Ancient Mediterranean Art Cheat Sheet
The core ideas of Ancient Mediterranean Art distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.
PiqCue — piqcue.com/ancient-mediterranean-art/cheatsheet
Quick Reference
Hierarchical Scale
Figure size indicates importance.
Composite View
Egyptian: head profile, shoulders frontal, legs profile.
Contrapposto
Weight on one leg creating S-curve.
Classical Orders
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.
Idealization
Greek perfected proportions.
Veristic Portraiture
Roman realistic sculpture.
Roman Concrete
Volcanic ash + lime + aggregate.
Narrative Relief
Relief panels telling stories.
Key Terms at a Glance
Archaic Period:Greek art 700-480 BCE.
Canon:Ideal proportions by Polykleitos.
Classical Period:Greek art 480-323 BCE.
Colosseum:Roman amphitheatre, 50,000.
Composite View:Egyptian profile/frontal convention.
Contrapposto:Weight-shift S-curve.
Corinthian Order:Ornate Greek order.
Doric Order:Simple Greek order.
Hellenistic Period:Greek art 323-31 BCE.
Hierarchical Scale:Size = importance.
Ionic Order:Volute capitals.
Kouros:Archaic Greek male sculpture.
Opus Caementicium:Roman concrete.
Pantheon:43.3m dome.
Veristic Portraiture:Roman realistic sculpture.
Get study tips in your inbox
We'll send you evidence-based study strategies and new cheat sheets as they're published.
We'll notify you about updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Ad Placeholder