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Egyptian Art
Art of the Prehistoric Aegean
Greek Art
Etruscan and Roman Art
Christians and Jews: The Art of Late Antiquity
100
A system of representation that expresses a person's importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art
What is Hierarchy of Scale?
100
The period from which the Syros woman and Keros musician were produced. Much of the art of this period are marble statuettes, some of which come from graves, while the function of others remains unknown.
What is Early Cycladic Art (ca. 3000-2000 BCE)?
100
The silhouetting of red figures against a black background, with painted linear details.
What is red-figure painting?
100
A hard ceramic clay used for building or for making pottery
What is terra-cotta?
100
An underground passageway used for burial
What is a catacomb?
200
Art created during the reign of Akhenaton, which features a more relaxed figure style than in Old and Middle Kingdom Art
What is the Amarna style?
200
The Late Minoan vast, multi-story structure that is arranged around a central court. This work of architecture is so complex that it gave rise to the myth of the Minotaur in the labyrinth. Within in are frescos depicting rituals, landscapes, and seascapes.
What is Knossos Palace (ca.1600-1200 BCE (Late Minoan Art))?
200
This sculpture is the product of Polykleitos's attempt to portray the perfect man and impose order on human movement. Polykleitos achieved his goal through harmonic proportions and a system of cross balance for all the parts of the body.
What is Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer), High Classical Period, ca. 450-400 BCE?
200
Also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, this structure, which was commissioned by Vespasian, features an interplay of barrel vaults, groin vaults, and arches. It accommodated 50,000 spectators of gladiator combat, animal hunts, and naval battles.
What is The Colosseum, 72-80 CE, Rome?
200
This synagogue, referred to by different names by the Greeks and Romans, is remarkable not only for its existence in a Roman garrison town but also for its extensive cycle of mural paintings.
What is the Synagogue at Dura-Europos, Syria, with wall-paintings of Old Testament themes, ca. 245-256, tempera on plaster?
300
The relief sculpture which depicts King Narmer uniting Upper and Lower Egypt
What is The Palette of King Narmer, from Heirakonpolis, Egypt, Predynastic, ca. 3000-2920 BCE. Slate 2'1'' high?
300
A vault formed by layers of stone that gradually grow closer together as they rise until they eventually meet. This vault is a key characteristic of Mycenaean architecture.
What is a corbel arch? (i.e. Lion Gate, ca. 1600-1200 BCE, limestone, Mycenae, Greece or Treasury of Atreus, ca. 1600-1200 BCE, Mycenae, Greece)
300
Because this temple was built to accommodate the sacred ground on which it stands, it has an irregular, asymmetrical plan. It was erected around sacred shrines, and on the spot on Athena and Poseidon are said to have competed to be patrons of Athen and Poseidon is said to have struck the Acropolis with lightening.
What is The Erechtheion, ca. 421-405 BCE, Athens, Greece?
300
Meant to be seen from below, this figure stood on the roof of a temple. It moves quickly, striding forward and has an archaic smile.
What is Apollo from Veii, ca. 510 BCE, terra-cotta?
300
This sarcophagus belonged to a prefect of Rome, who was baptized into the Christian Church just before his death. On the sarcophagus, Old Testament episodes prefigure New Testament events.
What is the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, from Rome, Italy, ca. 359 CE, Marble?
400
Painted relief in the mastaba (low, flat-roofed Egyptian tomb with sides sloping down to the ground) of Ti, which depicts a hunt. Success in the hunt, which serves as a memorial to the decease Ti, symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.
What is Ti Watching the Hippoptamus Hunt, ca. 2575-2134 BCE), Old Kingdom, painted limestone, Tomb of Ti, Saqqara, Egypt?
400
French word meaning "to push back." This is a type of metal relief sculpture in which the back side of a plate is hammered to form a raised relief on the front.
What is Repousse? (i.e. Funerary Mask, ca. 1600-1200 BCE, Mycenaean Art, gold)
400
Under the commission of Pericles, these two architects designed the Parthenon.
Who are Iktinos and Kallikrates?
400
An ancient method of painting that uses colored waxes burned into a wooden surface
What is encaustic?
400
The Evangelists, who are the writers of the gospels of the New Testament, are each associated with their own attribute. This evangelist is associated with an angel or a man.
Who is Matthew?
500
Approximately 200 sculptures exist of this female pharaoh of the New Kingdom. Often, she is represented in the male costume of a pharaoh, with a headdress, false beard, and traces of the cobra on her crown, but her slender proportions and slight breasts indicate her femininity.
Who is Queen Hatshepsut?
500
This is one of the first landscapes in which the humans are unseen. It is comprised of undulating lines and fanciful plant forms.
What is Thera Spring Fresco, ca. 1600-1200 BCE, fresco, from Knossos Palace, Crete.
500
The pediments of this temple represent a transition between Archaic and Early Classical art. On the west pediment, a fallen warrior has a rigidly frontal torso and an Archaic smile. On the east pediment, the dying warrior is more naturalistic, exhibiting a new self-consciousness, keeping his face hidden from the viewer, concerned with his own pain.
What is The Temple of Aphaia (ca. fifth century BCE)?
500
This spiral frieze tells the story of the Dacian wars in 150 episodes, depicting all aspects of the campaigns, including the battles, sacrifices, and road and fort construction. It is a continuous narrative and served as a tomb for a Roman emperor.
What is the Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 CE?
500
This centrally planned building may have originally been the mausoleum of Constantina, the daughter of Emperor Constantine.
What is Santa Costanza, ca 337-351, Rome, Italy?