Prehistoric & Ancient Art
Pictures drawn on cave walls, often showing animals or hunting scenes
Cave Paintings
Made to look perfect, not realistic, often to show beauty or strength
Idealized
Colored glass pieces arranged to form windows with designs or stories
Stained Glass
Work of art made by carving or shaping stone, wood, or metal into three-dimensional form
Sculpture
Grave or burial place, often built for important people
Tomb
Object made by humans in the past, such as tools, pottery, or jewelry
Artifact
Smooth, white stone often used by Greek and Roman artists to create statues and buildings
Marble
Very large and important church building, often the center of a city in the Middle Ages
Cathedral
Young person who learns a trade or skill from a master, such as painting or sculpture
Apprentice
Sculpture showing only a person’s head, neck, and shoulders
Bust
Set of actions done for religious or cultural reasons, often repeated in the same way
Ritual
Relationship of sizes between different parts of a figure or object (example: making sure a statue’s head and body are balanced)
Proportion
Large woven cloth with pictures or patterns, hung on walls for decoration and warmth
Tapestry
Cutting into wood, stone, or bone to make shapes or designs
Carving
Large open-air building with seats around a stage or arena, used for plays and gladiator fights
Ampitheater
Picture, shape, or object that stands for an idea (example: the sun = life)
Symbol
Traditional stories about gods, heroes, and creatures, often shown in Greek and Roman art
Mythology
Religious image or painting, especially common in Byzantine art
Icon
Picture or design made by placing small colored pieces of stone, glass, or tile together
Mosaic
Colorful designs made by fusing powdered glass to metal, often on jewelry, reliquaries, or chalices
Enamelwork
Small statue of a woman, often with exaggerated body parts, believed to bring good luck for having children
Fertility Figurine
Painting made directly on a wet plaster wall, common in Roman houses and temples
Fresco
Three-panel painting or altarpiece, often hinged and used in churches
Triptych
Early printed images made by carving a design into wood, then pressing it onto paper or parchment
Woodcut
Pointed stone or metal tip used on the end of a spear for hunting
Spearhead
Picture-based writing system used in ancient Egypt
Hieroglyphics
Tall, upright post that supports a building, often decorative (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian styles)
Column
Carved stone figure, usually of a strange creature, placed on buildings (sometimes used to direct rainwater)
Gargoyle
Objects such as bowls, jars, or plates made from clay and baked until hard
Pottery
Handwritten book decorated with colorful designs, pictures, and sometimes gold
Illuminated Manuscript