AP艺术史课程必背91个词汇及解析！AP艺术史可谓是AP科目里面的偏科了，所能遇到的靠谱资料也少之甚少，此词汇精选总结，极其重视大历史背景的考察，就算不考试也可涨知识。

A

Acropolis 

Literally, a "high city", a Greek temple complex built on a hill over a city.

Aerial (atmospheric) perspective 

Like linear perspective, this is a technique for creating an illusion of space on a flat surface. The illusion is created in two ways: 1) by making forms in the distance less distinct than forms in the foreground 2) by making forms in the background less intense in color than forms in the foreground.

Altarpiece 

A painted or sculptured panel set atop on altar of a church.

Ambulatory 

A passageway around the apse or an altar of a church.

Annunciation 

In Christianity, an episode in the Book of Luke, in which Angel Garbriel announces to Mary that she would be the Virgin Mother of Jesus.

Apostle 

The twelve closest followers of Jesus, including Saint Peter, SaintAndrew, Saint James (the Greater), Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Thomas, Saint James (the Lesser), Saint Jude, Saint Philip, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Matthew, Saint Simon, and Judus Isacariot who was replaced by Saint Matthias. The apostles are sometimes referred to as disciples.

Apocrypha 

Books that are not recognized as part of the authorized version of the Old and New Testaments.For example，The Book of Judith.

Apse 

The end of point of a church where the altar is.

Avant-garde 

A French military term for the vanguard or advanced guard, it was appropriated for artistic usage in early 19th-century France to describe art that was at the forefront of artistic development. The concept originated in socialist political theory and its first major artistic exponent was Gustave Courbet in his Realist paintings of the 1850s. Today avant-garde is almost synonymous with modern.

Arcade 

A series of arches supported by columns, when the arches face awall and are not self-supporting, they are called blind arcade.

B

Basilica 

A type of public building used by the ancient Romans (for example the Basilica of Maxentius on the Roman Forum), and then adopted by the early Christians as places of worship. Christian basilicas often conform to a plan that is longitudinal-with an entrance on one end and a view to the apse (usually to the east), where the altar is located at the opposite end. The main aisle is the nave, and on either side are usually aisles. The axis that crosses the nave is known as the transept.

Bay 

A vertical section of a church that is embraced by a set of columns and is usually composed of arches and aligned windows.

B.C.E.

Before the Common Era-a Secular alternative to the traditional,B.C. (Before Christ).

C

C.E.

Common Era. Secular alternative to the traditional, A.D. (Anno Domini: the year of our Lord).

Canvas 

A heavy woven material used as the surface of a painting; first widely used in Venice.

Chiaroscuro 

An Italian word meaning light and dark that refers to the modulation of light and dark in order to produce an illusion of three-dimensional form. Also called modeling or shading.

Classical Antiquity (or Ancient Greece and Rome)

A period of about 900 years when ancient Greece and then ancient Rome (first as a Republic and then as an Empire) dominated the Meditteranean area, from about 500 B.C. -400 C.E. We tend tolump these two (Greece and Rome) together because the Romans, when they conquered the areas of Europe under Greek control between 145 and 30 B.C. adopted many aspects of Greek culture, including their pantheon of Gods and Godesses.

Clearly, the ancient Greeks (who invented the Olympics) and the Ancient Romans had enormous respect for human beings, and what they could accomplish with their minds and bodies. The Roman Empire "fell"in the 400s due to pressure from various groups of migrating people who moved into the empire beginning in the 4th century C.E.

Codex (pl. codices)

A manuscript book.

Coffers 

A box-like recess commonly found in the ancient Roman ceilings resulting from the intersection of exposed beams, but widely used since in architecture, to add depth and dimension to a ceiling.

Continuous narrative 

A work of art that contains several scenes of the same story painted or sculpted in a single frame.

Contrapposto 

The shift of weight of a standing figure onto one leg resulting in an asymmetrical realignment of the entire body. The ancient Greeks invented the position. Contrapposto refers to a weight shift, and we can see that the figure has his weight shifted onto his right leg, while his left leg is bent. The figure is asymmetrical-different on the different sides of his body. As a result of contrapposto, this figure looks as though it can move, and it looks much more alive.

Counter-Reformation 

The Church initially ignored Martin Luther, but Luther's ideas (and variations of them, including Calvinism) quickly spread throughout Europe. He was asked to recant (to disavow) his writings at the Diet of Worms (an unfortunate name for a council held by the Holy Roman Emperor in the German city of Worms). When Luther refused, he was excommunicated (in other words, expelled from the church). The Church's response to the threat from Luther and others during this period is called the Counter-Reformation ("counter"meaning against).

D

Diptych 

A two-panel painting that is connected and sometimes hinged.Often seen during the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods in Italy and the North.

Е

Equestrian

Equestrian refers to riding a horse (from the Latin, equus for horse).An equestrian sculpture depicts a figure on a horse. Examples include Marcus Aurelius (from ancient Rome) and Gattamelata (from the Renaissance).

Etching 

An etching is made by covering a copper or zinc plate with wax or resin then removing lines of wax by drawing into it with a sharp implement thus exposing the metal. The plate is then placed in an acid bath. The acid bites into the metal, eating into the plate where it is exposed, the rest of the plate is protected by the wax. Next the acid is washed from the plate and the plate is heated so the wax softens and can be wiped away. The plate now has recessed linesetched by the acid where the artist had drawn into the wax. Theplate is inked and the surface wiped clean so that the ink only remains in the recessed areas. Paper is pressed against the plate in a press. The ink adheres to the paper and is drawn out by it. This print, which mirrors the image on the plate, is an etching.

Eucharist 

The Christian sacrament that repeats Jesus' action at the Last Supper when he gave the apostles bread and said "this is my body,"and when he gave them wine and said "this is my blood."The Eucharist is performed as part of the Mass in a Catholic Church. The Catholic Church teaches that through the miracle of Transubstantiation the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Like all sacraments for Catholics, the Eucharist is believed to confer God's grace on the recipient, and thereby bring him/her closer to God and to eternal life in heaven.

F 

Facade 

The front of a building-

Flying buttress 

A stone arch and its pier that support a roof from a pillar outside the building. Flying buttress also stabilize a building and protect it from wind sheer.

Foreshortening 

If we think of the flat surface that the picture is on as the picture plane，then we can see foreshortening is when something appearsto be（or has the illusion of being）perpendicular（or close to perpendicular）to the picture plane.Another way of saying this is that with foreshortening，something appears to be coming out of the space of the picture towards us，or going back into the space of the picture away from us.Foreshortening creates an illusion of space on the flat surface of the picture，and this makes the image look more real.On the other hand，when forms are parallel to the picture plane，the flatness of the picture plane is reinforced.

Forum（pl.fora）

A public square or marketplace in a Roman city.

Free-Standing 

When referring to sculpture, the term "free-standing"refers to a sculpture that is not attached to architecture or inside a niche. You can walk around a free-standing sculpture and look at it from all angles. Medieval sculpture was almost always attached to architecture, that is, it adorned the interior and exteriors of churches, whereas we often see free-standing sculpture in classical antiquity and again, in the Renaissance.

Fresco 

Water-based pigment applied to fresh moist plaster. Fresco secco (dry) refers to the application of paint upon a dry wall.

Frieze 

A horizontal band of sculpture.

G

Genesis 

First book of the Bible that details Creation, the Flood, Rebecca at the Well, and Jacob Wrestling the Angel, among other episodes.

Gospels 

The Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which comprise the first section of the New Testament. The word "Gospel"is atranslation of a Greek word that means "good news."In the Christian context, the "good news"is that God was renewing his promise to his people through Christ.

Ground plan 

The map of a floor of a building.

Guild 

An association of tradesmen or craftsmen that controlled trainingand standards of workmanship. Like modern labor unions, guilds inthe medieval and renaissance periods held considerable social and political power.

Н

Hieratic scale (or hierarchy of scale)

Representing the sizes of figures according to their importance, rather than how they would objectively appear in reality. Hieratic scale is often seen in the art of various ancient civilizations, as well as during Europe's Middle Ages.

Holy Trinity 

The Father, the son and the Holy Spirit (ghost). The division of a unified monotheistic conception of God into three. The potent symbolism of three made this number a common element in Catholic art and architecture.

Horror Vacui 

Latin, meaning "fear of empty spaces". A type of artwork in which the entire surface is filled with objects, people, designs, and ornaments in a crowded and sometimes congested way.

Humanism 

From the Lain word humanitas. Humanist intellectuals of the latemedieval and renaissance eras valued the classical literature of Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, and early Christian writers such as St.

Augustine. They celebrated humanity's spiritual, intellectual, and physical capabilities. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, a great renaissance Humanist, wrote in his Oration on the Dignity of Man: You, with no limits and no bounds, may choose for yourself the limits and bounds of your nature. You have been placed at the world's center so that you may survey everything else in the world.

I

Icon 

The devotional panel depicting a sacred image.

Iconography 

The study of subjects and themes in art work, concerning especially symbolic and allegorical meanings. For example, saints are often identified by an attribute, frequently a method of execution (e.g.Bartholomew is commonly represented with a knife).

Ignudi 

Italian for nudes, this is a word used to refer to the male nudes that Michelangelo added to the painted architecture at the corners of the central scenes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Impasto 

A thick and very visible application of paint on a painting surface.

In situ 

A Latin expression that means that something is in its original location.

K

Keystone

The center stone of an arch that holds the other stone in place.

L 

Lamentation 

Shows scenes of Jesus' followers mourning his death; usually includes Mary, Saint John, and Mary Magdalene. 

Last Judgment 

In Christianity, the Judgment before God at the end of the world.

Linear perspective 

Linear Perspective is a system for creating an illusion of three dimensional space on a flat, two dimensional surface. It involves creating a horizontal line (called the horizon line), and a point on the horizon line (called the vanishing point), and diagonal lines which appear to recede in space (called orthogonals) which all meetat the vanishing point. Artists use linear perspective to create an illusion of space from a single, fixed viewpoint. The multiple viewpoints, rising ground line, and ambiguous space of the middle ages were replaced with a rational, measured spatial illusion.Brunelleschi discovered linear perspective around 1420 in Florence, and it was described by the architect and Humanist Leon Battista Alberti in his book On Painting, which was published in 1435.Masaccio's fresco The Holy Trinity (c. 1425) is the earliest surviving example of one-point linear perspective.

Luther, Martin 

Martin Luther was a German monk and Professor of Theology at theUniversity of Wittenberg. Luther sparked the Reformation in 1517 by posting, at least according to tradition, his "95 Theses"on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany-these theses were a list of statements that expressed Luther's concerns about certain Church practices-largely the sale of indulgences, but they were based on Luther's deeper concerns with church doctrine. Note that he word "Protestant"contains the word "protest"and that the word "reformation"contains the word "reform"-this was an effort, at least at first, to protest some practices of the Catholic Church and to reform that Church.

M 

Medici 

A powerful Florentine family. Originally merchant bankers, the Medici rose in wealth, power, and prestige until figures such as Cosimo (1389-1464) and Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent)(1449-1492) assumed control of Florence. The Medici family would eventually produce two popes (Leo x, 1513-1521 and Clement VI,1523-1534) and marry into the most powerful monarchic dynasties in Europe. Their patronage of the arts is legendary.

Modernism 

A movement begun in the late 19th century in which artists embraced the current at the expense of the traditional in both subject matter and in media; modernist artists often seek to question the very nature of itself.

Monastery 

A complex of buildings of a religious community living apart from the world. A typical monastery would include a church and an almonry, cells, cloisters, chapter-house, dormitory, guest-hall, library, locutory, and a refectory. On a more practical level, and underlining the self-sufficiency of such communities, there would also be bakehouses, gardens, graveyards, smithies, etc.

N 

Naturalistic 

A style of art that seeks to represent objects or living beings as they appear to the eye. A naturalistic work appears to reproduce the visible world.

Negative space 

Empty space around an object or a person, such as the cut-out areas between a figure's legs or arms in a sculpture. 

Neo-Platonism 

A philosophical and religious system developed by the followers of Plotinus in the 3rd century C.E., it combined ideas from Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and the Stoics with elements of oriental mysticism. It envisaged the human soul rising above the imperfect material world towards contemplation and knowledge of the transcendent One. Its importance for the visual arts lies in its domination of late Quattrocento Florentine though. These intellectual circles greatly influenced artists under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, especially the young Michelangelo, whoseunderstanding of spiritual beauty derived from Neoplatonism.

New Testament 

The Christian Bible comprises both the Jewish Bible (which Christians call the Old Testament) as well as sacred texts that describe the events that gave rise to Christianity, called the New Testament. The Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (which describe the life, death and resurrection of Christ), the Acts of the Apostles (which tell of the apostles' missionary activity), Epistles(letters from the time of the apostles), and The Book of Revelation together form the New Testament. In the Christian tradition, the Old and New Testaments are linked because Christ is seen as the one who fulfills the prophecy of the Old Testament that God's relationship with his people would be renewed.

O

Oil paint 

A paint in which pigments are suspended in an oil-based medium.Oil dries slowly allowing for corrections or additions; also for a great range of luster and minute details.

Old Testament 

The word testament in this case means contract or promise，and refers to God's contract with his people，the descendents of Abraham.The Old Testament is the Christian term for the Jewish Bible which comprises the first part of the Christian Bible（see the New Testament）.Michelangelo painted scenes from the Book of Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

P 

Pagan 

Refers to polytheistic, pre-christian religions.

Paleolithic 

Paleolithic refers to the period between approximately 40,000 and 10,000 years ago. "Upper"is the most recent of three sub-divisions of the Paleolithic period (Lower, Middle and Upper). The word itself is made of two parts. "Paleo"which means old and "lithic"which means stone. Paleolithic is the oldest of three stone-age periods(Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic). Thus "Paleolithic"refers to the old stone age a period that includes the oldest representational artwork yet found such as the Venus of Willendorf and the cave paintings at Lascaux.

Papyrus 

A tall aquatic plant used as a writing surface in ancient Egypt.

Pediment 

A triangular gable found at the end of a peaked roof. Also used as a decorative element.

Plato (427-347 B.C.E.)

Ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, and teacher ofAristotle. Concerned with the separation of matter and spirit, Plato's writings often discuss the ethical life. His Dialogues areamongst the most influential ancient texts. The Timaeus and book x of Laws were especially valuable to the Catholic Church.

Polyptych 

More than three separate panel paintings that are connected often forming a narrative cycle. Often seen in altarpieces during the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods in Italy.

Post-and-lintel 

A method of construction with two posts supporting a horizontal beam, called a lintel.

Polytheism 

Poly = many, the (from the Greek theos) = god. Polytheism refers to the devotion to more than one god. Hindu is a major contemporary polytheistic religion. Shiva, Vishnu, and Krishna are its major deities.In the ancient world polytheism was dominant. The peoples of Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome worshiped numerous gods and goddesses.

Prophet

In the Jewish tradition, a prophet is a figure from the Old Testament who predicted the coming of a saviour (or messiah)-someone who would save mankind. The Christians understood that person to be Jesus. The word "Christ"means saviour or messiah. Old Testament prophets include Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekial.

Proportion 

The mathematical relationship of the parts in any composition toeach other and to the whole. More specifically, it refers to the mathematical and geometric relationships of the parts of the human body and the ratio of each part or unit of parts to the whole mass and form. The proportions of the human body have been debated throughout the history of art, the most famous early treatise being Vitruvius's De Architectura written in the 1st century B.C.E. Major Renaissance studies of the subject included those by Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer.

R 

Ready-made 

A term devised by Marcel Duchamp to describe pre-existing, mass-produced objects, selected at random, which were then accorded the status of works of art. His first ready-made was a bicycle wheel mounted on a stool (1913). Ready-mades differed from objets trouvés (found objects such as stones, shells, etc.) asthe latter were chosen for their aesthetic beauty. Perhaps the most notorious ready-made was Fountain (1917), consisting of a urinal which Duchamp signed R. Mutt'. The ready-made was one of Dada's most enduring legacies to modern art and was adopted by both Nouveau Réalisme and Pop art.

Relief sculpture 

Sculpture which projects from a flat background. A very shallow relief sculpture is called a bas-relief.

Republio 

A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives. responsible to them.

Rococo 

A term used to describe the light, elegant, and sensuous style in the visual arts which originated in France at the beginning of the 18th century, reached its apogee in the 1730s, and was eventually supplanted by the stern, moralizing qualities of Neoclassicism in the 1760s.

S

School 

A group of artists sharing the same philosophy who work around the same time, but not necessarily together.

Secular 

Non-religious.

Spolia 

In art history, the reuse of architectural or sculptural pieces in uildings generally different from their original contexts.

Stele (pl. stelae) 

A vertical stone monument or marker often inscribed with text or with relief carving.

Sibyl 

A Sibyl is a female figure from classical antiquity, some of whom, the Christians believe, foretold the coming Jesus Christ.

Still life 

A painting of grouping of inanimate objects, such as flowers or fruits.

Stylized 

A schematic, nonrealistic manner of representing the visible world and its contents abstracted form the way that they appear in nature.

T 

The Sublime 

Any cathartic experience from the catastrophic to the intellectual that causes the viewer to marvel in awe, wonder, and passion. It is an aesthetic concept which entered mainstream European thought in the 18th century. As a category it was distinct from, though often discussed in conjunction with, the Beautiful and the Picturesque, both in relation to aesthetics and, in Britain, to landscape gardening.

Tempera 

A type of paint employing egg yolk as the binding medium that is noted for its quick drying rate and flat opaque colors.

Tenebrism/Tenebroso

A dramatic dark-and-light contrast in a painting.

Triptych 

Three-panel paintings that are connected and sometimes hinged.Often seen in altarpieces during the late Medieval and early Renaissance periods in Italy and the North.

Trompe-l' oeil (from the French, ' trick of the eye']

Used to describe pictures in which a deliberate visual illusion is intended by the artist. It is particularly associated with naturalistic painting where artists are concerned to demonstrate their exceptional skill.

V 

Vault 

A roof constructed with arches. When an arch is extended in space, forming a tunnel, it is called a barrel vault. When two barrel vaults intersect at right angles it is called a groin vault. When diagonal arches form rib-like patterns, it is called a rib vault.

Volume 

The displacement or definition of space by a form. In painting, volume refers to the illusion of the displacement or definition of space.

W& z

Woodcut 

A printmaking process by which a wooden tablet is carved into with a tool，leaving the design raised and the background cut away；ink is rolled onto the raised portions，and an impression is made when paper applied to the surface；woodcuts have strong angular surfaces with sharply delineated lines.

Ziggurat 

In ancient Mesopotamia，a stepped tower of earthen materials，often supporting a temple or shrine.

Zoomorphic 

Having elements of animal shapes.
以上汇总的AP艺术史词汇，希望对大家有帮助！