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 #111 : Ap Art History

Which of the following pieces is an example of a polyptych?

Possible Answers:

The Well of Moses

The Ghent Altarpiece

The Portinari Altarpiece

Saint Anthony Tormented By Demons

Correct answer:

The Ghent Altarpiece

Explanation:

The Ghent Altarpiece consists of a set of folding panels and is thus called a polyptych. The Portinari Altarpiece has three panels and is therefore considered a triptych. The Well of Moses is a sculpture. St. Anthony Tormented By Demons is an engraving.

Example Question #112 : Ap Art History

Which of these terms describes the hazy, smoky lighting that creates distance between the viewer and the subject?

Possible Answers:

Tenebrism

Sfumato

Ignudi

Chiaroscuro

Correct answer:

Sfumato

Explanation:

Sfumato was a High Renaissance lighting technique used by artists like Leonardo da Vinci to produce distance between the viewer and the subject of a painting. Chiaroscuro refers to the transition between light to dark in a Renaissance painting. Tenebrism is the Baroque-era contrast between shadows and light that was used by artists like Caravaggio. Ignudi is the Italian term for nude figures in Renaissance art.

Example Question #113 : Ap Art History

Which term refers to the style of painting that involves applying pigments with water to freshly plastered walls?

Possible Answers:

Fresco

Mosaic

Graffiti

Mural

Illuminated

Correct answer:

Fresco

Explanation:

Artists create frescoes by painting pigments on walls while the plaster is still drying. "Illuminated" refers to decorated texts, often early religious manuscripts or other important texts. Mosaics are made by using hard materials, not paints, and graffiti art does not require a wet or drying wall. "Mural" is too broad to be the right answer.

Example Question #114 : Ap Art History

All of the following artists' paintings are notable for their use of chiaroscuro except ______________.

Possible Answers:

Rembrandt

Andy Warhol

Caravaggio

Peter Paul Rubens 

Leonardo da Vinci 

Correct answer:

Andy Warhol

Explanation:

"Chiaroscuro" refers to a technique that makes two-dimensional shapes seem three-dimensional. Artists do this by simulating light and shadow. It is a technique commonly employed by Renaissance and Baroque artists, but less commonly seen in the Pop Art that Warhol specialized in.

Example Question #115 : Ap Art History

This egg and pigment medium is characteristic of many Italian Renaissance paintings.

Possible Answers:

Tempera

Chiaroscuro

Faience

Oil 

Pastel

Correct answer:

Tempera

Explanation:

Tempera is the only medium listed that uses the combination of egg and pigment. Though oil paintings became characteristic of the later Italian Renaissance, tempera was used initially due to its low cost.

Example Question #111 : Ap Art History

The theatrical form originating in fifteenth-century Italy in which actors playing well-known stock characters improvised dialogue within basic framing scenarios was known as __________.

Possible Answers:

Divertimento giocoso

Commedia dell’arte

Commedia rigoletta 

Innamorati

Correct answer:

Commedia dell’arte

Explanation:

Commedia dell’arte was a genre of theater in which actors playing well-known stock characters improvised dialogue within simple narratives. It gained popularity throughout Europe after originating in fifteenth-century Italy.

Example Question #112 : Ap Art History


452px mann mit dem goldhelm

The above painting, which was once attributed to Rembrandt, displays which characteristic commonly seen in Baroque-style paintings?

Possible Answers:

Exaggerated movement

Figures from Christianity

None of the other answers

A serene, expressionless face

Strong contrast of light and dark

Correct answer:

Strong contrast of light and dark

Explanation:

This painting displays a high level of contrast between its light and dark elements. The background is very dark—nearly black—and yet the helmet glows under a hard, bright light. Although figures from Christianity and exaggerated movement are often seen in Baroque paintings, and are, in fact, commonly a defining feature, this painting is a simple Baroque portrait, and therefore does not display these characteristics. A serene, expressionless face is not a common characteristic of Baroque paintings.

Image: The Man With The Golden Helmet. Artist unknown. (c. 1650) From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMann_mit_dem_Goldhelm.jpg.

Example Question #113 : Ap Art History

__________ was a time of great prosperity and wealth within the Dutch Republic, now known as Holland or The Netherlands. Paintings from this age display many Baroque qualities, but are generally much simpler and realistic in their imagery. Rembrandt is well known for having been a painter during this time.

Possible Answers:

The Baroque Period

The Dutch Renaissance

The Dutch Golden Age

The Dutch Bronze Age

The Rococo period

Correct answer:

The Dutch Golden Age

Explanation:

A "golden age" typically refers to a time of great prosperity and wealth. The Dutch Golden Age was a time of both great prosperity for the newly independent Dutch Republic, but also a time of great creativity. Although the Dutch Golden Age occurred during the Baroque period and shares many of its characteristics, there are subtle differences, such as the realism and simplicity that marks Dutch paintings. For an example of these features, see The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer.

Example Question #114 : Ap Art History

Formed by Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti, this technique allowed Renaissance painters and beyond to add a sense of realism and really understand the three-dimensional space in their works.

Which Renaissance painting technique is the above sentence describing?

Possible Answers:

Linear perspective

None of the other answers

Foreshortening

Proportion

Chiaroscuro

Correct answer:

Linear perspective

Explanation:

Although chiaroscuro (light and dark) and foreshortening add to the illusion of three-dimensional space, linear perspective is what actually helped Renaissance artists to understand and explore that three-dimensional space. It also inspired a large number of Renaissance artists to experiment with painting, as three-dimensional space was something no longer limited to sculpture.

Example Question #115 : Ap Art History

One of the most expensive pigments during the Renaissance was Ultramarine. It was often only used to portray royalty and nobles. Ultramarine is made from ground __________, a very rare rock primarily found in Afghanistan and its surrounding areas.

Possible Answers:

turquoise

azurite

lapis lazuli

pyrite

sapphire

Correct answer:

lapis lazuli

Explanation:

Lapis Lazuli is the stone used to produce Ultramarine; it is found in Afghanistan. Though Azurite yields a similar blue, it is not found in Afghanistan and it lacks certain chemical and physical properties of Ultramarine when ground.

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