AP Art History : 2D Art

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #131 : Ap Art History

File:Fra Angelico 069.jpg  File:CaravaggioEmmaus.jpg

 

                                          Figure 3                                                                                           Figure 4

The painting shown in Figure 3 is an example of __________.

Possible Answers:

Renaissance painting

Medieval painting

Mannerist painting

Baroque painting

Correct answer:

Medieval painting

Explanation:

Fra Angelico is considered one of the masters of devotional art from the Middle Ages. This painting, depicting an important scene from the Bible, exhibits many of the key features of such art. Both the angel and Mary have halos around their heads and are placed in a flat space, and important symbolism is used.

Figure 3: The Annunciation (Cortona) by Fra Angelico (1433)

Figure 4: Supper at Emmaus (Milan) by Caravaggio (1606)

Example Question #3 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Century 2 D Art

The wall fresco behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel in Rome known as The Last Judgement was painted by __________.

Possible Answers:

Michelangelo

Leonardo da Vinci

Titian

Sandro Botticelli

Correct answer:

Michelangelo

Explanation:

The Last Judgement takes up the entire altar wall in the Sistine Chapel with a scene depicting human souls being judged by Christ while surrounded by a number of saints. Michelangelo's masterful composition and stunning portraiture make this painting one of his masterpieces, along with the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The painting has not been without controversy, however, as Michelangelo depicted the souls in judgement as nudes, which both showed them as equals and violated decorum.

Example Question #1 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Century 2 D Art

The Catholic saint often portrayed in art with simple robes and accompanied by birds is __________.

Possible Answers:

Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Patrick of Ireland

Pope Saint Pius V

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Correct answer:

Saint Francis of Assisi

Explanation:

Francis of Assisi was a minor Italian nobleman of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries who took a vow of asceticism and became influential as a monastic reformer and the founder of the Franciscan Order. Francis of Assisi became hugely popular in the Counter Reformation and therefore in Baroque art. Francis of Assisi can be identified in art by his plain brown robes and the birds and animals that usually are flocking around him.

Example Question #5 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Century 2 D Art

Van Eyck - Arnolfini Portrait.jpg

Pictured above is the Arnolfini Portrait, and can be found at the Website of National Gallery, London.

In commemoration of what event was this portrait painted?

Possible Answers:

A wedding

The birth of a noble child

A Danish festival

A court event

The death of a family member

Correct answer:

A wedding

Explanation:

The joining of their hands, the headdress the woman wears and the position of the woman nearer to the bed are all symbolic of a union of marriage between these two people.

Example Question #131 : Ap Art History

Which painter created the portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V on horseback that commemorated the Imperial victory at the Battle of Mühlberg?

Possible Answers:

Titian

Peter Breughel

Michelangelo

Caravaggio

Correct answer:

Titian

Explanation:

The Equestrian Portrait of Charles V, which includes the actual horse and armor the Emperor used at Mühlberg, is one of Titian's most famous and significant works. The painting combined a realistic foreground of the emperor and his horse with a more airy background, while containing little of the symbolic elements typical of paintings of the era. Titian's painting became a template for many later portraits of monarchs in equestrian poses.

Example Question #11 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Century 2 D Art

The Early Netherlandish painter who made the panel painting known as The Descent from the Cross was __________.

Possible Answers:

Jan van Eyck

Hans Memling

Hieronymous Bosch

Roger van der Weyden

Correct answer:

Roger van der Weyden

Explanation:

Rogier van der Weyden created the famous panel of The Descent from the Cross in 1435. The work features the rich colors and portraiture representative of much Early Netherlandish art, but also focuses the viewer's attention to the scene's humanity while simultaneously emphasizing the religious nature of the image. The effective combination of these two elements would prove hugely influential to Italian Renaissance painters.

Example Question #12 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Century 2 D Art

Which of the following was the official court painter for Henry VIII of England, and in that role created famous portraits of Anne Boleyn, Thomas More, and Thomas Cromwell?

Possible Answers:

Albrecht Durer

Joachim Wtewael

Pieter Breugel the Elder

Hans Holbein the Younger

Correct answer:

Hans Holbein the Younger

Explanation:

Hans Holbein the Younger is referred to with the suffix to differentiate him from his father, who was a painter of the Late Gothic school. Holbein the Younger was an innovator in the Northern Renaissance style, beginning in Germany and then moving to England to become the official painter for the court of King Henry VIII. There, he made significant advances to the art of portraiture with his paintings of the important figures of the court life in England. 

Example Question #2 : Identifying Artists, Works, And Schools Of Renaissance 2 D Visual Art

The artist Michelangelo was key to the development of __________ art. 

Possible Answers:

Rococco

Renaissance

Baroque

Post-impressionistic

Impressionistic

Correct answer:

Renaissance

Explanation:

Michelangelo (1475-1564) is often considered the prototypical "Renaissance man," along with Leonardo da Vinci, thanks to his key involvement in painting, sculpture, and design. Michelangelo was one of the earliest painters to use realistic imagery, forced perspective, and an enhanced use of color. His work was key in the development of Renaissance themes like a return to classical motifs, a sense of grandeur, and the use of scientific knowledge in the arts.

Example Question #63 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Who was the fifteenth-century Flemish painter who painted the massive Ghent Altarpiece?

Possible Answers:

Rembrandt van Rijn

Hans Holbein

Jan van Eyck

Hieronymus Bosch

Michelangelo

Correct answer:

Jan van Eyck

Explanation:

Jan van Eyck was a transformative figure in European painting, as his approach to painting depended on realism and a naturalistic viewpoint. His Ghent Altarpiece, also called The Lamb of God, was a departure from Medieval standards that typically valued idealization and symbolism in religious imagery. Van Eyck, who lived from 1390 to 1441, had an outsized influence on the artistic transformations that occurred during the Renaissance.

Example Question #134 : 2 D Art

The painter well known for portraits of the court of Henry VIII of England is __________.

Possible Answers:

Rembrandt van Rijn

Titian

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Anthony van Dyck

Hans Holbein the Younger

Correct answer:

Hans Holbein the Younger

Explanation:

Hans Holbein the Younger made a name for himself by painting nearly every figure associated with the court of the English king Henry VIII. In doing so, he helped pioneer a new use of perspective in his portraits. Holbein's work helped push Renaissance art to new places simply through portraits.

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