Did you know?

Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516) was a Dutch painter of fantasy in the late Middle Ages. He filled a colorful canvas with weird, misshapen figures conducting themselves sinfully in Hell; in Ship of Fools he painted on allegory of humanity's immorality.

Unit 5

classicism

Ancient Greek and Roman art, which emphasized harmony, proportion, balance, and simplicity. Generally, classicism refers to art, architecture, and sculpture based on accepted standards of beauty. The elegance, symmetry, and repose of classical art are usually seen as the opposite of art of the romantic school (see below).

words in context: Classicism in art denotes the absence of emotionalism, subjectivity, and excess enthusiasm. Artists of this school looked back in admiration to Greek and Roman models.

renaissance

European art, c. 1400-1600. Renaissance art began in Italy and stressed the forms of classical antiquity, which emphasized a realistic use of space, scientific perspective, and secular subjects. Early Renaissance artists were Leonardo da Vinci and Donatello; artists of the later or High Renaissance were Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian.

words in context: Renaissance means rebirth in French and describes the rich development of Western civilization that marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern age. It was a period of brilliant accomplishment in all the arts, literature, science, and scholarship. The humanist emphasis on the individual was typified in the Renaissance man — a man of universal genius — represented by Leonardo da Vinci.

baroque

A style developed in Europe and Latin America during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Works in all the arts were produced on a grand scale with a high sense of drama. In painting, deep perspective was developed, chiaroscuro was intensified, color was superbly exploited, and artists often showed a fascination with intense emotional states.

words in context: Some of the artists working in the early (1590-1625), high (1625-1660), and late baroque (1660-1725) periods were Caravaggio, La Tour, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, and Claude Lorraine. The buildings in Versailles are examples of baroque architecture. In the late baroque, Italy lost its dominant position to France, with painters using lighter colors and softer forms, and baroque gave way to the rococo.

rococo

In reaction to the grandeur and massiveness of the baroque, artists working in the rococo style used highly decorative, refined, and elegant forms. This style spread through eighteenth-century Europe. Parisian tapestries, furniture, and bronze art became delicate. Shells, scrolls, branches, and flowers appeared on furnishings.

words in context: The major French painters of the rococo period were Watteau, Boucher, and Fragonard. In England, the furniture of Chippendale was rococo.

After studying the definitions above, use these new words in the sentences below:

1. is executed on a grand scale and exhibits high drama and emotion using perspective and chiaroscuro.

2. Art that emphasizes the harmony and balance of the art of ancient Greece and Rome is called art, a word that means "rebirth."

3. is the term given to the art of antiquity that set the standards

for beauty and good taste.

4. Highly decorative art featuring refined forms and often incorporating flowers and branches is art of the style.

Test Yourself: Write the letter next to the number to match word and meaning.

1. rococo a. art on a grand scale, with emotional intensity and drama

2. baroque b. art that looked back to ancient Greece and Rome

3. Renaissance c. refined and decorative-delicate flowers and branches

4. classicism d. marked the transition between the Middle Ages and now

On a separate sheet of paper, write a sentence using each of these new words.