atmospheric perspective – blurring or fading things in the distance to make them appear
farther away cartoon – actual size drawing done in preparation for a painting or fresco composition – the plan, or arrangement, of a painting didactic - designed or intended to teach focal point – where you look at a painting foreground – the part of the picture nearest you foreshorten – to “shorten” parts of an object to create the illusion of depth fresco – a painting made on a wall covered with wet plaster. The paint is absorbed into the wall and becomes part of the wall iconography – the study of symbolism linear perspective – A system of drawing or painting in which the artist attempts to create the illusion of spatial depth on a two-dimensional surface. It works by following consistent geometric rules for rendering objects as they appear to the human eye. pouncing – method of transferring a drawing onto wet plaster for a fresco by dusting powdered charcoal through small holes pricked along the outlines of the drawing sfumato – (Italian word for smoky) method developed by Leonardo da Vinci. In painting, the technique of blurring or softening sharp outlines by subtle and gradual blending
(feathering) of one tone into another.
Sistine Chapel – the private chapel of the Pope tempera – a type of paint that is mixed with egg yolks instead of oil
Vatican – the Pope’s palace in Rome, Italy chiaroscuro - A word borrowed from Italian ("light and shade" or "dark") referring to the modeling of volume by depicting light and shade by contrasting them boldly.
allegory - When the literal content of a work stands for abstract ideas, suggesting a parallel, deeper, symbolic sense.

naturalism - A style in which an artist intends to represent a subject as it appears in the natural world — precisely and objectively — as opposed to being represented in a stylized or intellectually manipulated manner.
neoplatonism - philosophy attempted to reconcile Christian doctrine with the classical philosophies of Greek and Roman society.
humanism - A renewed interest the art and writings of antiquity, an optimism that humans are inherently endowed with the skills necessary to reshape the world according to their own needs, and a belief in inherent human dignity.
secular - things not regarded as religious or spiritual.
symbol - A form, image or subject representing a meaning other than the one with which it is usually associated.
contrapposto - a way of sculpting a human figure in a natural pose with the weight of one leg, the shoulder, and hips counterbalancing each other. Thus it is sometimes called "weight shift."
Periods of the Italian Renaissance
Early
High
Mannerist
Baroque
Northern Renaissance
Milan