East Asia
What is one corner composition?
Painting style where the main subject is pushed into one corner of the canvas.
What building is the largest unreinforced concrete dome (with an oculus)?
The Pantheon
What is a mystery cult?
A religious group with private initiation, secret rituals, and esoteric teachings not accessible to outsiders
What is the world's oldest standing Islamic monument, dating back to the 7th century?
The Dome of the Rock
Famously used in Gothic cathedrals, what architectural feature used a framework of ribs to cover a large space?
Rib Vault
What is the art of beautiful handwriting, considered the highest form of art in East Asia?
Calligraphy
What are painted walls called?
Frescos
What religious cult is the Tauroctony from?
Mithraism
What is a common characteristic of Islamic art?
Geometric patterns and interlacing nature motifs
What architectural innovation, used extensively in Gothic cathedrals, allowed walls to be thinner and taller, filled with stained glass windows?
flying buttresses
What are the two main trends in Northern Song painting?
Courtly art & Scholarly Art
What is the main trait of Greek sculpture that Romans adopted?
Contrapposto stance
What’s the difference between an icon and an idol?
Idol has the spirit in it.
Icon is a guide.
What type of arch is curved just a bit more than a semicircle, curving back into itself.
Horseshoe Arch
What was the primary subject matter of medieval art?
Religion, especially Christian iconography
How does Tang sancai pottery reflect cultural influences?
Form came from Persia. Figures represented evolving beauty & fashion.
Which materials were Roman sculptures commonly made from?
Marble and Bronze
What are the two main architectural forms introduced during this period?
Vaulted Basilica and Triumphal Arch
What is the niche in a wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca?
What is an "illuminated manuscript"?
A handwritten book or document with decorative elements, created by scribes
technical mastery, spiritual and aesthetic sophistication, & unified style across art forms.
What artistic element did Roman sculptors prioritize compared to Greek sculptors.
Veristic
(Realism / Greeks preferred classical proportions, idealized forms, and symmetry)
What is dematerialization?
making art look less physical to suggest spiritual transcendence
What ornamental design is described as "a continuous, infinitely repeating pattern formed from meandering, interlacing lines of foliage or plain lines"
Arabesque
What was the most decorative element in Gothic churches?
Stained glass