AP Art History : Renaissance to Contemporary 2D Art

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #91 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Matthew-brady-antietam-1024x713

The above photography was made by which notable American artist?

Possible Answers:

Alfred Stieglitz

William Page

Ansel Adams

Willard Van Dyke

Matthew Brady

Correct answer:

Matthew Brady

Explanation:

The work of Matthew Brady during the American Civil War pioneered many notable aspects of photography, which was still a new medium and had mostly been devoted to portraiture. Brady's willingness to document the Civil War by going to battlefields reframed the possibilities for photography, notably allowing for the development of photojournalism.

Example Question #211 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Pictured above is a work entitled Impression, Sunrise.

The painting above comes from which of the following artistic traditions?

Possible Answers:

Salon-Style

Post-Impressionism

Neoclassicism

Impressionism

Correct answer:

Impressionism

Explanation:

The work offers an impression of a sunrise, hence the name, and is of the Impressionist style.

Example Question #212 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Pictured above is a work entitled Impression, Sunrise.

The artist of this work is most famous for his later depiction of __________.

Possible Answers:

high-society socialites

water lilies

French cityscapes

women in the nude

Correct answer:

water lilies

Explanation:

This work was made by Claude Monet, who is famous for a series of paintings depicting the water lilies in his garden.

Example Question #213 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Pictured above is a work entitled Impression, Sunrise.

Most specifically, this style of art was born as a response to, and a break from, __________.

Possible Answers:

the Hudson River School

Italian Renaissance work

the Salon de Paris

Colonial Neoclassicism

Correct answer:

the Salon de Paris

Explanation:

Impressionism grew out of the desire of nineteenth-century Parisian artists to move away from the outdated works of the Salon de Paris. Their work moved against tradition and was rejected by the Salon, causing a movement to form in response.

Example Question #214 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Which of the following works best captures the pointillist style?

Possible Answers:

Fernand Leger, The City (La Ville) (1919)

All of the answers are correct

None of the answers are correct

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights (c. 1500) 

Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1886)

Correct answer:

Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1886)

Explanation:

Seurat's ...La Grande Jatte is the most iconic work in the pointillist style. Leger's works had more in common with cubism than pointillism and Bosch's works were created during the Renaissance.

Example Question #215 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

 

Paul gauguin   d ou venons nous

In what non-European country did the artist  produce this work?

Possible Answers:

Tahiti

Thailand

Indonesia

Fiji

The Cook Islands

Correct answer:

Tahiti

Explanation:

Paul Gauguin produced this work in Tahiti, where he lived for a good portion of his life. Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, making it a desirable destination for a French man in the late 1800s. In order to solve this question you needed to know that the piece was by Gauguin, the association of Gauguin with Tahiti is one of the most famous in 19th-century art.

Example Question #216 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Paul gauguin   d ou venons nous

The artist of this work is ______________.

Possible Answers:

Paul Cézanne

Paul Gauguin

Vincent van Gogh

Henri Matisse

Marc Chagall

Correct answer:

Paul Gauguin

Explanation:

The Polynesian subject matter and smooth brush style indicate that this is a Paul Gauguin. While Gauguin and van Gogh were close contemporaries, their styles of painting vary greatly. Gauguin is closely related to Cézanne, however the subject matter and lack of geometric brush strokes indicate that Cézanne could not be the artist. Matisse and Chagall both do not relate.

Example Question #217 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

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The artist of this is associated with what artistic movement?

Possible Answers:

Dada

Impressionist

Vienna Secession

Post-impressionist

De Stijl

Correct answer:

Post-impressionist

Explanation:

While van Gogh studied with impressionists, the vast majority of his work does not reflect the tenets of impressionism. Where he works with block and absolute color, the impressionists mixed their color to match the exact refracted light at exact times of day. Since the majority of his work comes after the short-lived impressionist period, he would be considered Post-Impressionist. De Stijl, Vienna Secession, and Dada all do not relate. This piece is called Cypresses it was written in (1889).

Example Question #218 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

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In what country did the artist most likely produce this work?

Possible Answers:

Belgium

France

Spain

The Netherlands

Germany

Correct answer:

France

Explanation:

van Gogh, while Flemish, spent the vast majority of his life in France. In order to solve this question you needed to identify the piece as having been painted by van Gogh, and to know that he spent the vast majority of his active painting career in France.

Example Question #219 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Paul gauguin   d ou venons nous

What style of art is the artist known for?

Possible Answers:

Post-Impressionism

De Stijl

Primitivism

Impressionism

Expressionism

Correct answer:

Primitivism

Explanation:

While Gauguin is often considered a post-impressionist artist with ties to the impressionists, his work in French Polynesia (Tahiti) is considered primitivist. This was a style in the second half of the nineteenth century, particularly popular amongst artists with ties to European colonies.

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