Glossary of Art and Architecture Terms
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Abacus
Top of the capital. In the Doric order, it is shaped like a prism. In the Ionic order, it is spiral-shaped, and in the Corinthian order, it is very simple.
Academia
An association of people whose purpose is the cultivation and progress of arts, letters, etc.
Acanto
A spiny-leaved plant that decorates the Corinthian capital.
Acropolis
The high and fortified part of the Greek polis. It was the holiest place in the city, and the most important religious buildings were located there.
Acroteria
Decorative pieces at the apex and corners of the pediment of Greek temples.
Watercolor
A painting technique on paper or cardboard with colors diluted in water.
Adarve
A walk or road that runs around the top of the wall of a military fortress. It also refers to a dead-end street in urban planning that can be closed with a gate.
Adobe
A mass of clay or clay mixed with straw, often sun-dried and uncooked. It is used as a construction material.
Agate
A variety of quartz characterized by bands of colors arranged in a concentric mode. It serves as a raw material for the carved stone industry.
Binder
A liquid substance that solidifies after some time and in which pigments are diluted.
Agora
A place of assembly or public market. The agora is to the Greeks what the Roman forum is to the Romans.
Water Ink
An engraving technique in which a plate is sprinkled with rosin or resin and subjected to varying degrees of corrosion.
Etching
An art form that involves drawing with a tip on a highly polished copper plate covered with a black glaze or blackened with smoke. Once the drawing is finished, the plate is submerged in nitric acid to create an etching effect.
Chess
Squares decorated alternately in relief and counter-relief.
Alabaster
A variety of calcium sulfate with a very fine grain that is used for making vases and other decorative items.
Albarrana
A watchtower built outstanding forward of the wall and attached to the walls by a continuous stretch of wall with an arch or a wooden drawbridge.
Allegory
A work of art with two parallel levels of meaning in which the elements represent ideas or concepts.
Sill
A flight or spill that makes the wall in the cutting of a door or window, both inside and outside, exposing the bulk of the wall.
Alfiz
A molding that frames an arch in Muslim architecture.
Minaret
A tower of a mosque, also called a minaret.
Pad
Appliances or facing recesses formed by stones in the joints or seams, so that each of them is in relief.
Elevation
A representation without the perspective of a building as a vertical plane perpendicular to the base of the building.
Amphitheater
An elliptical building with steps toward the inside. It was used for the presentation of live performances.
Anthropomorphic
A sculptural representation of the human form.
Apocrypha
Unauthenticated.
Flyer
An outer arc that describes a quarter circle and whose mission is to counteract the thrust of the vaults of a building.
Arco Flare
An arch that has more light on one side than the other.
Arch
Formed by two curved portions at an angle in the keystone.
Caliphate Arc
An arc that is steeper than the Visigoth arc, and the sides are closer in the key. The extrados and intrados are no longer parallel. They also have voussoirs of alternating colors and are usually framed by a rectangular frame or molding.
Elliptical Arch
An arch with three centers.
Arco Blind Man
An arch that has its light closed.
Ogee Arch
An arch of four centers, also called an arch on the heel.
Semicircular Arch
An arch that is semicircular.
Transverse Arch
An arch that reinforces a vault inside.
Arco Wall-Arch
An arch that runs parallel to the nave and communicates with the side.
Horseshoe Arch
An arc that curves beyond its horizontal diameter in a semicircle.
Arco Mixtilinear
Consisting of curved and straight lines.
Stilted Pointed Arch
Same as a pointed arch.
Stilted Arch
A bow whose height is greater than the semiluz.
Lobed Arch
A bow with a layout consisting of three or more arcs of a circle that intersect each other.
Mortar
A mixture of sand, lime, and water, or of pozzolan, lime, and water, which is used to cement.
Archery
Rows of arches.
Lintel
Architecture that supports or downloads its weight vertically on lintels and openings.
Architrave
The part of the entablature resting on the frieze.
Archivolt
A set of molds that decorate an arch in its outer facing vertical, accompanying the crook in its entirety and ending at the imposts.
Coffered Ceiling
A wooden roof forming squares or coffers.
Loophole
A vertically elongated window. It has a defensive function and is common in castle walls.
Atrium
A covered entrance to a building with a covered portico.
Bas-relief
A relief that has half of its bulk. Relief in which the figures stand out more to the interior than to the exterior cladding.
Baldacchino
A canopy on columns used to cover an altar.
Baptistery
A site, usually circular or polygonal, next to a temple and generally small, where baptism is administered.
Baquetones
Vertical round trims, usually arranged in a row with others.
Bases
The bottom of a column on which the shaft rests.
Basilica
A Christian church, an evolution of the place used to administer justice in Rome.
Basilisk
A fabulous animal with a bird’s head and body of a cat that kills with its gaze.
Still Life
A pictorial genre depicting inanimate objects.
Vault of Edges
Formed by two perpendicular cross-bores.
Barrel Vault
Formed on the basis of an arch.
Dome Shell
Also called baking or quarter sphere. It is formed by a quarter sphere and is usually used in apses.
Vault
Formed by the junction of nerves of the arches.
Vault Tracery
A vault that has a network of nerves for reinforcements or decorative appearance.
Vault on Scallops
Curved triangles on which a dome rests.
Vault on Horns
Vaults that transform a square into an octagon and which supports a dome.
Bulk Round
Sculpture that can be seen from any viewpoint.
Bust
A sculptural representation of a human figure that includes the head, neck, shoulders, and the birth of the arms and chest.
String
A structure of stones placed vertically in the corners of buildings to strengthen them.
Canon
In systems of representation, it corresponds to the rule of proportion, as the ideal type.
Capital
An element located on the shaft of a column and that is usually carved with some kind of sculpture.
Caryatid
A female figure that serves to replace the column in Greek temples.
Carnation
A pictorial representation of meat in the representation of the human figure or pilasters.
Cavea
The grandstand area in theaters and circuses of Rome.
Lattice
A panel with holes that are placed on windows to avoid being seen from outside.
Border
An ornate belt.
Spire
The completion of a tower of various forms, ending in a point.
Cyma
A plant widely used in molding on the ledges of Greek temples.
Dome
An element of square or octagonal shape that rises in the transept of a church to illuminate it. It is the base of the dome.
Shoring
A wooden frame that can hold a bow until it can sustain itself.
Chiaroscuro
The art of painting using a contrast of light and shadow. Applied specifically to highlight the displays against a dark background.
Password
The keystone center of an arc.
Collage
A plastic technique that involves pasting different elements onto a support, freely structured by the choice of shapes.
Colors Plans
Unmixed colors distributed on the surface, juxtaposed.
Colossal
An architectural style typical of Michelangelo, transgressing his ideal sculpture to architecture.
Column
A right foot with a circular section.
Nazari Column
Made of fine marble, with Attic bases, a thin cylindrical shaft, and a capital ring with two bodies: the cylindrical bottom and the top cube.
Solomonic Column
A column that has a twisted or coiled shaft.
Colonnade
A set of columns symmetrically distributed in one or more rows.
Composition
The arrangement of the elements in a work of art.
Buttress
An architectural element attached to the wall to reinforce the lateral thrust of the vault.
Cornice
An architectural element that is placed on an entablature.
Chi Rho
A monogram of Christ formed by its first two letters, representing the beginning and end of all things.
Cruise
The place where the two naves intersect in a church.
Cruz America
A form of a plant in which two naves cross, with one being shorter than the other.
Dome
A dome-shaped, semi-circular cap that is typically installed on the cruise on tubes or shells.
Praxitelean Curve
A position used by Praxiteles to give some movement to the figures. It consists of supporting all the weight on one leg and tilting the opposite hip.
Ambulatory
A nave around the altar of a church that gives access to the aisles.
Lintel
A block of stone or wood placed on the doorposts or posts of a vain to support the loads.
Diptych
An altar table consisting of two woods.
Domo
A dome, half dome-shaped ridge.
Keystone
A wedge-shaped piece that, together with others, forms the soffit of an arch.
Incarnate
Tries to mimic the color of human skin. Its tones are used for determining the time or school of painting.
Entablature
A superstructure that rests horizontally above the columns in classical architecture.
Horses
The part of the Doric capital that sits between the abacus and the shaft.
Scotland
An ornamental molding section of the wall that is more than a half-circle inwards.
Foreshortening
A representation of depth from the vertical plane of the table or figure.
Sfumato
A blurring of contours characteristic of the painting of Leonardo da Vinci.
Exempt
An element isolated, not attached to the wall.
Fibula
A snap in a variety of shapes and materials used to secure clothing.
Filigree
Jewelry work produced in gold or silver thread and soldered in delicate arabesques and floral motifs.
Friso
A decorative element between the architrave and cornice.
Pediment
A front triangle that tops a door or window.
Gargoyle
A water outlet of a building, generally decorated with fantastic figures.
Geminate
A vain with two openings.
Girola
An ambulatory. A nave surrounding the altar.
Grisaille
A technique to color glass.
Grotesque
Decoration with fantastic beings, being one bound.
Garland
An open crown, woven of flowers, herbs, or branches, which sticks to one’s head. Webbing of flowers and branches.
Hypogeum
An underground tomb.
Hypostyle
A temple with columns.
Concrete
A building material made of stones of various sizes mixed with mortar.
Niche
An opening in a wall, vaulted with a quarter sphere, usually designed to accommodate a sculpture.
Icon
From Greek, Eikon, meaning image or picture.
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm was born as a religious doctrine that rejects and destroys the image of the sacred, believing that it is not possible to represent the divinity through the visible. The image, they say, supersedes and simulates the invisible.
Illustrations
The science that studies the origin, formation, and development of figurative subjects and attributes that can be identified.
Iconostasis
A structure that separates the chancel from the rest of the church.
Imposta
The final trim on the sides of an arch.
Soffit
The inner surface of an arch.
Jamba
Each of the vertical elements that support an arch or lintel of a door or window.
Kitsch
A style object that is part of what we call bad taste.
Flashlight
An architectural element on the dome of the cruise that is used to give light to the building.
Macsura
An enclosed space inside the prayer room of congregational mosques, reserved for the emir or caliph.
Mandorla
An almond-shaped or oval shape, usually used in early Christian, Byzantine, and Romanesque art to depict the figure of Christ.
Marquetry
Joinery work that involves pressing small tables of wood veneers of different colors onto a surface to compose drawings.
Bracket
A shelf on the wall to withstand the load of the dome.
Metope
An element between two classic triglyphs that can be decorated with reliefs.
Mosque
An original creation of Islam. It was a rectangular enclosure of adobe with a central patio and a shed to the south covered with a flat roof of wood and palm leaves. An Islamic place of worship.
Mihrab
A hollow, niche, or arch located in the qibla wall of all mosques, indicating the place where one is to pray and where the magnet is to lead the prayer. Its symbolic value makes this architectural element the most richly decorated of the mosque.
Miniature
A painting on parchment or small paper, widely used in medieval times.
Muqarnas
Decorative clusters or concave-shaped stalactites in Arabic architecture.
Cantilever
A superimposed cylindrical part to facilitate the transition between column and pillar.
Trim
An element that runs on a wall and is used to decorate.
Mortar
A mixture of lime, sand, and water.
Mosaic
A decorative element formed by the combination of “tiles” of colors and designs.
Mozarabic
Christians living in al-Andalus.
Mudéjar
Muslims living among Spanish Christians.
Wall Padding
A wall rig to form a building consisting of regular pieces based on a bulge in the central part.
Cyclopean Wall
Built with large stones embedded like a puzzle.
Narthex
The part of an atrium that extends into the interior of the nave of a church.
Still Life
A painting style that avoids depicting any living human or animal.
Necropolis
In archeology, a group of burial places or a cemetery from before the Christian era.
Nerves
Arches that intersect and serve to form the vault. It is a characteristic element.
Obelisk
A pyramid-shaped memorial pillar. A tall pillar with four equal sides converging slightly and terminated by a very flat pyramidal tip, which serves as decoration in public places. Egyptians used it mainly covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Oculus
A circular vain.
Oil
A painting technique of mixing different pigments using oil as a binder.
Order
In classical architecture, a column that includes the bases, the stem, the capital, and the entablature.
Corinthian Order
An order that determines the proportions of the various parts of the column. It corresponds to the Ionic order but with a more ornate capital.
Doric Order
An order that determines the proportions of the various parts of the spine: no base, shaft, groove, narrower at the top.
Ionic Order
An order that determines the proportions of the various parts of the column: bases, frieze of figures, fluted shaft.
Tuscan Order
An order that determines the proportions of the various parts of the column, similar to the Doric column but with a smooth shaft.
Landscape
A painting technique that consists of representing nature as an independent subject.
Palmette
An ornament based on palm leaves.
Pantocrator
Representing Christ sitting with the Gospels and in an attitude of blessing. A mosaic or sculpture with the image of Christ with his right hand raised and the left holding the Gospels.
Walls
The superficial part of a wall. Either of the two sides of a wall.
Mullion
A vertical element that splits the light from a door or window.
Patina
A kind of varnish that objects acquire over time, altering their surface appearance. The most characteristic is that of copper and bronze, with brown and green colors.
Pendant
Each of the four curved triangles that support a generally hemispherical dome. They serve to move from a square to a circular shape.
Peristyle
Columns that surround the courtyard of a classic house.
Aerial Perspective
Using light and color to show the perception of space. For example, red in the foreground, then green, yellow, and blue behind. Increase in blue at the bottom of the table. The vanishing point is elevated.
Vista Front
Used by prehistoric and Egyptian art to introduce space in a single plane.
Linear Perspective
A spatial sensing system that uses a central vanishing point from which all planes diverge. A mathematical system widely used by the Renaissance.
Pilar
A square bracket or one with less than eight sides, which performs the same architectural function as a column.
Pilar Cruciform
A cross-shaped pillar.
Pilaster
A pillar attached to a wall.
Pinnacle
A Gothic element ending in a pyramid shape or decorating a front counter.
Plant Basilica
A type of plant related to Roman public buildings and used in early Christian churches. It has a larger nave and lower side aisles with rows of columns.
Central Plant
A church plant where the entire architecture is organized around a central axis.
Plant Greek Cross
A church plant whose arms are of equal length.
Latin Cross Floor
A ground plan characteristic of medieval Europe with a larger nave and a smaller arm crossing it.
Altarpiece
A box formed by more than one board.
Porch
A covered space with columns in front of temples or other monumental buildings.
Presbytery
The space before the altar, separated by steps or a chancel from the nave.
Point of Flight
The concept in perspective in which all lines converge perpendicular to a plane.
Retablo
A wooden frame of an altar on which all the decorative elements are placed, such as sculptures, reliefs, paintings, columns, etc. It is located behind the altar and tends to consist of bodies, streets, a bank or predella, an attic, and dust.
Portrait
A human or animal image in sculpture, painting, or photograph.
Portrait Corporate
A group portrait mode common in Holland, large format, commissioned by military associations and companies. The democratic spirit of the Netherlands and their belief in the value of each person made them very different from court portraits: they lacked majesty, and the characters relate to them freely. Frans Hals is noted as a painter of corporate portraits.
Rosette
A decorative circular base formed of segments.
Rose Window
A circular window of tracery widely used in the Gothic style.
Salmer
The first segments of a bow.
Sebka
A type of decoration based on a network of diamonds. It is typical of the Islamic epoch. An example can be seen in the Giralda of Seville, whose panels are decorated with this work.
Sfumato
An Italian term that defines a pictorial device that seeks to capture the space environment by wrapping it in a mist and leaving the definition of the outline undefined. It is found in the painting of Leonardo da Vinci and in some ways is his contribution to aerial perspective.
Sgraffito
An Italian decoration system that superimposes two layers of different colored paint. In some areas, the top layer is removed, leaving the bottom exposed.
Sillar
Each of the carved stones that are used in a wall.
Ashlar
A little rough ashlar.
Symmetry
A harmonic balance consistently reflecting the same image on the left and right of an imaginary axis.
Synagogue
In Judaism, a meeting house for communal prayer, study, and meeting, the central communal institution.
Slope
The inclination of the plane of a wall or a temple.
Wet Cloths Technique
A sculptural technique widely used, especially in relief and transparencies, to represent the human body as it appears when clothes are wet. Phidias used it in the Parthenon, and later Roman reliefs also used it.
Mixed
Refers to works in which the author combined several techniques or introduced extra pictorial items, such as objects of daily use or cuts.
Technical Drill
A kind of sculptural technique that is performed with an instrument called a burr, which is used to pierce. When using this drill technique, the artist produced a sculpture that has deep incisions and holes, with wide contrasts of light and shade.
Tejaroz
Eaves.
Tempera
A painting technique that uses egg or the tail as a binder. Traditionally, egg yolk is mixed with water.
Tenebrism
A pictorial style of the early sixteenth century that consists of playing with the effects of light on black backgrounds.
Terracotta
A porous ceramic, usually red. It means “baked earth.” It is often used in sculpture, unvarnished.
Tile
Pieces of marble, glass paste, or other material that form a mosaic.
Tetramorph
The set of symbols of the four evangelists: John (eagle), Matthew (man or angel), Mark (lion), Luke (bull).
Tympanum
The triangular space forming the gable on the cornice of a pediment. It is also the semicircular space left between the line of the extrados and archivolts in a facade.
Tracery
Geometric designs of the windows of Gothic art.
Weft
The horizontal thread that is interlaced with the warp threads placed vertically on the loom.
Transept
The transept of the main churches in a Latin cross plan. The cruise is the intersection of the nave and transept.
Translucent
The quality of transparency that minerals present when they can let light through.
Transparent
A glass is said to be transparent when light passes through it without weakening or weakening only imperceptibly. When it only allows light to pass through to some degree, it is said to be translucent, and when it does not let light pass through at all, it is opaque.
Platform
An open gallery on the nave of a church where the faithful can stay.
Clerestory
An element in the central naves, just above the arches that give onto the aisles. It consists of a line of windows, usually geminate, open in the thickness of the walls. Not to be confused with the triforium, which is a corridor whose width matches that of the aisle on which it is built. When the gallery and clerestory match, it is the second floor, and the clerestory is the third.
Triglyph
Three vertical bands decorated in Doric art, placed among the metopes.
Triptych
A painting that consists of three parts: a central section and two side panels.
Trunk
A conical vault in the corner of two walls used to convert a square into an octagon.
Trompe-L’oeil
A French term for an optical illusion painting of space, so that it appears to be real rather than a painting. Deception.
Warp
The vertical threads on the loom, neatly placed in order to move the shuttle loaded with the thread that forms the weft.
Span
A hole in a wall or walls.
Glaze
In the oil painting technique, to pass an opaque layer over a base or an existing layer, so that the latter is partially erased, creating a color-off effect.
Venera
A large semicircular convex shell named for its relationship with the mythological Venus. It is commonly used as an ornament and symbol of medieval pilgrimages, especially to Santiago de Compostela.
Double Windows
A window split in two.
Glass
Glass window assemblies that are of various colors and shapes. Widely used in Gothic cathedrals.
Scroll
A coil used in Ionic capitals and later.
Lying
A sculpture representing a person lying dead, usually carved on a sarcophagus.
Decorator
Work made of plaster. Also refers to the act of creating false architectural elements in plaster that have only decorative and ornamental purposes. Widely used in Islamic art.
Ziggurat
A sanctuary in the traditional tower form of religious architecture in ancient Mesopotamia. A step pyramid formed by the superposition of receding bodies in varying numbers, rectangular or square, with stairs and ramps.
Socket
The bottom of a wall decorated in some way to differentiate it from the rest. It is widely used in courtyards.