How to make a polychrome sculpture

Learning goal

  • To acquire useful vocabulary in order to be able to describe the techniques involved in the creation of a traditional Spanish polychrome sculpture.

To achieve that goal, you should become familiar with the words in the resource, paying special attention to those included in the exercises. The interactive activities provide feedback so that you can evaluate your performance.

Watch the video

Watch the video "Making a Spanish Polychrome Sculpture", posted at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wb-T1F033Q by the Getty Museum, and then do the activities below. If you have trouble following the video, you can access the script by clicking here.

 

Which word is the “odd one out”?

1. burnishing stone - flesh tones- bole -  gold leaf 

a) burnishing stone

b) flesh tones

c) bole

d) gold leaf


2. saw – chisel – hammer – layer

a) saw

b) chisel

c) hammer

d) layer


3. sandpaper – gesso – clay - wood

a) sandpaper

b) gesso

c) clay

d) wood


Choose the word that matches each definition

Below you can see some definitions that correspond to terms used in the video. Select the appropriate word from the drop down menu, bearing in mind that some of the words in the menu do not match any of the definitions.

The definitions have been adapted from WordReference.

1. a tool or machine for making holes or stamping materials:
2. to reinforce, to make something stronger: to
3. central part of the sculpture that serves a supporting function:
4. to be formed into a jelled, firm, fixed, or rigid state: to
5. the flat cutting part of a tool such as a knife:
6. to paint (a porous material) with a nonporous coating: to
7. to remove (paint, etc.) by rubbing with something rough or sharp: to
8. to moisten, to cause to become slightly wet: to
9. the graded areas of tone, lines, dots, etc, indicating light and dark in an artwork:
10. having a space or cavity inside; empty:

The semantic field of "wet"

"To dampen" means to cause something to become slightly wet. Do you know any verb meaning that you cause something to become thoroughly wet?

How would you complete the sentence below? Choose the best option.

"It's not sufficient to dampen the cotton swab in the solvent, it must be thoroughly ................. ."

    

a) soaked

b) impregnated

c) Both (a) and (b) are correct.