AP Art History : AP Art History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #171 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Romantic paintings began to spring up as early as the 1760s. What type of paintings dominated the movement during its infancy?

Possible Answers:

None of these answers

Portraits

Murals

Historical paintings

Landscapes

Correct answer:

Landscapes

Explanation:

The first Romantic paintings were landscapes. Artists such as J. M. W. Turner and John Constable captures scenes of storms, as well as Gothic architecture, which is itself highly expressive and emotional in nature. Human subjects were included heavily in Romantic paintings later on.

Example Question #172 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Claude monet 004

"En plein air" refers to what technique used by the artist of the work shown?

Possible Answers:

Capturing the motion of the painting's subject

Painting outdoors

Mixing paints on the canvas

Using visible brushstrokes

Correct answer:

Painting outdoors

Explanation:

"En plein air" was a technique favored by Impressionists such as Claude Monet. In this painting from 1877, The Saint Lazare Station, Monet's choice of painting outdoors allowed him to capture the steam coming off of the trains and the general haze that surrounded the station. Painting outdoors was so common that many Impressionists would create works which showed their fellow artists working "en plein air."

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Claude_Monet_004.jpg

Example Question #173 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Slave ship

The overlapping colors and mixed brushstrokes indicate that the artist utilized _____________________.

Possible Answers:

collage work

a fast working speed

en plein air painting

a camera obscura

Correct answer:

a fast working speed

Explanation:

In order to achieve the visible, overlapping brushstrokes that give The Slave Ship its sense of movement and action, JMW Turner worked extremely quickly. Turner was able both to apply wet paint on wet paint, building up a texture, and create actual motion with his paint application. For these reasons, Turner always worked fast in an attempt to capture what he considered the "sublime" aspect of nature.

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

Example Question #54 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Jacques-louis-david-napoleon-crossing-the-alps4          Sir_arthur_wellesley__1st_duke_of_wellington

                              Figure 3                                                                       Figure 4

The painting shown in Figure 3 is highly indebted to __________.

Possible Answers:

impressionism

neo-classicalism

expressionism

romanticism

Correct answer:

neo-classicalism

Explanation:

Jacques-Louis David, before becoming Napoleon's official painter during the Empire, was noted as a painter of history works, which usually focused on stories from Ancient Greece and Rome. In creating these works in the late eighteenth century, David was the preeminent neo-classicist in France, using the clean lines and bright colors notable of the genre. These aspects are present as well in his Napoleon Crossing the Alps, especially the Roman tablet crushed in the bottom left corner of the painting.

Figure 3: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jaques-Louis David (1801)

Figure 4: Portrait of Sir Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1814)

Example Question #174 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Cassatt coiffure

The Coiffure, by Mary Cassatt, was created in the medium of ___________________.

Possible Answers:

tintype with filter

drypoint and aquatint

oil on canvas

carving in wood

Correct answer:

drypoint and aquatint

Explanation:

Drypoint is highly related to etching, in that to create art with the medium, an artist must carve the desired image into a piece of metal that is then printed onto a piece of paper by a printing press. Mary Cassatt made The Coiffure a color print by adding aquatint, a chemical ink that could both attach to the metal print, but also leave a lasting image. This very European style of printing was favored by Cassatt because of its resulting images similarity to Japanese woodblock printing.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Cassatt_-_The_Coiffure_-_NGC_29882.jpg

Example Question #175 : Renaissance To Contemporary 2 D Art

Which of these schools was an off-shoot of Impressionism?

Possible Answers:

Divisionism

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Realism

Symbolism

Pictorialism

Correct answer:

Divisionism

Explanation:

Divisionism, also associated with Pointillism, creates a larger image from many smaller dots of color, dots that the eye mixes when standing at a distance from the painting. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood sought to emulate works from the Renaissance. Realism was a mid-19th century movement in which painters rejected Romanticism; symbolism drew on mythology and dreams as its defining feature; and pictorialism was a movement in photography emphasizing beauty rather than reality.

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

The French painter who created large-scale history portraits in the Napoleonic era was __________.

Possible Answers:

François Gérard

Antoine-François Callet

Jacques-Louis David

Jean-Antoine Gros

Correct answer:

Jacques-Louis David

Explanation:

Jacques-Louis David was Napoleon Bonaparte's official painter, and made both a famous portrait of an enthroned Napoleon and a large painting of Napoleon's coronation as Emperor. David came to prominence before the French Revolution, however, as a history painter depicting scenes from Ancient Rome on a grand scale. No matter his subject, David's work was well known for creating large pieces of art with extemely bold colors.

Example Question #247 : Ap Art History

The American photographer notable for his images of the American Civil War was __________.

Possible Answers:

Matthew Brady

Alfred Stieglitz

George Catlin

Ansel Adams

Correct answer:

Matthew Brady

Explanation:

The discipline of photography was brand new when the American Civil War began in 1861, and saw increased usage during the conflict. The pioneer in this shift was Matthew Brady, who was already a notable photographer of portraits, but who during the war began spending time on the battlefields. The slow shutter speeds of nineteenth century cameras did not allow him to take action shots, but Brady did manage to make many image's of the carnage of the war in the aftermath of battles.

Example Question #51 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

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

                                                        Figure 1                                                                                                                            Figure 2 

The painter of these works had a large influence on __________.

Possible Answers:

Expressionism

Futurism

Neo-classicalism

Cubism

Correct answer:

Expressionism

Explanation:

Expressionism flourished in Northern Europe, particularly Germany, in the 1890s, after Vincent van Gogh had killed himself in 1890. Nonetheless, van Gogh was an important progenitor for Expressionism, which sought a completely subjective approach to representation in art. Many Expressionists picked up on van Gogh's brushwork, as well as his vivid use of color.

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

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

Example Question #52 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

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

                                                        Figure 1                                                                                                                            Figure 2 

Both works of art were painted by __________.

Possible Answers:

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Paul Gauguin

Vincent van Gogh

Henri Matisse

Correct answer:

Vincent van Gogh

Explanation:

Each of these paintings, in different ways, demonstrate key elements of the style of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Van Gogh was a post-impressionist who used impressionism's painting techniques in his own peculiar manner. Both of these paintings show Van Gogh's thick use of paint and obvious brushwork, while the painting shown in Figure 1, The Starry Night (1889), is indicative of Van Gogh's angular landscapes, and the painting shown in Figure 2, Portrait of Père Tanguy (1887-8), is indicative of his unique approach to portraits.

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

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

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