AP Art History : AP Art History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century 2 D Art

File:Fra Angelico 069.jpg  File:CaravaggioEmmaus.jpg

                                           Figure 3                                                                                           Figure 4

Which of the following is a true statement contrasting the paintings shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4?

Possible Answers:

The use of light and shadow is much more pronounced in the painting shown in Figure 3 than in the painting shown in Figure 4.

The painting shown in Figure 3 uses duller colors than does the painting shown in Figure 4.

While both of the paintings use perspective, the use of perspective in the painting shown in Figure 3 is less developed and realistic than the use of perspective in the painting shown in Figure 4.

The painting shown in Figure 3 portrays more people than does the painting shown in Figure 4.

Correct answer:

While both of the paintings use perspective, the use of perspective in the painting shown in Figure 3 is less developed and realistic than the use of perspective in the painting shown in Figure 4.

Explanation:

Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, painted in 1606, is like Fra Angelico's in that both men were Italian and the paintings are each of Biblical scenes. Yet the one hundred and fifty years between them demonstrates the revolution that happened in painting during the Renaissance. Caravaggio's work, emblematic of seventeenth century Baroque painting, has a sense of perspective that places Jesus well behind his disciples, and also places them in a realistic setting amid rich, dark colors. So, one can accurately say that the use of perspective in the Carravagio painting is more developed and realistic than the use of perspective in the Fra Angelico painting. The answer choices comparing the relative brightness of the paintings' colors and each painting's use of light and shadow are incorrect, as is the answer choice claiming that more figures are shown in the Fra Angelico painting than in the Caravaggio painting; the same number of figures are shown in each, though the three figures in the upper right hand corner of the Fra Angelico painting are easy to miss.

Figure 3: The Annunciation (Cortona) by Fra Angelico (1433)

Figure 4: Supper at Emmaus (Milan) by Caravaggio (1606)

Example Question #2 : Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century 2 D Art

File:Fra Angelico 069.jpg  File:CaravaggioEmmaus.jpg

                                           Figure 3                                                                                           Figure 4

In the painting shown in Figure 4, the figure in green in the middle of the scene is __________.

Possible Answers:

Jesus Christ

John the Baptist

Judas

Saint Peter

Correct answer:

Jesus Christ

Explanation:

Although not obviously marked out in any way, the figure in the middle of the Caravaggio painting is Jesus Christ. One clue is that this painting is entitled Supper at Emmaus, but the scene would be obvious to anyone familiar with the story from the Gospel of Luke, which many Renaissance-era Europeans would have been. The painting displays the wonderment of everyone around a serene bearded figure, who raises his hand in a traditional gesture of blessing associated with Jesus Christ.

Figure 3: The Annunciation (Cortona) by Fra Angelico (1433)

Figure 4: Supper at Emmaus (Milan) by Caravaggio (1606)

Example Question #8 : Analyzing Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century 2 D Art

 

File:Las Meninas (1656), by Velazquez.jpg          File:Francisco de Goya y Lucientes 054.jpg

                                Figure 1                                                                                              Figure 2

In comparison to the painting shown in Figure 2, the subjects in the painting shown in Figure 1 are __________.

Possible Answers:

serious

reserved

uncertain

playful

Correct answer:

playful

Explanation:

While de Goya based his painting on Velázquez', their portrayals of a royal family are completely different. Where Velázquez show the young princess Margaret Teresa smiling, with attendants and jesters trying to please her, de Goya shows only the royal family looking extremely uncomfortable. The seriousness of the family of Charles IV in a painting based on the playful Las Meninas was intentionally cultivated by de Goya.

Figure 1: Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez (1656)

Figure 2: Charles IV of Spain and His Family Francisco de Goya (1801)

Example Question #9 : Analyzing Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century 2 D Art

 

Sir_anthony_van_dyck_-_charles_i__1600-49__-_google_art_project          

Figure 3  

150px-diego_vel_zquez_felipe_iv_cazador

Figure 4

Figure 3 represents the King of __________.

Possible Answers:

France

Scotland

Portugal

Spain

Correct answer:

Scotland

Explanation:

Figure 3 is Anthony van Dyck's triple portrait of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1635. Charles inherited all of his crowns from his father James, and ruled all three beginning in 1625. Charles' reign was cut short after the English Civil War saw his subjects in England overthrow him and cut off his head in 1649.

Example Question #531 : 2 D Art

 

Sir_anthony_van_dyck_-_charles_i__1600-49__-_google_art_project         

Figure 3

 150px-diego_vel_zquez_felipe_iv_cazador

Figure 4

In contrast to Figure 3, the King in Figure 4 is portrayed as __________.

Possible Answers:

an outdoorsman

a coward

an autocrat

an administrator

Correct answer:

an outdoorsman

Explanation:

In Spanish, this 1633 portrait by Diego Velazquez is known as "Felipe IV Cazador," or "Philip IV the Hunter." This portrait is atypical for Velazquez' portraits of Philip, which are usually in his palace or against a simple background. This was done presumably to show a different side of Philip, that expressed his love of the outdoors, hunting, and adventurous pursuits.

Example Question #532 : 2 D Art

Sir_anthony_van_dyck_-_charles_i__1600-49__-_google_art_project     

Figure 3

 150px-diego_vel_zquez_felipe_iv_cazador

Figure 4

Each of these kings represented monarchs who believed in __________.

Possible Answers:

constitutional monarchy

oligarchy

representative democracy

absolute monarchy

Correct answer:

absolute monarchy

Explanation:

The image on the left is one of Anthony van Dyck's portrayals of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland, while the image on the right is a Diego Velazquez portrait of King Philip IV of Spain. As seventeenth-century monarchs, both kings believed in the divine right of kings to rule in an absolute monarchy. This worked out differently for each, however, as Philip IV ruled Spain at a time when it was at the apex of its power, and Charles I was the King who incited England into civil war.

Example Question #533 : 2 D Art

Questions 7-12 are based on Figures 3 and 4.

Sir_anthony_van_dyck_-_charles_i__1600-49__-_google_art_project       

Figure 3

  150px-diego_vel_zquez_felipe_iv_cazador

Figure 4

Figure 3 most likely has three portraits because __________.

Possible Answers:

it presents the King in different clothing

it shows off the artist's skill

all of the other answers

it is a study for a sculpture

Correct answer:

all of the other answers

Explanation:

As a practical purpose, this triple portrait of King Charles I, by Anthony van Dyck, was probably needed so that a bust could be made by a sculptor the King could not sit for. In executing it, however, van Dyck gets to show the King in multiple ways, showing his ability to capture different elements of the King. The King wears different robes, and his smile is ever so slightly different in each image.

Example Question #534 : 2 D Art

 

Sir_anthony_van_dyck_-_charles_i__1600-49__-_google_art_project     

Figure 3  

 150px-diego_vel_zquez_felipe_iv_cazador

Figure 4

Each of these paintings is an example of __________.

Possible Answers:

Rococco art

late Medieval art

Baroque art

Renaissance art

Correct answer:

Baroque art

Explanation:

Both Anthony van Dyck, who created the triple portrait of Charles I in Figure 3, and Diego Velazquez, who made the image of Philip IV in Figure 4, were leading lights of the Baroque era. Baroque painting featured stylized portraiture, high contrast between colors, and emotional approaches to its subjects. Each portrait demonstrates these characteristics quite well.

Example Question #535 : 2 D Art

 

Sir_anthony_van_dyck_-_charles_i__1600-49__-_google_art_project       

Figure 3  

 

150px-diego_vel_zquez_felipe_iv_cazador

Figure 4

The painting in Figure 3 was made by a painter originally from modern-day __________.

Possible Answers:

Belgium

Italy

Holland

Great Britain

Correct answer:

Belgium

Explanation:

Anthony van Dyck, who created the image in Figure 3, Charles I in Three Positions, continued the English tradition of monarchs importing court painters. Anthony van Dyck was born in Antwerp, then in the Spanish Netherlands, but now in Belgium. Van Dyck had made a career in Italy in the 1620s, but was convinced by Charles to move to London to be the offical court painter there.

Example Question #536 : 2 D Art

Self portrait with saskia

The principal subject of the work shown here is _________________.

Possible Answers:

Biblical characters

a royal couple

the artist and his wife

historical figures

Correct answer:

the artist and his wife

Explanation:

This work of art is known as Self-Portrait with Saskia. In the foreground is the artist, Rembrandt van Rijn, with his wife Saskia positioned slightly behind him. Rembrandt portrays them as ordinary people, rather than wealthy patrons or significant figures from history, a common theme of seventeenth century Dutch painting, but uncommon in other parts of Europe.

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

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