AP Art History : Nineteenth Century 2D Art

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #141 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art


Las meninas detail of the lower half depicting the family of philip iv of spain 1656.jpg large

The painting depicts members of the family and court of what ruler?

Possible Answers:

Mary Queen of Scots

King Philip IV of Spain

King George III

William and Mary

Queen Elizabeth I

Correct answer:

King Philip IV of Spain

Explanation:

The painting is Las Meninas by Velasquez, and was painted in 1656 during the Spanish Golden Age during King Philip's reign. It depicts his the young Infanta Margaret Theresa, several ladies in waiting, dwarfs, and Velasquez himself.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/diego-velazquez/las-meninas-detail-of-the-lower-half-depicting-the-family-of-philip-iv-of-spain-1656

Example Question #142 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art


Las meninas detail of the lower half depicting the family of philip iv of spain 1656.jpg large

http://www.wikiart.org/en/diego-velazquez/las-meninas-detail-of-the-lower-half-depicting-the-family-of-philip-iv-of-spain-1656

Whose view do we take on when looking at this painting?

Possible Answers:

The dog

The Spanish people

The King and Queen

Velasquez

The Infanta

Correct answer:

The King and Queen

Explanation:

We are looking at the scene from the perspective of an outsider, and a famous detail of the painting is the reflection of the King and Queen in the mirror at the back of the room. Thus, our view is actually that of the King's, taking in the way Velasquez is painting his family.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/diego-velazquez/las-meninas-detail-of-the-lower-half-depicting-the-family-of-philip-iv-of-spain-1656

Example Question #143 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

What artist's Jug in the Form of a Head sculpture, which is missing an ear, is believed to be inspired by his traumatic relationship with Van Gogh?

Possible Answers:

Cezanne

Gauguin

Renoir

Degas

Matisse

Correct answer:

Gauguin

Explanation:

The sculpture is a reflection of Gaugin's uneasy relationship with Van Gogh. The two became friends when Van Gogh and his brother purchased several of Gaugin's paintings. They went on to work together for nine weeks at Vincent's Yellow House, during which time their friendship cooled. The night Van Gogh cut his ear off, the artist had earlier confronted Gaugin with a razor blade. The sculpture shows Gaugin's ear cut off as a reference to his former friend.

Example Question #144 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Cole thomas the oxbow  the connecticut river near northampton 1836

The work shown here was closely related in ideals and philosophical backing to the intellectual movement known as __________________.

Possible Answers:

Transcendentalism

Calvinism

Neoplatonism

Positivism

Correct answer:

Transcendentalism

Explanation:

Thomas Cole and other Hudson River School artists desired to show the way that God's creation of nature was a sublime gift that should be held in awe, a sense shared by transcendentalist authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. In The Oxbow (View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), Cole presents a thunderstorm coming over a picturesque scene of a New England town, enhancing nature's awesome power over humanity.

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

Example Question #145 : Nineteenth Century 2 D Art

Cole thomas the oxbow  the connecticut river near northampton 1836

The Oxbow (View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), by Thomas Cole, was most significantly influenced by _______________.

Possible Answers:

Realism

Romanticism

the Grand Manner

Neoclassicism

Correct answer:

Romanticism

Explanation:

Thomas Cole and his followers in the Hudson River School were keen adherents to the ideals of Romanticism, which valued individual liberty, nature, and emotionalism. In The Oxbow (View From Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), a wild landscape is presented with an oncoming storm hitting the small glimpse of civilization shown in the painting, echoing key themes of Romanticism.

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

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors