dado

    (1) The section of a pedestal between base and surbase. (2) The lower portion of the wall of a room, decorated diffrently from the upper section.

danse macabre

    The dance of death, a favorite late medieval picture subject. It generally shows skeletons forcing the living to dance with them, usually in matching pairs, e.g. a live priest dancing with a skeleton priest. Holbein's woodcut series the Dance of Death is one of the most famous.

deacon (Gk. diakonos, "servant")

    a minister who was below the rank of priest in the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox churches. Deacons originally cared for both the sick and the poor in early Christian communities.

Deësis (Gk. "request")

    the representation of Christ enthroned in glory as judge or ruler of the world, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist acting as intercessors.

diptych (Lat. diptychum, Gk. diptychos, "folded in two")

    in medieval art a picture, often an altarpiece, consisting of two folding wings without a fixed central area.

disegno (It. "drawing, design")

    In Renaissance art theory, the design of a painting seen in terms of drawing, which was help to be the basis of all art. The term stresses not the literal drawing, but the concept behind an art work. With the Mannerists the term came to mean an ideal image that a work attempts to embody but can in fact never fully realize. As disegno appeals to the intellect, it was considered far more important that coloure (colour), which was seen as appealing to the senses and emotions.

distemper (Lat. distemperare, "to mix, dilute")

    A technique of painting in which pigments are diluted with water and bound with a glue. It was usually used for painting wall decorations and frescoes, though a few artists, notably Andrea Mantegna (1430/31-1506), also used it on canvas.

dome

    in architecture, hemispherical structure evolved from the arch, usually forming a ceiling or roof.

Dominicans (Lat. Ordo Praedictatorum, Order of Preachers)

    A Roman Catholic order of mendicant friars founded by St. Dominic in 1216 to spread the faith through preaching and teaching. The Dominicans were one of the most influential religious orders in the later Middle Ages, their intellectual authority being established by such figures as Albertus Magnus and St.Thomas Aquinas. The Dominicans played the leading role in the Inquisition.

donor (Lat. donator, "giver of a gift")

    a patron who commissioned a work of art for a church. Donors sometimes had their portraits included in the work they were donating as a sign of piety.

doublet

    A male garment, formerly worn under armour, that from the 15th century referred to a close-fitting jacket.