AP Art History : AP Art History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Vincent van gogh   portrait of joseph roulin

What is the quality that most closely echoes the way medieval saints are often represented?

Possible Answers:

The dynamic patterned background

The strict symmetry of the figure's head

The vivid blue uniform

The elaborate brushstrokes

The gold lettering POSTES on the cap

Correct answer:

The gold lettering POSTES on the cap

Explanation:

The dynamic patterned background, elaborate brushstrokes, and vivid color blue are not reminiscent of medieval art, nor is symmetry in and of itself a defining feature. The gold lettering on the figure's cap, however, is similar to the inscription one would use to identify a saint in medieval art.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Portrait_of_Joseph_Roulin.jpg

Example Question #32 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Vincent van gogh   portrait of joseph roulin

The spiraling patterns in this painting recall what other Van Gogh painting?

Possible Answers:

The Potato Eaters

Bedroom in Arles

The Night Cafe

Starry Night

Irises

Correct answer:

Starry Night

Explanation:

The pattern of the man's beard and the background resemble the swirling clouds and landscape of Van Gogh's famous Starry Night. The others are domestic scenes with very different textures, except Irises, which is more about vertical movement than spirals.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Portrait_of_Joseph_Roulin.jpg

Example Question #33 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Temeraire

How does the presence of the steamboat contribute to the painting's theme?

Possible Answers:

It highlights the powerful force of industrialization in England at the time

It is intended as a condemnation of the new way of life for being too fast-paced

It makes the old way of life look hopelessly old-fashioned and ridiculous

It advances the notion of steam power as the new frontier

It contrasts with the noble, if worn-down, ship it pulls along, suggesting a passage of time

Correct answer:

It contrasts with the noble, if worn-down, ship it pulls along, suggesting a passage of time

Explanation:

The painting does not glorify the new world order, nor does it condemn it. Instead, the painting recognizes the new way of life and the need to replace ways that have grown old and stale, but it also recognizes the beautiful sacrifice made by people (and ships) that can no longer offer as much. Thus, it celebrates the fight of the old Temeraire, in spite of its weaknesses now.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/william-turner/the-fighting-temeraire-tugged-to-her-last-berth-to-be-broken-up-1839

Example Question #34 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Temeraire

The artist's method of painting, in works like this one, was unique in that:

Possible Answers:

He used oil paint in a translucent way, akin to watercolor

He used an early form of acrylic paint

He mixed unexpected colors together to produce new hues

He developed thickness through watercolor, akin to oil

He painted outdoors and did not revise or improve his work after the first session

Correct answer:

He used oil paint in a translucent way, akin to watercolor

Explanation:

None of these are accurate with respect to Turner's work or methodology except for the fact that he used oil in a way more expected of watercolor to create his signature style. This painting is an oil painting, but the texture is surprisingly light.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/william-turner/the-fighting-temeraire-tugged-to-her-last-berth-to-be-broken-up-1839

Example Question #35 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Cole thomas the oxbow  the connecticut river near northampton 1836

In The Oxbow (View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), by Thomas Cole, the distinction between the left hand side and the right hand side of the painting highlights the theme of ______________.

Possible Answers:

humans conquering nature by God's providence

nature as a beautiful example of God's gift to humanity

humans harnessing nature's gifts for the benefit of civilization

a clash between wild nature and civilization

Correct answer:

a clash between wild nature and civilization

Explanation:

The Oxbow (View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm) is essentially divided between a left side composed of wild vegetation underneath a thunderstorm and a right side featuring farms and villages underneath bright sunshine. Thomas Cole's work sharply contrasts the two sides to show the inherent conflict between nature and civilization in American society in the nineteenth century.

Artwork from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cole_Thomas_The_Oxbow_(The_Connecticut_River_near_Northampton_1836).jpg

Example Question #221 : 2 D Art

732px-gustave_courbet_-_le_d_sesp_r___1843_

Figure 1

 

 688px-gustave_courbet_010

Figure 2

The image in Figure 1 conveys __________

Possible Answers:

certainty.

madness.

serenity.

celebration.

Correct answer:

madness.

Explanation:

The figure in The Desperate Man, a self portrait by Gustave Courbet, looks like he is about to leap out of the painting. His eyes are bulging, and he appears to pulling out his hair, all while wearing an ill-fitting shirt. All of this conveys an element of madness in the figure.

Example Question #36 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

The Impressionist painter who was particularly known for his still lifes was __________.

Possible Answers:

Pierre-August Renoir

Claude Monet

Édouard Manet

Paul Cézanne

Correct answer:

Paul Cézanne

Explanation:

The Impressionists as a group sought to focus the subject of paintings on everyday life and to use more emotional techniques, like vivid brushstrokes. Paul Cézanne took these approaches to the traditional still life to turn it on its head. Cézanne's still lifes had unique uses of light and shadow and included strange objects such as skulls and rotting fruit.

Example Question #2 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Francisco de Goya painted vivid wartime images of the conflict known as __________.

Possible Answers:

The War of the Spanish Succession

The Napoleonic Wars

The Thirty Years' War

The Seven Years' War

Correct answer:

The Napoleonic Wars

Explanation:

Francisco de Goya was the court painter for the Spanish monarchy in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. As the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France invaded Spain in the first decade of the nineteenth century, Goya's work saw a major transformation. In particular, Goya began painting haunting and disturbing images of scenes from the Napoleonic Wars in France.

Example Question #38 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

The artistic movement Impressionism was notable for featuring subjects that were __________.

Possible Answers:

centered on everyday life

from the Bible

from history

from Greek and Roman mythology

Correct answer:

centered on everyday life

Explanation:

Impressionism was inaugurated as a result against the standards of Paris' Salon, which was France's biggest art prize and show in the late nineteenth century. Impressionists like Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet sought to paint people in cafes, scenes of everyday life, and basic landscapes. These artists also departed from the stark realism popular at the time to convey images with more emotional intensity by using more visible brushstrokes.

Example Question #222 : 2 D Art

751px-vangogh-starry_night                     File:Van Gogh - Portrait of Pere Tanguy 1887-8.JPG

                                                        Figure 1                                                                                                                            Figure 2 

Both paintings reflect an influence from the art movement known as __________.

Possible Answers:

Realism

Impressionism

Cubism

Neo-classicalism

Correct answer:

Impressionism

Explanation:

Each of these paintings reflect some aspect of everyday life, as well as portraying that with non-representational, emotional painting techniques. These are hallmarks of the movement known as Impressionism, which arose in the 1860s and 1870s as a reaction to history painting and realism. Van Gogh, however, took these aspects to further extremes, with more representational images and basic depictions of his own life, and as such is usually dubbed a post-impressionist.

Figure 1: The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (1889)

Figure 2: Portrait of Père Tanguy by Vincent van Gogh (1887-8)

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors