1036 Glossaryhieroglyphic—A system of writing using symbols
or pictures.
high relief—See relief.
High-Tech—A contemporary architectural stylecall-
ing for buildings that incorporate the latest inno-
vations in engineering and technology and expose
the structures’ component parts.
Hijra—The flight of Muhammad from Mecca to
Medina in 622, the year from which Islam dates
its beginnings.
himation—An ancient Greek mantle worn by men and
women over the chitonand draped in various ways.
Hippodamian plan—A city plandevised by Hippo-
damos of Miletos ca. 466 BCE, in which a strict grid
was imposed on a site, regardless of the terrain, so
that all streets would meet at right angles.
hiragana—A phonetic cursive script developed in
Japan from Chinese characters; it came to be the
primary script for Japanese court poetry.
historiated—Ornamented with representations, such
as plants, animals, or human figures, that have a
narrative—as distinct from a purely decorative—
function.
hokkyo—Japanese, “Bridge of the Law.” The third
highest rank among Buddhist monks.
hookah—A Moroccan water pipe.
horizon line—See perspective.
hôtel—French, “town house.”
hubris—Greek, “arrogant pride.”
hue—The name of a color.See also primary colors,
secondary colors,andcomplementary colors.
humanism—In the Renaissance,an emphasis on ed-
ucation and on expanding knowledge (especially
ofclassicalantiquity), the exploration of individ-
ual potential and a desire to excel, and a commit-
ment to civic responsibility and moral duty.
hydria—An ancient Greek three-handled water
pitcher.
hypaethral—A building having no pedimentor roof,
open to the sky.
hypostyle hall—A hall with a roof supported by
columns.
icon—A portrait or image; especially in Byzantine
churches, a panel with a painting of sacred per-
sonages that are objects of veneration. In the vi-
sual arts, a painting, a piece of sculpture, or even a
building regarded as an object of veneration.
iconoclasm—The destruction of religious or sacred
images. In Byzantium, the period from 726 to 843
when there was an imperial ban on such images.
The destroyers of images were known as icono-
clasts. Those who opposed such a ban were known
as iconophiles.
iconoclast—See iconoclasm.
iconography—Greek, the “writing of images.” The
term refers both to the content, or subject, of an
artwork and to the study of content in art. It also
includes the study of the symbolic, often religious,
meaning of objects, persons, or events depicted in
works of art.
iconophile—See iconoclasm.
iconostasis—Greek, “icon stand.” In Byzantine
churches, a screen or a partition, with doors and
many tiers oficons,separating the sanctuary from
the main body of the church.
ikegobo—A Benin royal shrine.
illuminated manuscript—A luxurious handmade
book with painted illustrations and decorations.
illusionism (adj.illusionistic)—The representation of
the three-dimensional world on a two-dimensionalsurface in a manner that creates the illusion that
the person, object, or place represented is three-
dimensional. See also perspective.
imagines—In ancient Rome, wax portraits of
ancestors.
imam—In Islam, the leader of collective worship.
impasto—A layer of thickly applied pigment.
imperator—Latin, “commander in chief,” from
which the word emperorderives.
impluvium—In a Roman house, the basin located in
the atriumthat collected rainwater.
impost block—The uppermost block of a wall or
pierbeneath the springingof an arch.
Impressionism—A late-19th-century art movement
that sought to capture a fleeting moment, thereby
conveying the elusiveness and impermanence of
images and conditions.
in antis—In ancient Greek architecture, the area be-
tween the antae.
incise—To cut into a surface with a sharp instru-
ment; also, a method of decoration, especially on
metal and pottery.
incrustation—Wall decoration consisting of bright
panels of different colors.
incubus—A demon believed in medieval times to
prey, often sexually, on sleeping women.
indulgence—A religious pardon for a sin
committed.
ingegno—Italian, “innate talent.” One of several
terms used in Italian Renaissanceliterature to
praise the originality and talent of artists.
installation—An artwork that creates an artistic en-
vironment in a room or gallery.
insula (pl.insulae)—In Roman architecture, a mul-
tistory apartment house, usually made of brick-
faced concrete;also refers to an entire city block.
Insular—See Hiberno-Saxon.
intaglio—A graphic technique in which the design is
incised,or scratched, on a metal plate, either man-
ually (engraving, drypoint) or chemically (etch-
ing). The incised lines of the design take the ink,
making this the reverse of the woodcut technique.
intensity—See color.
interaxial or intercolumniation—The distance be-
tween the center of the lowest drumof a column
and the center of the next.
intercolumniation—See interaxial.
internal evidence—In art history, the examination
of what an artwork represents (people, clothing,
hairstyles, and so on) in order to determine its
date. Also, the examination of the styleof an art-
work to identify the artist who created it.
International Style—A styleof 14th- and 15th-cen-
tury painting begun by Simone Martini, who
adapted the French Gothic manner to Sienese art
fused with influences from Northern Europe. This
style appealed to the aristocracy because of its
brilliant color,lavish costumes, intricate orna-
mentation, and themes involving splendid pro-
cessions of knights and ladies. Also, a style of
20th-century architecture associated with Le Cor-
busier, whose elegance of design came to influ-
ence the look of modern office buildings and
skyscrapers.
intonaco— In frescopainting, the last layer of
smooth lime plaster applied to the wall; the paint-
ing layer.
invenzione—Italian, “invention.” One of several
terms used in Italian Renaissanceliterature to
praise the originality and talent of artists.guild—An association of merchants, craftspersons,
or scholars in medieval and RenaissanceEurope.
haboku—In Japanese art, a loose and rapidly exe-
cuted painting stylein which the ink seems to
have been applied by flinging or splashing it onto
the paper.
haiku—A 17-syllable Japanese poetic form.
halberd—A combination spear and battle-ax.
hall church—See Hallenkirche.
Hallenkirche—German, “hall church.” A church de-
sign favored in Germany, but also used elsewhere,
in which the aisles rise to the same height as the
nave.
handscroll—In Asian art, a horizontal painted scroll
that is unrolled right to left, section by section,
and often used to present illustrated religious
texts or landscapes.
hanging scroll—In Asian art, a vertical scroll hung
on a wall with pictures mounted or painted di-
rectly on it.
haniwa—Sculpted fired pottery cylinders, modeled
in human, animal, or other forms and placed on
Japanese tumuliof the Kofun period.
Happenings—A term coined by American artist Al-
lan Kaprow in the 1960s to describe loosely struc-
tured performances, whose creators were trying
to suggest the aesthetic and dynamic qualities of
everyday life; as actions, rather than objects, Hap-
penings incorporate the fourth dimension (time).
hard-edge painting—A variant ofPost-Painterly Ab-
straction that rigidly excluded all reference to ges-
ture and incorporated smooth knife-edge
geometric forms to express the notion that paint-
ing should be reduced to its visual components.
harmika—In Buddhist architecture, a stone fence or
railing that encloses an area surmounting the
domeof a stupa that represents one of the Bud-
dhist heavens; from the center arises the yasti.
harpies—Mythological creatures of the underworld.
haruspex (pl.haruspices)—An Etruscan priest who
foretells events by studying animal livers.
hatching—A series of closely spaced drawn or en-
gravedparallel lines. Cross-hatching employs sets
of lines placed at right angles.
heiau—A Hawaiian temple.
Helladic—The prehistoric art of the Greek mainland
(Hellas in Greek).
Hellas—The ancient name of Greece.
Hellenes (adj.Hellenic)—The name the ancient
Greeks called themselves as the people ofHellas.
Hellenistic—The term given to the art and culture
of the roughly three centuries between the death
of Alexander the Great in 323 BCEand the death of
Queen Cleopatra in 30 BCE, when Egypt became a
Roman province.
henge—An arrangement ofmegalithicstones in a
circle, often surrounded by a ditch.
heraldic composition—A compositionthat is sym-
metrical on either side of a central figure.
herm—A bust on a quadrangular pillar.
Hevehe—An elaborate cycle of ceremonial activities
performed by the Elema people of the Papuan
Gulf region of New Guinea. Also, the large, ornate
masks produced for and presented during these
ceremonies.
Hiberno-Saxon—An art stylethat flourished in the
monasteriesof the British Isles in the early Middle
Ages. Also called Insular.
hierarchy of scale—An artistic convention in which
greater size indicates greater importance.