includes seascapes and cityscapes.
5. Still life – depictions of inanimate objects, such as fruit, flowers, or foodstuffs.
Twelve Elements of Art
Some elements are described as being actual or implied. For instance,
Michelangelo’s marble sculpture, David, has actual mass. It is solid.
Michelangelo’s painting of Adam on the Sistine Ceiling shows implied mass.
The painting is flat; the weightiness of
Adam’s body is an illusion.
1. Line – a mark, actual or implied,
between two endpoints.
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a. Implied line - a line the viewer sees by connecting elements within a composition; sometimes
called a compositional line. When a figure in a composition creates a directional, implied line
this is called compositional gaze.
b. Contour line – the edge or boundary of a form; when emphasized as an actual line, it is an
outline.
c. Horizontal line – parallel to the ground plane, may suggest calmness.
d. Vertical line – perpendicular to the ground plane, may suggest strength or stability.
e. Diagonal line – may suggest motion, movement, or direction.
f. Wavy line and spiral line – may suggest motion or transformation.
2. Shape – a two-dimensional form; sometimes described as geometric, or based on mathematical
forms, or organic, based on irregular, natural forms.
3. Volume – a three-dimensional form; a three-dimensional space contained by a boundary. May be
solid or empty. Volume may be implied in two-dimensional art. As with shape, may be described as
geometric or organic. Spaces in architecture may be described as volumes.
4. Mass – the density, or solidness, of an object; may be actual or implied. Implies weightiness but
not all objects with mass are heavy.
5. Texture – the surface quality, actual or implied, of an object. Implied texture is also called
simulated. [Use common sense to describe texture: do not touch works of art!]
6. Space – implied depth in a flat artwork; the physical environment in a three-dimensional artwork
or building. Negative space means the absence of form in a composition. Space in architecture may
be described as volume. Methods of suggesting space in two-dimensional artworks include:
a. Overlapping – when the object in front partially obscures the object behind it.
b. Vertical placement – objects lowest on a vertical composition appear closest to the viewer.
c. Diminishing scale – objects get smaller in scale as they move away from the viewer.
d. Linear perspective – parallel lines in nature appear to recede and join at a vanishing point on
the horizon. The receding lines are called orthogonals.
e. Isometric perspective – the use of parallel orthogonals, which don’t join at the vanishing
point, to suggest depth.
7. Value – the relative lightness or darkness of a color; the grey scale. A composition composed of
white, black, and grey is called achromatic. A composition of one hue with many values (or one hue
with black, white, and grey) is called monochromatic.
8. Light – may be actual (i.e. sunlight, neon, a spotlight), implied (i.e. a suggested light source) or
simulated (i.e. gold leaf to depict light rays). Light can set mood, suggest form, create a focal point,
or symbolize the divine. Sir Isaac Newton invented the color wheel, ca. 1666, and said, “Without
light, there is no color.”
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9. Color – another word for color is hue. Color is a product of refracted light. Refracted light makes
the color spectrum visible. The color spectrum is often discussed in terms of the color wheel, a
diagram invented by Sir Isaac Newton in the 1660s.
Color can be analyzed in terms of hue (i.e. red, orange, blue); saturation (how pure or intense); value
(how light or dark); scheme (i.e. primary, analogous) and, temperature (i.e. warm cool).
a. Primary colors – red, yellow, blue; the colors from which other colors are made.
b. Secondary colors – orange, green, and violet; colors made by combining primary pairs.
c. Saturation – intensity or purity measured to the hues of the light spectrum.
d. Value – the relative lightness or darkness of a color; how much grey is in the color mixture.
e. Warm colors – convey a warm temperature, are active, and visually advance.
f. Cool colors – convey a cool temperature, are passive, and visually recede.
g. Analogous colors – three or more colors next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous
color palettes are usually harmonious and/or cohesive.
10. Time – may be described in terms of duration, sequence, event, or an era. Time may be actual or
implied. Photography, film, video, and digital art are sometimes called time-based media. Art that
depicts a series of events may be called narrative.
11. Motion – movement, may be actual or implied. An artwork with moving parts may be called
kinetic art.
12. Pattern – design created by the repetition of art elements or a motif; may be regular or irregular.
Seven Principles of Design
1. Rhythm – the placement of visual accents within a composition. Visual accents can be created by the
placement of color, shape, line, etc., or a motif, as in a pattern.
a. Regular – visual accents occurring at even, predictable intervals.
b. Alternating – visual accents or motifs switch from one to another repeatedly (i.e. circle,
square, circle, square).
c. Progressive – visual accents are placed closer and closer together to suggest a quickening of
tempo.
d. Irregular – the placement of accents, motifs, or pattern appears planned or deliberate but it is
not predictable or regular.
e. Random – similar to irregular, the rhythm is not logical but seems created by chance.
2. Unity – the cohesiveness of a composition whereby the elements work together for overall
harmony.
a. Unity can be achieved through the use of color, shape, implied line, texture, and so forth.
b. Artists intentionally or intuitively seek to achieve compositional unity.
c. As humans, we enjoy compositions that feel complete, cohesive, and unified.
d. If an artist relies too heavily on unity without its counterpart of variety, the artwork suffers
and can appear boring, trite, or amateurish.
3. Variety – the counterpart to unity, variety is the also known as contrast. It is the diverse or varied
use of art elements to create visual interest within a composition.
a. The art elements are used to create variety.
b. With too much variety a composition can appear overworked, confusing, or lacking in unity.
4. Balance – the stasis or equilibrium achieved within the composition. As humans, we naturally
strive for balance to feel comfortable. Artists work intentionally or intuitively to achieve a visual
balance of elements for harmony and balance within the composition.
a. Symmetrical balance – two halves of a composition are the same or very similar in layout;
often involves a central focal point.
b. Bilaterally symmetrical – two halves of a composition are a mirror image, or nearly identical,
on either side of a central axis.
c. Radial balance – a circular composition with a central point and a uniform or symmetrical
design.
d. Asymmetrical balance – when the compositional layout differs from one half to the other half
but balance is still achieved.
a. Asymmetrical compositions usually do not have a central focal point.
b. Artists use color, shape, space, pattern and other elements to create visual interest or
visual weights to achieve asymmetrical balance.
5. Scale – the size of an object relative to a standard of measure, usually the human body.
a. Small-scale artworks can suggest intimacy and fragility.
b. Larger scale artworks may suggest accessibility.
c. Monumental scale can be used for awe-inspiring effect.
d. Hierarchy of scale – the use of size to depict importance; when a figure is depicted as much
larger than other figures within the composition to show rank.
e. Subversive scale is the irrational use of scale or the depiction of objects using a variety of
standards of measure within the same composition.
6. Proportion – the ratio, or relative size, of the parts to the whole within a contained system, such
as the body or a work of architecture.
a. Classical proportions - based on mathematical ratios developed by the ancient Greeks,
classical proportions stress a visual ideal and sense of perfection.
b. Exaggerated proportions – an emphasis on some areas of the composition by making those
parts larger, relatively speaking, than the norm.
c. Disproportionate proportions – bodies exhibit little naturalism; body parts are irrationally
sized and often stylized.
7. Focal point – the most prominent area or aspect of a composition; the area commanding the most
visual attention. In a symmetrical composition, the focal point is traditionally in the center.
a. Absence of a focal point – some artworks do not have a clear focal point. They may have an
all over pattern, for example. One might discuss the absence of a focal point in these cases.
b. Emphasis – sometimes “focal point” is used interchangeably with “emphasis.”
One might ask, where does the artist put the greatest visual stress, accent, or attention? In
these cases, focal point and emphasis are the same.
i. Emphasis can apply to the most prominent art element, a conceptual aspect of the
composition, or both.
ii. Subordinate emphasis – occurs when the artist creates two or more areas of
visual stress slightly less strong than the main focal point.
Art in Context: Late Gothic-Renaissance Art
Mural: Wall painting
Fresco: Italian for “fresh.” Wall painting on wet plaster. The opposite = Secco (Italian for “dry”).
Repoussé: A decorative metalwork technique, sometimes called embossing, which creates shaped
patterns or scenes using dozens of specially designed hammers on the underside of the metal.
Pediment: A triangular space forming the gable of a two-pitched roof in classic architecture.
Architrave: The principal beam and lowest member of the classical entablature, the other main
members of which are the frieze and the cornice. Its position is directly above the columns,
and it extends between them, thus carrying the upper members of the entablature.
Frieze: A plain or decorated horizontal part of an entablature between the architrave and cornice.
Entablature: The upper section of a classical building, resting on the columns and constituting the
architrave, frieze, and cornice.
Façade: The face or front of a building.
Doric Capital: The oldest and simplest of the three main orders of classical Greek architecture,
characterized by heavy fluted columns with plain, saucer-shaped capitals and no base.
Ionic Capital: One of the three main orders of classical architecture, characterized by two opposed
volutes in the capital.
Corinthian Capital: The most ornate of the three main orders of classical Greek architecture,
characterized by a slender fluted column having an ornate bell-shaped capital decorated with
acanthus leaves.
Entasis: A slight convexity or swelling (cigar-shaped!), as in the shaft of a column, intended to
compensate for the illusion of concavity resulting from straight sides.
Central plan building: Second building type in ancient times, usually round or polygonal; sometimes
divided by rings of columns that separate the space of the altar from the ambulatory.
Clerestory: The upper part of the nave, transepts, and choir of a church, containing windows to
provide natural light.
Ambulatory: A ring-like barrel-vaulted corridor behind or leading around the altar.
Nave: The central part of a church, extending from the narthex to the apse and flanked by aisles.
Aisles: A part of a church divided laterally from the nave by a row of pillars or columns.
Narthex: A portico or lobby of an early Christian or Byzantine church or basilica, originally
separated from the nave by a railing or screen.
Transept: The transverse part of a cruciform church, crossing the nave at right angles.
Oculus: An eye-like, circular opening at the apex of a dome.
Coffers: Sunken decorative panels, mostly square.
Pendentive: See explanation on page 134!!! A triangular architectural construction that allows to
combine a dome with a square base.
Cruciform: Cross-shaped.
Contrapposto: The position of a figure in painting or sculpture in which the hips and legs are turned
in a different direction from that of the shoulders and head; the twisting of a figure on its own
vertical axis. The weight of the figure rests on one leg, while the other one is relaxed.
Codex: A written manuscript in the shape of a book. It contains folios.
Manuscript: Manu = hand, script = to write. Something written by hand.
Vellum: Calfskin.
Parchment: Lambskin.
Iconoclasm: The deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious icons and other
symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives.
Pantocrator: Christ depicted as the “ruler of all.”
Gospel: Literally “Good News;” opening four books of the New Testament.
Genesis: The first book of Moses; tells the story of God creating the universe.
Cloister: From Latin “claustrum” (an enclosed place). A place of religious seclusion; colonnaded
courtyard usually located along the south side of a monastic church.
Laity: Everybody who is not part of the clergy.
Dormitory: Sleeping quarters in a monastery.
Refectory: dining hall.
Oratory: Church in a monastery.
Infirmary: Sickroom in a monastery.
Westwork: German “Westwerk.” An entrance area at the west end of a church with an upper
chamber and usually with one or more towers. It is normally broader than the width of the
nave and aisles. Westwork is sometimes used synonymously with narthex.
Pilgrimage Church: A type of church designed to accommodate a great number of pilgrims.
Characteristic are multiple aisles for liturgical processions, an elongated nave and an
ambulatory with radiating chapels that housed relics, tribune galleries, costly stone vaults, etc.
Tribune gallery: An upper gallery in a pilgrim church that could house and sleep overflow crowds on
special occasions.
Crossing: The area in a church where the nave and the transept cross, usually configured as a perfect
square.
Apse: A semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault.
Pilaster: A rectangular column with a capital and base, projecting only slightly from a wall as an
ornamental motif. A decorative vertical column attached to the wall.
Cathedral: A religious building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an Episcopal
hierarchy, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a diocese. The
term is sometimes used incorrectly for any larger church.
Baptistery: A chapel used for baptisms, most of the time a central plan building.
Campanile: Free standing bell tower in Italian architecture; usually located next to a church.
Tympanum: The area between the lintel of a doorway and the arch above it.
Lintel: A horizontal beam between two posts.
Trumeau: In church architecture, the pillar or center post supporting the lintel in the middle of the
doorway.
Jambs: One of a pair of vertical posts or pieces that together form the sides of a doorway.
Reliquary: A receptacle, such as a coffer or shrine, for keeping or displaying sacred relics.
Flying buttress: A flying buttress is an exterior arch that springs from the lower roof over the aisles
and the ambulatory and counters the outward thrust of the nave vaults.
Pointed arch: In Gothic architecture, a doorway or window with a point on the top, like an arrow
directing eyes upward.
Stained glass windows: replace wall space in Gothic architecture. Different colored pieces of glass
fused together by lead strips called cames. The windows were put in iron frames and painted.
Rose window: Circular stained-glass window.
Triforium: A band of (usually) blind arcades between the clerestory and the nave arcade.
Pinnacle: A sharply pointed ornament on top of a pier or a flying buttress.
Springing: The lowest stone of an arch; in Gothic vaulting, the lowest stone of a diagonal or
transverse rib.
Lancet: A tall, narrow window crowned by a pointed arch.
Compound pier: also called cluster pier: A pier with a group of shafts attached that extend to the
springing of the vault.
Funnel-like portal: A portal to a church in the shape of a funnel designed to draw in the masses.
During the height of the Gothic style these portals were used to display a large number of
sculptures and biblical stories.
Pietà: A painting or sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding and mourning over the dead body of Jesus.
Maestà: Artwork or sculpture which portrays the Madonna and the Christ child upon a throne,
usually attended by angels.
International Style: Style in Gothic art developed in Burgundy, Bohemia and northern Italy in the
later 1300s and early 1400s. Artists traveled widely around the continent creating a common
aesthetic among the royalty and nobility and removing the concept of "foreign" art. Stylistic
features are rich, decorative coloring, flowing lines, more rational use of perspective,
modeling and a common sense of fashion.
Altarpiece: An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a
frame behind or on top of an altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or
more separate panels. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych. Groups of statues can
also be placed on the altar.
Polyptych: A painting or altarpiece divided into four or more panels.
Diptych: The term diptych is used to describe a two-part painting and the term triptych describes a
three-part painting.
Tempera: Color pigment mixed with egg yolk.
Glaze: A layer of paint, thinned with a medium, so as to become somewhat transparent.
Foreshortening: The representation of forms on a two-dimensional surface by presenting the length
in such a way that the long axis appears to recede away from the viewer. A form of
perspective where the nearest parts of an object or form are enlarged so that the rest of the
form appears to go back in space.
Renaissance: French, “Rebirth.” The word Renaissance (French for 'rebirth', or Rinascimento in
Italian), was first used to define the historical age in Italy (and in Europe in general) that
followed the Middle Ages and preceded the Reformation, spanning roughly the 14th through
the 16th century. The principal features were the revival of learning based on classical sources,
the rise of courtly and papal patronage, the development of perspective in painting, and the
advancements of science.
Humanism: Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth
of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human
qualities—particularly rationalism. Humanism is a component of a variety of more specific
philosophical systems, and is incorporated into several religious schools of thought. It also
entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality through human means in support of
human interests. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects the
validity of transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on faith, the supernatural, or
divinely revealed texts.
Rusticated masonry or Rustication: Masonry cut in massive blocks, sometimes in a crude state to
give a rich and bold texture to an exterior wall.
Colonnade: A structure consisting of a row of evenly spaced columns.
Letterpress printing: A term for printing text with movable type, in which the raised surface of the
type is inked and then pressed against a smooth substance to obtain an image in reverse.
Stylus: A sharp tool used to design images on to the acid-resistant surface of a metal sheet during the
process of engraving.
Linear Perspective: allows artists to determine mathematically the relative size of objects with their
visual recession in space. Objects are oriented toward a vanishing point located on a horizon
line.
Atmospheric Perspective: Also called Aerial Perspective; A device used by painters to suggest
atmosphere between the viewer and distant objects by 1) gradually blurring the outlines of
objects closer to the horizon and 2) gradually shading the color of objects closer to the
horizon in a hazy shade of blue.
Reformation: The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a
series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. The main front
of the reformation was started by Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. The reformation ended in
division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed
churches, and Anabaptists. It also led to the Counter-Reformation within the Roman Catholic
Church.
Counter-Reformation: The movement initiated by the Catholic Church to contain the Protestant
Reformation and, if possible, end it. During the Council of Trent (1545-1563) certain rules
were established to counteract Protestantism. One major tool was the Inquisition.
Inquisition: An investigation or inquiry of an official or judicial nature; in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. The Catholic Church conducted rigorous tribunals of Inquisition to identify and
suppress heresy and punish heretics. These were especially severe in Spain.
Mannerism: A style that developed in the sixteenth century as a reaction to the classical rationality
and balanced harmony of the High Renaissance; characterized by the dramatic use of space
and light, exaggerated color, elongation of figures, and distortions of perspective, scale, and
proportion. Main subject is the human body. Figures are often exaggerated, elegant, shown in
complex arrangements and twisted poses. There is a sense of instability which mirrors the
unstable times contemporaries encountered during the Counter-Reformation. The style
appears crowded, many artists use jarring colors. The classical proportions are rejected.
Sometimes art works are hard to decipher and show a complex iconography.
The Golden Ratio: The Golden Ratio, which is usually denoted ('phi'), is the mathematical
constant that expresses the relationship that the sum of two quantities is to the larger quantity
as the larger is to the smaller. The golden ratio is the following algebraic irrational number
with its numerical approximation:
Which means: a:b = (a+b):a
Chiaroscuro: Play of light and dark; modeling with light and shade.
Sfumato: Sfumato (Italian for smoky) is a term coined by Leonardo da Vinci to refer to a painting
technique which overlays translucent layers of color to create perceptions of depth, volume
and form. In particular, it refers to the blending of colors or tones, so subtly that there is no
perceptible transition.
Plato: Plato lived between 427 – 347 BC. He overcame Socrates' objection to thought frozen in
writing by using the dialogue (dialogos) format, never overtly stating views in his own name.
His technique of inquiry used dialectic (dialektos): skillfully directed questioning which
elicits the knowledge presumably already residing within the participant. He believed the
world was intelligible through and governed by reason (logos).
Aristotle: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, written around 340 BC wants to explain happiness
(eudamonia) and virtue (arete). Happiness was not a state of being in the world, but a way of
living and was inextricably tied to the goodness of the individual. The Greeks had a
teleological view of human life, meaning that there is a natural end toward which human life
is directed (telos is end or fulfillment). This end or goal is determined by the function proper
to human beings, and consists in performing that function well. Virtue is the proper
excellence or skill of a particular thing. The highest human good is to lead a virtuous life.
This is what we do to achieve happiness. We want happiness for its own sake, not because it
helps us realize something else. The goal of Aristotle’s Ethics is to determine how best to
achieve happiness. In his writings he explains virtues and vices and links them to a moral
value system.
Putto (sing.), Putti (pl.): A very young nude boy, sometimes with wings, often seen cavorting in
Renaissance art works.
Pilaster: A pillar or column that is attached to a wall, sometimes providing support for roof loads or
lateral loads on the wall or a vaulting.
Arcadia: is a region of Greece on the Peloponnesian peninsula. It takes its name from the
mythological character Arcas. Arcadia remained a rustic, secluded area, and its inhabitants
became proverbial as primitive herdsmen leading simple pastoral unsophisticated yet happy
lives, to the point that Arcadia may refer to some imaginary idyllic paradise, immortalized by
Virgil’s Eclogues. The Latin phrase “Et in Arcadi ego” which is usually interpreted to mean
"I am also in Arcadia" is an example of memento mori, a cautionary reminder of the
transitory nature of life and the inevitability of death.
Anamorphic art: An image that appears distorted, because it is constructed on an elongated grid,
rendering it unintelligible until it is viewed from a specific, extremely oblique point of view
or reflected in a curved mirror, or with some other optical device.
Baldacchino: A canopy-like structure originally made of silk from Baghdad, usually marking a
sacred site or an altar.
Tenebrism: from the Italian tenebroso ("murky"), is a style of painting using violent contrasts of
light and dark. A heightened form of chiaroscuro, it creates the look of figures emerging
from the dark.
Infante/Infanta: Infante (masculine) or Infanta (feminine) is the title given to a son or daughter of the
reigning monarch who is not the heir-apparent to the throne.
Graphic Art: Any artistic process such as drawing or printing on paper.
Genre scene: is a pictorial representation in any medium that represents scenes or events from
everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street
scenes.
Camera obscura: The camera obscura (Latin: dark chamber) was an optical device used in drawing,
and one of the ancestral threads leading to the invention of photography. The principle of the
camera obscura can be demonstrated with a rudimentary type, just a box with a hole in one
side. Light from only one part of a scene will pass through the hole and strike a specific part
of the back wall. The projection is made on paper on which an artist can then copy the image.
The advantage of this technique is that the perspective is right, thus greatly increasing the
realism of the image.
Still Life: A still life is a work of art depicting inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace
objects which may be either natural (flowers, game, sea shells and the like) or man-made
(drinking glasses, food, pipes, books and so on).
Staffage: A French term referring to the small figures and animals which provide interest in a
landscape painting.
Bosquet: In the French formal garden, a bosquet (French, from Italian bosco, "grove, wood") is a
formal plantation of trees, at least five of identical species planted in strict regularity, so that
the trunks line up as one passes along either face. Symbolic of order in a humanized and
tamed Renaissance and Baroque landscape, the bosquet is an analogue of an orderly orchard.
