INTRODUCTION TO THE VISUAL ARTS (ARH 200), Professor Dewsnap
Study Sheet 1
Introduction, Prehistoric Art, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Egyptian Art
Note on Vocabulary
For the terms which are not defined in the glossary of your textbook, please consult online dictionaries available through library website databases, The Oxford Art Online and The Grove Dictionary of Art. A good dictionary available in paperback is: Edward Lucie-Smith, The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms, London, Thames and Hudson.
Note on Illustrations
Artworks are illustrated in the textbook. Good sources for additional images on the web include www.artcyclopedia.com and Google Images. Artstor is available through the library webpage database list.
Introduction
Vocabulary—
visual arts; art forms that are visual in nature such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, print making, design, crafts, photography, video, film making, and architecture. Expressive human creation, communicates a meaning greater than it simple purpose.
medium/media; the material (bronze, marble, clay, fresco) in which an artist works; also, in painting, the vehicle (liquid) that carries the pigment.
pigment; finely powdered color material which produces the color of any medium. Made either from natural substances, or synthetically, pigment becomes paint, ink, or dye when mixed with oil, water or another fluid (also called vehicle). When pressed into wax it becomes crayon, pencil, or chalk.
mural; A wall painting.
relief sculpture; figures projecting from a background of which they are part. The degree of relief is designated high, low (bas), or sunken. In the last, the artist cuts the design into the surface so that the highest projecting parts of the image are no higher than the surface itself.
sculpture in the round; freestanding figures, carved or modeled in three dimensions.
Architecture; The art of designing and constructing buildings