1034 Glossary
diaphragm arch—A transverse, wall-bearing arch
that divides a vaultor a ceiling into compart-
ments, providing a kind of firebreak.
dictator—In the Roman Republic, the supreme mag-
istrate with extraordinary powers, appointed dur-
ing a crisis for a specified period. Julius Caesar
eventually became dictator perpetuo,dictator for
life.
dictator perpetuo—See dictator.
Die Brücke—German, “the bridge.” An early-20th-
century German Expressionistart movement un-
der the leadership of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The
group thought of itself as the bridge between the
old age and the new.
Dilukai—A female figure with splayed legs, a com-
mon motif over the entrance to a Belau bai,serv-
ing as both guardian and fertility symbol.
dipteral—See peristyle.
diptych—A two-paneled painting or altarpiece;also,
an ancient Roman, Early Christian, or Byzantine
hinged writing tablet, often of ivory and carved
on the external sides.
disegno—Italian,“drawing” and “design.”Renaissance
artists considered drawing to be the external phys-
ical manifestation (disegno esterno) of an internal
intellectual idea of design (disegno interno).
disputatio—Latin, “logical argument.” The philo-
sophical methodology used in Scholasticism.
divisionism—See pointillism.
documentary evidence—In art history, the exami-
nation of written sources in order to determine the
date of an artwork, the circumstances of its cre-
ation, or the identity of the artist(s) who made it.
doge—Duke; a ruler of the Republic of Venice, Italy.
dome—A hemispherical vault;theoretically,an arch
rotated on its vertical axis. In Mycenaeanarchi-
tecture, domes are beehive-shaped.
domus—A Roman private house.
donor portrait—A portrait of the individual(s) who
commissioned (donated) a religious work, for ex-
ample, an altarpiece,as evidence of devotion.
Doric—One of the two systems (or orders) invented
in ancient Greece for articulating the three units
of the elevation of a classicalbuilding—the plat-
form, the colonnade,and the superstructure
(entablature). The Doric order is characterized by,
among other features,capitalswith funnel-shaped
echinuses, columnswithout bases,and a friezeof
triglyphs and metopes.See also^ Ionic.
doryphoros—Greek, “spear bearer.”
dotaku—Ancient Japanese bronze ceremonial bells,
usually featuring raised decoration.
double monastery—A monasteryfor both monks
and nuns.
dressed masonry—Stone blocks shaped to the exact
dimensions required, with smooth faces for a per-
fect fit.
dromos—The passage leading to a tholos tomb.
drum—One of the stacked cylindrical stones that
form the shaft of a column. Also, the cylindrical
wall that supports a dome.
dry painting—See sand painting.
drypoint—An engravingin which the design, in-
stead of being cut into the plate with a burin,is
scratched into the surface with a hard steel “pen-
cil.” See also etching, intaglio.
earthenware—Pottery made of clay that is fired at low
temperatures and is slightly porous. Also, clay fig-
urines and statues produced in the same manner.
earthworks—See Environmental Art.eaves—The lower part of a roof that overhangs the
wall.
echinus—The convex element of a capital directly
below the abacus.
écorché—The representation of a nude body as if
without skin.
edition—A set of impressions taken from a single
print surface.
effigy mounds—Ceremonial mounds built in the
shape of animals or birds by native North Ameri-
can peoples.
elevation—In architecture, a head-on view of an ex-
ternal or internal wall, showing its features and
often other elements that would be visible beyond
or before the wall.
emblema—The central framed figural panel of a mo-
saicfloor.
embroidery—The technique of sewing threads onto
a finished ground to form contrasting designs.
Stem stitching employs short overlapping strands
of thread to form jagged lines. Laid-and-couched
work creates solid blocks of color.
empiricism—The search for knowledge based on
observation and direct experience.
enamel—A decorative coating, usually colored, fused
onto the surface of metal, glass, or ceramics.
encaustic—A painting techniquein which pigment
is mixed with melted wax and applied to the sur-
face while the mixture is hot.
engaged column—A half-round columnattached to
a wall. See also pilaster.
engraving—The process ofincising a design in hard
material, often a metal plate (usually copper); also,
the printor impression made from such a plate.
Enlightenment—The Western philosophy based
on empirical evidence that dominated the 18th
century. The Enlightenment was a new way of
thinking critically about the world and about hu-
mankind, independently of religion, myth, or
tradition.
ensi—A Sumerian ruler.
entablature—The part of a building above the
columns and below the roof. The entablature has
three parts:architrave,frieze,and pediment.
entasis—The convex profile (an apparent swelling)
in the shaft of a column.
Environmental Art—An American art form that
emerged in the 1960s. Often using the land itself
as their material, Environmental artists construct
monuments of great scale and minimal form. Per-
manent or impermanent, these works transform
some section of the environment, calling atten-
tion both to the land itself and to the hand of the
artist. Sometimes referred to as earthworks.
eravo—A ceremonial men’s meetinghouse con-
structed by the Elema people in New Guinea.
escutcheon—An emblem bearing a coat of arms.
etching—A kind ofengraving in which the design is
incised in a layer of wax or varnish on a metal
plate. The parts of the plate left exposed are then
etched (slightly eaten away) by the acid in which
the plate is immersed after incising. See also dry-
point, intaglio.
Eucharist—In Christianity, the partaking of the
bread and wine, which believers hold to be either
Christ himself or symbolic of him.
evangelist—One of the four authors (Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John) of the New Testament Gospels.
Events—See Fluxus.
exedra—Recessed area, usually semicircular.irrational, and the intuitive. A disdain for conven-
tion, often enlivened by humor or whimsy, is char-
acteristic of the art the Dadaists produced.
Daedalic—The Greek Orientalizing sculptural style
of the seventh century BCEnamed after the leg-
endary artist Daedalus.
daguerreotype—A photograph made by an early
method on a plate of chemically treated metal; de-
veloped by Louis J. M. Daguerre.
daimyo—Local lords who controlled small regions
and owed obeisance to the shogunin the Japanese
shogunatesystem.
damnatio memoriae—The Roman decree con-
demning those who ran afoul of the Senate. Those
who suffered damnatio memoriae had their
memorials demolished and their names erased
from public inscriptions.
darshan—In Hindu worship, seeing images of the
divinity and being seen by the divinity.
De Stijl—Dutch, “the style.” An early-20th-century
art movement (and magazine), founded by Piet
Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg, whose mem-
bers promoted utopian ideals and developed a
simplified geometric style.
deconstruction—An analytical strategy developed
in the late 20th century according to which all
cultural “constructs” (art, architecture, literature)
are “texts.” People can read these texts in a vari-
ety of ways, but they cannot arrive at fixed or uni-
form meanings. Any interpretation can be valid,
and readings differ from time to time, place to
place, and person to person. For those employing
this approach, deconstruction means destabiliz-
ing established meanings and interpretations
while encouraging subjectivity and individual
differences.
Deconstructivism—An architectural styleusing de-
construction as an analytical strategy. Deconstruc-
tivist architects attempt to disorient the observer
by disrupting the conventional categories of ar-
chitecture. The haphazard presentation of vol-
umes, masses, planes, lighting, and so forth
challenges the viewer’s assumptions about form
as it relates to function.
decumanus—The east-west street in a Roman town,
intersecting the cardoat right angles.
decursio—The ritual circling of a Roman funerary
pyre.
Deësis—Greek, “supplication.” An image of Christ
flanked by the figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint
John the Baptist, who intercede on behalf of
humankind.
demos—Greek, “the people,” from which the word
democracy is derived.
demotic—Late Egyptian writing.
denarius—The standard Roman silver coin from
which the word pennyultimately derives.
Der Blaue Reiter—German, “the blue rider.” An
early-20th-century German Expressionistart
movement founded by Vassily Kandinsky and
Franz Marc. The artists selected the whimsical
name because of their mutual interest in the color
blue and horses.
dharma—In Buddhism, moral law based on the
Buddha’s teaching.
dharmachakra—See mudra.
dhyana—See mudra.
di sotto in sù—Italian, “from below upward.” A per-
spectivalview seen from below.
diagonal rib—See rib.