AP Art History : 3D Art

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Early Christian, Byzantine, And Early Medieval Architecture

What is the drum of a building?

Possible Answers:

Wall that supports a dome

Dome

Floor under a dome

Circular opening of a dome

Correct answer:

Wall that supports a dome

Explanation:

The drum of a building is the circular wall that supports a dome.

Example Question #4 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Early Christian, Byzantine, And Early Medieval Architecture

What type of vaulting has has six sections?

Possible Answers:

Barrel vaulting

Fan vaulting

Groin vaulting

Quadripartite vaulting

Sexpartite rib vaulting

Correct answer:

Sexpartite rib vaulting

Explanation:

In sexpartite rib vaulting, each vault is divided into six sections by three ribs.

Example Question #2 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Early Christian, Byzantine, And Early Medieval Architecture

What is a pietá?

Possible Answers:

A painted or carved representation of Mary with a dead Christ in her arms

A painted or carved representation of the Annunciation

A painted or carved representation of a dying Christ

A painted or carved representation of the pious Mary

Correct answer:

A painted or carved representation of Mary with a dead Christ in her arms

Explanation:

A pieta is a carved or painted artistic depiction of Mary holding her son Jesus in her arms after his crucifixion. When this depiction includes other people in the scene, it is referred to as the Lamentation.

Example Question #15 : Early Christian, Byzantine, And Early Medieval Architecture

What is a finial?

Possible Answers:

A repeated design

A crowning ornament on a building

A small piece in a mosaic

A decorative wall

A son or daughter depicted in an official portrait of a royal family

Correct answer:

A crowning ornament on a building

Explanation:

A finial is a crowning ornament on a pinnacle, tower, or roof of a building.

Example Question #3 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Early Christian, Byzantine, And Early Medieval Architecture

In a mosque, such as the mosque built in Cordoba by Islamic Umayyad royalty exiled from Damascus, the mihrab is __________.

Possible Answers:

a piece of devotional artwork in a geometric style

a horseshoe-shaped arch common in Islamic architecture

a raised area where the Imam stands during the call to prayer

a dome built in a style foreshadowing Gothic cathedral construction

a prayer niche indicating the wall of the mosque facing Mecca

Correct answer:

a prayer niche indicating the wall of the mosque facing Mecca

Explanation:

The mihrab is a prayer niche set in the qibla wall of a mosque, or the wall facing Mecca. It indicates in which direction the congregation must pray. 

Example Question #16 : Early Christian, Byzantine, And Early Medieval Architecture

A(n) ______________ is a processional walkway around the apse in a basilica church, or the central space in a centrally-planned church.

Possible Answers:

aisle

ambulatory

nave

clerestory

Correct answer:

ambulatory

Explanation:

The processional walkway around the apse of a basilica church is called an ambulatory. It is a continuation of the aisles that run alongside the central space of the nave. Often individual shrines or altars for saints were set up along the ambulatory behind the main altar.  

Example Question #851 : Ap Art History

Which term refers to the style of art and architecture that emerged from the unification of Europe under a centralized Christian aesthetic, inaugurating a massive series of building projects as the Church became the chief patron of the arts?

Possible Answers:

Gothic Architecture

The International Style

Byzantine Architecture

Romanesque Architecture

Correct answer:

Romanesque Architecture

Explanation:

The Romanesque movement inaugurated the great building projects of the church. Though Byzantine, Gothic, and International style movements are likewise responsible for many of Europe's greatest holy buildings, they are all continuations of and evolutions from the Romanesque style. This question requires students to know the chronology of their aesthetic movements.

Example Question #851 : Ap Art History

Semi-circular arches from the first millenneum CE are a common feature of European churches in the style of architecture known as __________.

Possible Answers:

Classical

Romanesque

Byzantine

Gothic

Correct answer:

Romanesque

Explanation:

Romanesque churches dominated European architecture from sometime in the mid-to-late first millennium CE until about 1200. Romanesque churches were massive stone edifices that were marked out by having their doors and windows constructed out of simple semi-circular arches. Romanesque architecture was largely supplanted by the much more ornate and imposing Gothic style in the late Middle Ages.

Example Question #852 : Ap Art History

The sides of a door or window frame, often decorated with sculpture in medieval churches, is called a _____________.

Possible Answers:

jamb

tympanum

portal

cornice

Correct answer:

jamb

Explanation:

The side of a window frame or doorway in a medieval church is called a jamb. In medieval churches, the portal (or entrance way) often was elaborated with decorative sculpture on every available surface, including the jamb and the tympanum, the semi-circular or triangular wall space over a door.

Example Question #852 : Ap Art History

Hagia Sofia Istanbul

In what part of the world is this building located?

Possible Answers:

Eastern Asia

The Middle East

Western Europe

North Africa

Correct answer:

The Middle East

Explanation:

This is the Hagia Sophia. It is located in Istanbul, on the Black Sea, in Turkey. There are hints of the location of the work in the style of the building. Consider the domed top, mixed with the towers on the corner. It is a unique blending of Greek and Islamic artistic influence.

Image adapted from http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/hledej.php?hleda=hagia+sophia+5.

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