AP Art History : Architecture

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #463 : Clep: Humanities

The architectural movement of the early twentieth century that focused on modernism, simplicity, and a complete artistic cohesion among disciplines was __________.

Possible Answers:

Bauhaus

Expressionism

Socialist Realism

Beaux-Arts

De Stijl

Correct answer:

Bauhaus

Explanation:

The "Bauhaus," German for House of Construction, was a school of arts and architecture in the Weimar Period between the two World Wars. The school was so influential that it gave its name to an entire movement, focusing on modern design, efficiency, and a cohesive approach to art between architecture, design, and crafts.

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Architecture

Who was the architect famous for designing a Glass House as his own residence?

Possible Answers:

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Gehry

Philip Johnson

Mies van der Rohe

I. M. Pei

Correct answer:

Philip Johnson

Explanation:

Philip Johnson was a modernist architect who sought clean lines, used steel and glass construction, and valued function in his design. Inspired by the Farnsworth House designed by Mies van der Rohe, Johnson designed his own house in Connecticut as made almost entirely of glass. The rectangular abode is now a tourist site, along with Johnson's entire property, including other buildings and his massive art collection.

Example Question #3 : Answering Other Questions About Architecture

The architect Frank Gehry is famous for designing the building for which art museum?

Possible Answers:

The Musee D'Orsay in Paris

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles

The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

The Museum of Modern Art in New York

Correct answer:

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

Explanation:

Gehry, a modernist architect well known for flowing lines and unusual shapes, has built concert halls, museums, and government buildings around the world. Among his most notable works is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, constructed out of titanium and glass, in shapes that are meant to evoke the countryside of Bilbao's Basque region.

Example Question #2 : Answering Other Questions About Architecture

The unfinished Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona was designed by whom?

Possible Answers:

Antoni Gaudí

Enrique Nieto

Pablo Picasso

Salvador Dalí

Joan Miró

Correct answer:

Antoni Gaudí

Explanation:

La Sagrada Familia was planned as a massive church in Barcelona that would rival its Cathedral in size. After breaking ground in 1882, the church is still not totally finished. Importantly, its architect Antoni Gaudí was killed in a 1926 tram accident, and the work had to continue on under architects with different design aesthetics than its singular original designer.

Example Question #7 : Visual Arts

The modern architectural masterpiece Fallingwater, a residence in rural Pennsylvania, was designed by which architect?

Possible Answers:

I.M. Pei

Frank Gehry

Mies van der Rohe

Frank Lloyd Wright

Philip Johnson

Correct answer:

Frank Lloyd Wright

Explanation:

Fallingwater is generally considered Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, as the residence was constructed above and incorporated a waterfall. The residence, built in 1939, blended the interior and exterior of the building into Wright's perfect distillation of his "organic" philosophy of architecture. The property remained a residence for many years, but became a protected site in the mid-1960s.

Example Question #2 : Answering Other Questions About Modern Architecture

John Augustus Roebling is the architect responsible for which New York City landmark?

Possible Answers:

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Empire State Building

Trinity Church

The Statue of Liberty

The George Washington Bridge

Correct answer:

The Brooklyn Bridge

Explanation:

John Augustus Roebling, a German immigrant, was the leading designer of bridges throughout the mid-nineteenth century in America. His masterpiece, however, was the Brooklyn Bridge, which was the first steel-wire suspension bridge ever built. Unfortunately, Roebling died in 1870, just as it was beginning construction, and his son Washington Roebling had to take over construction.

Example Question #41 : Renaissance To Contemporary Architecture

Which of the following works incorporates a minimalist style in its execution?

Possible Answers:

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia 

The Chrysler Building 

The Palace of Versailles 

Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela 

Correct answer:

Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Explanation:

The Chrysler Building is most associated with Art Deco style. Minimalism is, like it sounds, associated with a simplicity that isn't often found in Early Modern works of architecture, particularly those that promoted power or faith. Thus, Versailles and the Cathedral aren't the right answer. Gaudi's Sagrada Familia is also famously elaborate. That leaves Lin's memorial, which is the best answer. 

Example Question #42 : Renaissance To Contemporary Architecture

Which architectural movement from the twentieth century is characterized by rich, bold colors, simple geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation?

Possible Answers:

Art Deco

Baroque

Art Nouveau

Mannerist architecture

Rococo

Correct answer:

Art Deco

Explanation:

Mannerism, Baroque, and Rococo are not from the twentieth century. Art Nouveau, the predecessor of Art Deco, is characterized by natural forms and structures with curved lines. There is often a nature motif in Art Nouveau works. Art Deco is known for its rich colors, bold geometry, and ornamentation.

Example Question #363 : 3 D Art

This architect is known for his prairie and organic styles. He was also the architect of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Possible Answers:

Alden B. Dow

Philip Johnson

Frank Gehry

Frank Lloyd Wright

Walter Gropius

Correct answer:

Frank Lloyd Wright

Explanation:

Though many of these architects are known for either their prairie or organic styles, Wright designed the Guggenheim.

Example Question #13 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Twentieth And Twenty First Century Architecture

Chrysler_Building_by_David_Shankbone_Retouched.jpg

The spire of the Chrysler Building (William Van Allen 1928-30) in New York city is a well-known example of which 20th-century artistic and architectural style?

Possible Answers:

Art Nouveau

Art Deco

Rococo

Neoclassicism

Gothic

Correct answer:

Art Deco

Explanation:

The Chrysler Building in New York City is a well-known example of the Art Deco artistic and architectural style. Art Deco is known for its bold, geometrical shapes, rather than the organic, flowing style of Art Nouveau, or the Greek-and-Roman-derivation of Neoclassicism. Art Deco was not intricate or natural. It embraced technology and the modern world, and reflected the glamour and luxury that modern technology provided. 

The Chrysler building is a good example of Art Deco architecture, as its spire is composed of symmetrical, bold, powerful geometrical shapes. It also makes sense that Art Deco, which represented glamour and luxury, would be used in that time period to build a skyscraper in New York, which in and of itself is a representation of the modern world.

Rococo and Gothic architecture are not from the 20th century.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Image Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chrysler_Building_by_David_Shankbone_Retouched.jpg

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