CLEP Humanities : CLEP: Humanities

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

Example Question #43 : Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century 2 D Art

The artist Francisco Goya is from what country?

Possible Answers:

Brazil

France

Italy

Spain

Argentina

Correct answer:

Spain

Explanation:

Francisco Goya is from Spain.

Example Question #421 : Clep: Humanities

800px-great_wave_off_kanagawa2

The above image is a woodblock print, meaning it __________.

Possible Answers:

can have its colors easily changed

can only be shown in a large format

can be easily replicated in the same form

cannot be moved from the place it was first drawn

can be enlarged and miniaturized easily

Correct answer:

can be easily replicated in the same form

Explanation:

The woodblock format, popular throughout Asia, is an artistic format that is produced by having a large piece of wood cut into and dyed by the artist. Thereafter, this woodblock can be printed onto canvas or paper, making it extremely easy to duplicate the work of art again and again.

Example Question #1 : Analyzing The Form Of Nineteenth Century 2 D Visual Art

Still-life-with-skull-1898.jpg_blog

The composition above is a painting in the genre of __________.

Possible Answers:

history painting

portrait

nude

landscape

still life

Correct answer:

still life

Explanation:

The painter of this work, Paul Cézanne, was particularly noted for his still lifes. The one in this question, "Still Life with Skull," was painted in 1898 and is particularly notable for the inclusion of a skull, a notable feature of Cezanne's later work from the 1890s on. Cézanne's use of broad brushstrokes, layered color, and different perspectives helped create a bridge from impressionism to modern art movements like cubism.

Example Question #3 : Analyzing The Content Of 2 D Visual Art

Matthew-brady-antietam-1024x713

The above photo is taken from what conflict?

Possible Answers:

The Napoleonic Wars

The Franco-Prussian War

The Mexican American War

The Spanish American War

The American Civil War

Correct answer:

The American Civil War

Explanation:

During the American Civil War, the medium of photography was still relatively new, having only been invented a few decades before the outbreak of war in 1861. The photographer Matthew Brady was the pioneering figure in developing photography throughout the war. By capturing war in the realistic medium of photography, Brady both helped people see war in a different manner and appreciate the possibilities of photography.

Example Question #1 : Analyzing The Content Of Nineteenth Century 2 D Visual Art

Who was the French artist who spent the last years of his life living in Polynesia and painting its inhabitants?

Possible Answers:

Paul Gauguin

Vincent van Gogh

Henri Matisse

Édouard Manet

Paul Cézanne

Correct answer:

Paul Gauguin

Explanation:

Paul Gauguin was an important Post-Impressionist whose early work experimented with color and symbolism, but Gauguin's work took on a new form after visiting Tahiti in the 1880s. Gauguin began capturing the culture of Polynesia and started using symbols of Polynesia and images of Polynesians themselves in his art. In the 1890s, he permanently moved to the island of Punaauia in French Polynesia, and painted more and more symbolic paintings that played with color and structure.

Example Question #422 : Clep: Humanities

Degas--the_ballet_lesson

The above painting is representative of what artistic movement?

Possible Answers:

Impressionism

Cubism

Abstract Expressionism

Pointilism

Surrealism

Correct answer:

Impressionism

Explanation:

This painting, Edgar Degas' "The Dance Lesson," was painted in 1879 and is a classic representation of impressionism. With its visible and broad brush strokes and its detached point of view, this painting features the hallmarks of impressionism, a painting style developed in France in the late nineteenth century. Degas preferred to call his artistic style "realism," because he believed his method of painting captured the realistic emotion of a scene, if not an exact representation of it.

Example Question #421 : Clep: Humanities

All of the following painters were Impressionists except __________.

Possible Answers:

Pierre-August Renoir

Paul Cézanne

Claude Monet

Édouard Manet

Henri Matisse

Correct answer:

Henri Matisse

Explanation:

Impressionism was a significant artistic movement developed in France during the late nineteenth century that utilized visible brushstrokes, representations of natural light, and everyday scenes. Challenging traditional ideas of art, the movement was initially derided by critics, but proved hugely influential. Its leading artists included Éduouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne. Henri Matisse was a full generation younger than the impressionists, and was highly influenced by them, but helped develop modern art in the early twentieth century.

Example Question #2 : Identifying Artists, Works, And Schools Of 2 D Visual Art From The Nineteenth Century

The above work of art is an example of the artistic movement known as __________.

Possible Answers:

Cubism

Post-Impressionism

Expressionism

Realism

Neoclassicism

Correct answer:

Post-Impressionism

Explanation:

This painting, an 1899 self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh, stands firmly in the tradition of post-impressionism. Post-impressionists took many of the elements of the Impressionists of a generation earlier, including visible brushstrokes, emotional concerns, and everyday scenes, and pushed them further. As seen in this work, the paint is extremely thick and textured, with bright, almost unrealistic colors sharpening the image.

Example Question #3 : Identifying Artists, Works, And Schools Of 2 D Visual Art From The Nineteenth Century

The Hudson River School was a group of artists known for making what kind of paintings?

Possible Answers:

Still lifes

Portraits

Religious icons

History paintings

Landscapes

Correct answer:

Landscapes

Explanation:

The Hudson River School was a group of painters in the early part of the nineteenth century who gathered in communities along the Hudson River in New York. These artists were heavily inspired by the romantic movement coming out of Europe and painted dramatic landscapes. Prominent members of the Hudson River School were Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, and Frederic Edwin Church.

Example Question #4 : Identifying Artists, Works, And Schools Of 2 D Visual Art From The Nineteenth Century

The French painter who was the official painter for the rule of the Emperor Napoleon I was __________.

Possible Answers:

Eugène Delacroix

Théodore Géricault

Alexander Kucharsky

Jacques-Louis David

Antoine-François Callet

Correct answer:

Jacques-Louis David

Explanation:

Jacques-Louis David first made a name for himself as a historical painter in the 1780s, but his republican sympathies meant he was allied with French revolutionaries. This benefitted him most by allowing him to become the Emperor Napoleon's official court painter. Famous for his portraits of Napoleon, and particularly his large Coronation of Napoleon from 1806, David's style featured bold expressions, bright colors, and dramatic poses.

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