Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Witte, Emanuel de

(Encyclopedia)Witte, Emanuel de āmäˈno͞oĕl də vĭtˈə [key], 1617–92, Dutch painter. Witte's paintings of architecture, genre scenes, seascapes, and portraits were influenced by the work of Elsheimer. Witt...

Butterfield, William

(Encyclopedia)Butterfield, William, 1814–1900, English Gothic-revival architect. Favored by the Ecclesiological Society for his Puginlike correctness in recalling Gothic forms, Butterfield rose to prominence in t...

Wilbur, Ray Lyman

(Encyclopedia)Wilbur, Ray Lyman, 1875–1949, American public official and educator, b. Boonesboro, Iowa, grad. Stanford (B.A., 1896; M.A., 1897) and Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, 1899. After studying medi...

Saint Peter's Church

(Encyclopedia)Saint Peter's Church, Vatican City, principal and one of the largest churches of the Christian world. The present structure was built mainly between 1506 and 1626 on the original site of the Vatican c...

Sarkozy, Nicolas

(Encyclopedia)Sarkozy, Nicolas (Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa) nēkōläˈ pōl stāfänˈ särkōzēˈ də näzhēˌ-bōksäˈ [key], 1955–, French politician, president of France (2007–12), b. ...

Paleozoic era

(Encyclopedia)Paleozoic era pāˌlēəzōˈĭk [key], a major division (era) of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) occurring between 570 to 240 million years ago. It is subdivide...

Giulio Romano

(Encyclopedia)Giulio Romano jo͞oˈlyō rōmäˈnō [key], c.1492–1546, Italian painter, architect, and decorator, whose real name was Giulio Pippi. He was the favorite pupil of Raphael and while still a youth wa...

Jacobean style

(Encyclopedia)Jacobean style jăkˌəbēˈən [key], an early phase of English Renaissance architecture and decoration. It formed a transition between the Elizabethan and the pure Renaissance style later introduced...

varnish

(Encyclopedia)varnish, homogeneous solution of gum or of natural or synthetic resins in oil (oil varnish) or in a volatile solvent (spirit varnish), which dries on exposure to air, forming a thin, hard, usually glo...

stonework

(Encyclopedia)stonework, term applied to various types of work—that of the lapidary who shapes, cuts, and polishes gemstones or engraves them for seals and ornaments; of the jeweler or artisan who mounts or encru...