AP Art History : AP Art History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #111 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Monet and Manet were part of the ___________ movement in the 19th century.

Possible Answers:

Impressionist

Expressionist

Romantic

Cubist

Dada

Correct answer:

Impressionist

Explanation:

Both Monet and Manet are known to be part of the Impressionist movement of the 19th century.

Though their works share characteristics of the Romanticism such as a preference for broad colored stroked over contours, the time period does not match (in fact, Impressionism followed from Romanticism).

Cubism, Expressionism, and Dadaism followed from the impressionist movement and are characterized by different artists. These movements began to gain traction in the beginning of the 20th century.

Example Question #112 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Identify the artist who created this painting.

File:The Scream.jpg

Possible Answers:

Édouard Manet

Vincent Van Gogh

Eugène Delacroix

Edvard Munch

Berthe Morisot

Correct answer:

Edvard Munch

Explanation:

This painting, The Scream, was created by Munch between 1893 and 1910. It is of the impressionist style that heavily influenced the expressionist movement that followed.

Though Manet and Van Gogh share similar styles to this painting, they both died before the turn of the 20th century. Morisot also died before the 1900s.

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

Example Question #113 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Identify the artist who created this painting.

Possible Answers:

Sandro Botticelli

Rembrandt

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

Francisco de Goya

Eugène Delacroix

Correct answer:

Francisco de Goya

Explanation:

This painting, Saturn Devouring His Son, was part of Goya's "Black Paintings" Collection, which was inspired by his disillusionment following the Spanish Inquisition.

The only painters to have a similar style would be Rembrandt and Botticelli, however they do not meet the period of this piece.

Though Delacroix and Ingres created paintings during the early 1800s, they did not create works relating to Greek/Roman mythology, nor did they employ this brushstroke style.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Devouring_His_Son#/media/File:Francisco_de_Goya,_Saturno_devorando_a_su_hijo_%281819-1823%29.jpg

Example Question #114 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Liberty Leading the People, shown below, was created in 1830 by _____________.

 File:Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple.jpg

Possible Answers:

Eugène Delacroix

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Édouard Manet

Paul Cézanne

Correct answer:

Eugène Delacroix

Explanation:

Delacroix is responsible for this piece, and can be identified by the Romantic style employed.

Though Ingres was a contemporary of Delacroix, the two were nemesis and Ingres followed a Neoclassical approach.

Manet, Cézanne, and Renoir were impressionist painters and do not fit the period or the style of this painting.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%C3%A9_guidant_le_peuple.jpg

Example Question #115 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Cole thomas the oxbow  the connecticut river near northampton 1836

Based on style and composition, the work shown here was composed by a member of the artistic group known as _______________.

Possible Answers:

the Realists

the Impressionists

the Hudson River School

the Norwich School

Correct answer:

the Hudson River School

Explanation:

This work, The Oxbow (View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), was painted by Thomas Cole, the founder of the artistic movement known as The Hudson River School. The Hudson River School was the first art movement prevalent in the United States of America, flourishing from 1830-1860. The Hudson River School focused on large scale landscapes, usually of scenes in and around the Hudson River Valley in New York, with a focus on scenes of natural beauty and wonder, oftentimes featuring ominous weather or hazardous wild features.

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

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Paul Gauguin's later work depicts the culture, people, and environment of __________.

Possible Answers:

Persia

Japan

Sub-Saharan Africa

Polynesia

Correct answer:

Polynesia

Explanation:

Paul Gauguin was an important French post-impressionist who had considerable success and personal conflicts in late nineteenth century Paris. Gauguin took his first trip to Polynesia in the 1880s, and began living there nearly full time by 1890. Gauguin's work featured the women of Polynesia in his work in bright colors and interesting poses, and with odd symbolism.

Example Question #111 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

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

                                                        Figure 1                                                                                                                            Figure 2 

The figure in the painting shown in Figure 2 is presented in a pose that makes him appear __________.

Possible Answers:

haughty

confident

serene

imposing

Correct answer:

serene

Explanation:

The use of the many Japanese images behind the central figure suggest a sense of chaos, but the individual's pose suggests serenity and calm. This is an intentional choice by the artist, Vincent van Gogh, so that his subject, Père Tanguy, can have his serene nature enhanced. The comfortable setting and the relaxed position of the arms also strongly contribute to this sense.

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

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

Example Question #112 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

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

                                                        Figure 1                                                                                                                            Figure 2 

The painting shown in Figure 2 uses artwork and style from __________.

Possible Answers:

Polynesia

China

Japan

Persia

Correct answer:

Japan

Explanation:

The Japanese government underwent a major shift in 1868 with the "Meiji Restoration," which saw it open up to outside powers for the first time in centuries. In Europe, this sparked an intense interest in Japanese art traditions, particularly among impressionists and post-impressionists. Vincent van Gogh was one of many artists to place Japanese artwork into his own work, as in his Portrait of Père Tanguy from 1887-8.

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

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

Example Question #113 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

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

                              Figure 3                                                                       Figure 4

The above paintings portray the chief generals of __________.

Possible Answers:

the Battle of Yorktown

the Battle of Gettysburg

the Battle of Agincourt

the Battle of Waterloo

Correct answer:

the Battle of Waterloo

Explanation:

These two paintings portray the most famous generals of early nineteenth century Europe. The painting in Figure 3 portrays Napoleon Bonaparte, as painted by Jacques-Louis David, and the painting in Figure 4 portrays Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, as painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence. These two men met in battle numerous times, most famously at Waterloo in 1815, in Southern Belgium. There, Wellington's allied forces soundly defeated Napoleon's Grand Army of France, forcing him into a second and more permanent exile.

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 #4 : Answering Other Questions About Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

The type of photographic process which placed the image on a silver plate was the __________.

Possible Answers:

camera obscura

tintype

daguerreotype

negative

Correct answer:

daguerreotype

Explanation:

A daguerreotype was a laborious process, which captured an image on a piece of silver, which then had to be rubbed with various chemicals to make the image appear; nonetheless, the daguerreotype, named after its inventor Louis Daguerre, was the first easily reproduceable photographic process on its creation in 1837. The daguerreotype was supplanted by the 1860s with a variety of quicker methods.

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