The philosophy or cultural movement that places the highest emphasis on the human individual and his or her interests and accomplishments. The credo of the Greek philosopher Protagoras that "man is the measure of all things" epitomizes this outlook.
fresco
Italian for "fresh" or "cool"; a technique involving the brushing of water-based paints onto wet ("cool," "fresh") plaster. As the plaster dries, the paint becomes a permanent part of the plaster wall or ceiling. Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, Raphael's School of Athens and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling are frescoes.
iconography
The study of an artwork in terms of the meaning of its subjects, symbols, and images, in the context of the contemporary culture.
mannerism
A movement in art and architecture arising in the first half of the sixteenth century in Italy that emphasized the personal "manner" or style of the artist. In the hands of artists such as Michelangelo, Parmigianino, and Bronzino, these personally distinctive styles are characterized by arbitrary distortions or exaggerations of the rational, classically idealized Renaissance forms of the day.
baroque
A style of art and architecture especially popular in the Catholic European countries and their colonies in the seventeenth century. Baroque art is characterized by enormous scale, curvilinear movement, dynamic energy, and emotional drama. Due to its original emphasis on religious subjects and the propagation of the Catholic faith, it is often thought of as the style brought into being by the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
